Gift-Giving God || Ephesians 2:8-9 || Manna for the Mind #129

Welcome to Day 129 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Ephesians 2:8-9 is our focus passage today. We’ll talk about how God’s salvation is his gift, and we can’t take credit for that.

Ephesians 2:8-9

AMP	NLT	VOICE
8 For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God;	8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.	8-9 For it’s by God’s grace that you have been saved. You receive it through faith. It was not our plan or our effort. It is God’s gift, pure and simple. You didn’t earn it, not one of us did, so don’t go around bragging that you must have done something amazing.
9 not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation].	9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

The AMP translation defines two keywords: grace and salvation. Grace is God’s remarkable compassion and favor for us that draws us to Christ. Salvation is the deliverance from judgment and the gift of eternal life. We don’t do anything to obtain salvation. It’s not following the law that will gain us favor with God. It’s believing in him by faith that God gifts us with salvation.

Think about it this way: when someone gives you a gift, do you tell them, “That’s awesome – now, how much do I owe you?” No! We respond with “Thank You!” or “You shouldn’t have.” Christians will receive the gift of salvation from God and feel obligated to work hard to please God in response. Because salvation, grace, and faith are gifts, our only response should be gratitude, praise, and joy. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do anything when we become a Christian. Our lives should reflect Christ and show the teachings of God, but this isn’t our priority. Remember how you think, talk, and act, and let your foundation for this be gratitude, praise, and joy.

Our source of this can be compared to how the water works in our system to keep us hydrated. Jesus is known as living water.

John 4:10

AMP	NLT	VOICE
10 Jesus answered her, “If you know [about] God’s gift [of eternal life], and who it is who says, “Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him [instead], and He would have given you living water (eternal life).”	10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”	10 You don’t know the gift of God who is asking for a drink of this water from Jacob’s well. Because if you did, you would have asked Him for something greater; and He would have given you the living water.

What does Jesus mean by “living water” in this verse? In the Old Testament, many verses discuss thirsting as we would thirst for water. God is the foundation of life and the fountain of living water. In saying he would bring life that could quench a person’s thirst for God, Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. Only he could give these gifts that satisfy the soul’s desire.

Much like water gets rid of our thirst and satisfies our body’s need for it until we need it again. Jesus is the one who satisfies our souls and spiritual selves forever. We will always need Jesus in our lives and have Jesus to satisfy those needs. Jesus does this through God’s gift of eternal life, meaning we will always have a connection and life to our heavenly Father. When our earthly life is no longer, and we are committed to following God as our Lord and Savior, our souls will ascend to heaven, and we will have to live with him forever. It can be a hard mindset to wrap our minds around because we all have important people in our lives who aren’t Christians. The fear of them potentially not joining us there can terrify us. It can cause dissension in the church because “How could a loving God not send his creation to heaven just because they didn’t claim him as Lord and Savior?” I don’t have a clear answer to this. Still, I encourage you to read/catch up on our current series “What the…?” where I give into the different biblical understandings of hell and reach a conclusion that God will send non-believers to heaven as long as God judges them rightly. Claiming God as your Lord and living right is your safest go-to, but Christians who do evil aren’t guaranteed, and non-Christians who do good have a chance to still go to heaven. There are deeper levels to it all that go beyond my scope of knowledge regarding the historical context and evolution of these understandings from the end of the New Testament to our world today. I encourage you to do your research (carefully) and talk with your local pastors of different denominations because each will have a unique viewpoint and can help develop our foundational beliefs.

Father God, thank you for your gifts of grace and salvation. We know you do not require work to obtain these things, but you gift them to us because of your care and compassion. You chose us to represent your image and teachings in the world. Help us to live out that glory and to share with others how you are the source of replenishing all our needs in our world today. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.