TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE
Memorize this Verse: (Cover the verse text and using just the first letters of each word try to recite the entire passage.)
8. F B G A Y S T F A T N O Y I I T G O G
Our response in salvation is faith, but even that is not of ourselves (but is), the gift of God. Faith is nothing that we do in our power or by our own resources. In the first place, we do not have adequate power or resources. More than that, God would not want us to rely on them even if we had them. Otherwise salvation would be in part by our own works, and we would have some ground to boast in ourselves. Paul intends to emphasize that even faith is not from us apart from God’s giving it.
Some have objected to this interpretation, saying that faith is feminine, while the word “that” is neuter. That poses no problem, as long as it is understood that, “that” does not refer precisely to the noun faith but to the act of believing. Every person lives by faith.
When we open a can of food or drink a glass of water we trust that it is not contaminated. When we go across a bridge we trust it to support us. Life is a constant series of acts of faith. No human being, no matter how skeptical and self-reliant, could live a day without exercising faith.
When we accept the finished work of Christ on our behalf, we act by the faith supplied by God’s grace. That is the supreme act of human faith, the act which, though it is ours, is primarily God’s, His gift to us out of His grace.
“For” gives the reason for this future demonstration of divine grace. It is because man owes his salvation to this grace or undeserved divine favor. The force of the Greek perfect tense “are ye saved”, indicates that the Ephesians were spiritually saved at some point in the past. And at the present time of writing they remain in this state of salvation.
The grammatical gender of the word “that,” occurring in the expression “that not of yourselves”, is neuter, hence, “that” cannot refer to the preceding “grace” or “faith,” both of which are feminine nouns. Nor can it refer to “are ye saved” which is a masculine participle. Instead the neuter “that” refers back and embraces the entire foregoing “grace, are ye saved,” and “faith.”
This means that no part of salvation is “of yourselves” or due to what we do, the whole of salvation is the gift of God. Man, is saved “by grace”, that is by the kindness of God in having Jesus die for our sins. But this grace is appropriated through faith. That is, man believes what God has done for him and relies upon Christ’s atonement to blot out his sins and bring him into a proper relationship with God.
“That not of yourselves”: “That” refers to the entire previous statement of salvation, not only the grace but the faith. Although men are required to believe for salvation, even that faith is part of the gift of God which saves and cannot be exercised by one’s own power. God’s grace is preeminent in every aspect of salvation (Romans 3:20; Gal. 2:16).
You cannot earn your way to heaven. Just as any gift, to have it, you must reach out and receive it unto yourself. Faith was counted unto Abraham as righteousness. Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is what gives us our righteousness in God’s sight.
Jesus put us in right standing with God, when He paid our debt in full with His blood at Calvary. We must say, thank you Jesus for dying for me. That is why we are saved. Jesus is our Savior. The gift of God, to all mankind who will accept it, is eternal life in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
The grace of God is the expression of His goodness toward the undeserving. Grace means “unmerited favor”, and can be expressed by the acrostic. “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” This grace is the basis of our salvation.
Today's Bible Reading Plan selections can be found below. If you don't have a Bible with you, just click the references to read each passage online:
Old Testament
Obadiah 1 — 7.0 minutes
Job 33:12-33 — 4.0 minutes
New Testament
John 17:20-26 — 2.0 minutes
Revelation 9 — 6.0 minutes
Total Average Read Time — 19.0 minutes
No comments:
Post a Comment