In evangelical circles, Ephesians 2:8-9 is perhaps the most frequently quoted text in the entire Bible: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” But as we’ve noted in this series, this passage has a very different meaning from that which has traditionally been assigned to it.
We began by examining the meaning of faith. Generations of Protestants have been taught that faith exclusively carries the narrow and passive meaning of belief or trust. Any effort or action on our part is strictly excluded. But this is quite misleading. The Greek word translated as “faith” often carries the more active meaning of faithfulness, loyalty or allegiance.
The first Christians went throughout the world proclaiming the gospel – the announcement that Jesus is the Messiah, God’s anointed king over all creation. The very nature of the gospel demands a response of loyalty or allegiance. A newly enthroned king requires far more than merely belief in him, or bare acknowledgement of his status. Rather, a king demands the complete loyalty of his subjects. He expects his commands to be promptly obeyed.
Paul next asserts that salvation “is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” For most Protestants, this phrase reinforces their notion that salvation is a gift which must simply be accepted.
Yet as we noted in the last blog, when the scriptures speak about “the gift of God,” they’re often referring to the Holy Spirit. The indwelling power of the Spirit allows Christians to offer God the righteous conduct he requires. The story of the Old Testament showed that Israel failed to offer God proper worship and obedience because they were “in the flesh,” that is, hard-hearted and rebellious. In fact, all human beings (apart from the Messiah) share in this flawed, fleshly quality. That’s why Paul emphasizes that salvation cannot come “from yourselves.”
However, we must also acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is not the kind of gift which can simply be passively accepted. It’s more like a bicycle. A new bike won’t do you any good in the garage gathering dust. You need to put in the work of pedaling if you’re going to reach your destination. Similarly, the fruit of the Spirit doesn’t just happen automatically. Qualities like patience and self-control require strenuous moral effort and discipline on our part.
This mysterious collaboration of divine assistance and human effort is found throughout the New Testament. One example is found in Philippians 2 where Paul writes, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Paul here exhorts the church to work out their salvation while simultaneously acknowledging that God is working in them in order to produce the kind of conduct which is pleasing to him.
Finally, we examined Paul’s famous phrase “not by works, so that no one can boast.” Protestants have traditionally used “works” as a blanket term referring to all human behavior. These righteous actions then allow people to boast about the favorable status they have attained in God’s sight. Although this interpretation is ubiquitous in evangelical churches, it is manifestly incorrect.
Paul was a Pharisee who lived and breathed the Old Testament story of God and Israel. When he writes here about works, he’s referring to works of Torah – the covenant law given to the people of Israel on Mt. Sinai. It cannot be said too often: when reading Paul, it’s crucial to grasp that works of Torah, Israel and the flesh all belong together.
When God gave the law to Israel, he promised that Israel would receive divine blessing through obedience: “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.”
In a word, covenant faithfulness would bring about salvation. The people of Israel would enjoy the fullness of life in the promised land. But the entire Old Testament narrative illustrates Israel’s spectacular failure. They were unfaithful to God’s covenant right from the start. Even as Moses descended from the mountain with the ten commandments, the Israelites had already prostrated themselves before a golden calf.
There were fleeting times in Israel’s history (most notably during the reigns of David and Solomon) when they were able to (at least in part) enjoy the covenant blessings. But in the end, Israel’s wickedness brought God’s curses upon them. They were defeated by their enemies and the survivors taken into exile in Babylon.
Thus Israel’s fleshliness (her sinful nature) prevented her from enjoying God’s blessing and life. This is the world of thought which stands behind Paul’s words, “not by works, so that no one can boast.”
We noted in the prior blog that the boast of the Jew is most fully described in Romans 2:17-24. The Jews could rightfully boast that they worshiped the one true God, whose law allowed them to understand his righteous requirements. But alas, this boast had been nullified by Israel’s disobedience.
In summary, salvation could not come through works of Torah for two reasons:
(1) The Torah limited covenant membership to Israel alone – the physical descendants of Jacob. But God desires to bring people of all nations into his kingdom. This has now been made possible through the enthronement of Jesus as the Messiah. Any human being who gives their complete allegiance to Jesus as King is now welcomed into the family of God.
This thought clearly looms large in Paul’s mind as he writes Ephesians 2:8-9, for in the very next passage, he reflects at length on the plight of the uncircumcised Gentiles: “you were separate from the Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:12) Paul then celebrates their new status: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (Ephesians 2:19-20)
(2) Salvation could not come through works of Torah because of Israel’s sinful nature. Indeed, this quality is shared by all human beings. God created humans in his image so that they might exercise dominion over creation. But in order to fulfill our vocation, our sinful nature (“flesh”) needs to be put to death. This has now been accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Our old fleshly selves have been crucified with the Messiah. And just as God raised Jesus from the dead, so we’ve been raised up with him so that we might “walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)
Let’s tie this all together by offering the following paraphrase of Ephesians 2:8-9 based on what we’ve learned:
“Salvation is the result of God’s grace towards humanity. His salvation comes to all who give their complete allegiance (“faith”) to Jesus the Messiah. The Gentiles are no longer shut out by the Torah. They’ve now been included in the company of God’s people and will share in the covenant promises of life and blessing. This doesn’t come about by our own unaided efforts, but through God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. Works of Torah could not save Israel because her sinful nature (her fleshliness) led her into idolatry & wickedness. Israel according to the flesh therefore has nothing to boast about. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit now empowers the followers of Jesus, allowing them to offer God the worship and obedience he requires.”
When we properly understand Ephesians 2:8-9, we see that altered human behavior is absolutely vital for salvation. God’s covenant with ancient Israel absolutely required obedience in order to achieve blessing and life. Far too many Christians have been led to believe that obedience is no longer necessary under the new covenant. It’s been relegated to a lesser status of “thankful response.” The truth is that God still requires righteous conduct from his people. Salvation doesn’t come through “works of Torah” but through the fruit of the Spirit!
