Ephesians 2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
This may be the most quoted verse in the the entire epistle and thereby become the most familiar and overlooked. Familiarity can often cause us to underestimate or take for granted the wealth of a verse. Let's not be guilty of that today. It is clear that this is a verse concerning salvation of a man and it tells us how it is a man is saved, at least in a broad way. We understand that men have come to Christ and Christ to men by different methods, some read a gospel tract, some heard the preacher share the gospel, some may have been reading there Bible and understood they needed to be saved and the testimony's go on and on, and I never grow tired of hearing people's testimony's of how God saved them and changed them. Ephesians 2:8 isn't the particular account of one individuals salvation but it is the account of every man, woman, boy and girl that has ever been saved and will ever be saved. It matters not whether you read a tract or heard a sermon or even the child that came to know Christ at the family alter everyone's salvation operated in the manner Ephesians 2:8 speaks of. This is appropriate because this book of Ephesians isn't exclusive to any believer but includes all who are in Christ and so Paul gives us a salvation experience that is applicable to every saved person no matter the path that lead them to salvation by grace through faith.
The two words that our eyes are most drawn to here are Grace and Faith and for good reason. The two words that I want to draw our attention to are; "by" and "through." I think we for the most part understand Grace, as far as we can comprehend, but for the sake of being thorough we will expand on it a bit. Grace is unmerited favor and in the office of salvation it God's part and according to the verse there is nothing outside of Grace that can save, for it is by grace we are saved and the word "by" indicates that grace is the power or force or the thing that saves. So then, if it is grace alone that saves why is faith mentioned? I'm glad you asked, it is true that we are saved by grace but it is through faith that we are saved. Grace is the power to save and faith is the avenue through which that power travels. There are those who believe that faith plays no part in salvation but is a gift of salvation or that faith is the aftermath of salvation, this is untrue and doesn't line up with scripture. Grace and faith are available to all men. Faith is something all men posses but all to often they connect their faith to everything but the grace of God but you can be sure of this; the very instant a mans faith is connected to the grace of God he receives the gift of salvation.
Grace is what saves a man and faith is what delivers that saving power.
I was a electrician for a number of years and often times my mind will go back to things that i learned in that field of work. I think most people know what makes the lights in your house burn and that is electricity. There is nothing that has changed the face of the modern world more than electricity, with electricity comes light, power to heat water, charge phones and it is safe to say that you can do thins with electricity that would be much harder and even impossible without it. Now that power is wonderfully useful and brings with it a new prosperity of life but how is it that that power reaches your home? Does it somehow miraculously jump from the power plant to your house? The answer is no, there are wires that bring that power from where it is generated at the power plant all the way to the light switch you turn on in your house. We understand that it is power that makes the light burn but that power would still be where it was produced if it wasn't for the wires that connect your house to the generating plant miles away.
this illustrates the ministry of grace and faith in the life of a man. God's grace brings with it a new prosperity of life, actually life all together, it is the new spiritual life that one never experiences until he has been connected to God. Grace is the power but faith is the wire through which the power travels. Grace and faith work in tandem. I can build a house and install all the light fixtures and switches I want but if I never connect to the power coming from the plant I will remain in darkness, the power at the plant is only enjoyed and experienced once I have connected to it. The Gospel Must believed or it cannot be experienced, God has all the power to save and is not willing that any should perish but if your faith isn't connected to the grace that saves then it is doing you no good. Salvation is by grace through faith and faith is not to be negated in the work of salvation, while it is not the power of faith that saves it is the office of faith to connect us to the grace of God that is the power to save. We can rest assured the very moment your faith is placed on the finished work of Christ(God's Grace) you will be saved. I encourage you to find one person in the Bible who was saved where Grace and faith were not at work. Genesis says Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and Hebrews says By faith Noah moved with fear, Paul had been feeling the pricks of conviction and when he was addressed by Christ these were his words: Act 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord?| Act 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Paul's question of authority turned into a submitting to authority and in an instant His faith met God's grace and He was changed and the list goes on. Do you remember the your faith met God's grace? I do, I was sitting on the third row of El Bethel Baptist Church on a Thursday night, The very instant I placed my faith in God's grace I was saved, my walk to the alter didn't save me, the prayer I prayed didn't save me it was God's grace that flooded my soul the instant I believed.
According to the riches of His Grace!!
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