Ephesians 2:8-9

NASB – 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

NRSVUE – 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

VOICE – 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

Best Gift of All

God rescued us because of His mercy and love. His grace is shown all throughout the history of God’s chosen people, especially through His faithfulness to us and His readiness to forgive us of our sinful behavior. He loved us so much that He sent Jesus to be ultimate sacrificial lamb, so that our sins and can be atoned for over all eternity and allows us to have the place to seek reconciliation, restoration, and transformation.

Faith gives us what God’s grace offers. It centers on trusting the atoning death of Christ and His resurrection over any works or standards of the world. It removes ourselves out of the way and focuses on God’s provision. Things like salvation, grace, and faith is created from any works we can provide. All of it comes from God so that we can boast over each other. Salvation is freely given and gifted through God.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: When it comes to viewing our salvation as a gift, what impact does it make on your relationship with God?

The Best Gift-Giver

Salvation comes through grace. Grace is God’s unearned favor, so we can acknowledge that salvation begins and ends with God. Grace removes any human gate-keeping. There are no human standards, qualifications, or achievements that we have to surpass in order to receive God’s grace. Salvation is a gift. It’s freely given, not purchased. It’s given out of the giver’s generosity, not by our works or standing.

This is something that I think the church has struggled with helping its congregants understand. I say this from the perspective that Christians often try to figure out what it means to be a Christians by figuring what they can and cannot do. While it’s good to understand this, it’s the point of salvation. Salvation, under the new covenant created through Jesus, is given to us by God freely. We have to make the decision to accept this gift or not. There are no works we need to do to earn it. We just have to make a decision to say: “Yes Lord. I accept the salvation for my life. I acknowledge that Jesus has paid the price of my sinful behavior and rose again. I acknowledge this act grants me the ability to have a right relationship with you and to be your hands and feet to all of the world.” Learning what to do and not to do guides us along the way to understand what behaviors and mindset are of God and what is not. However, it is not the way to salvation. We are given this freely. We are given this because God loves us. We are given this because God wants to see us succeed. God doesn’t want to punish us when we mess up, but wants to keep us accountable so we can grow, learn, and transform to become an honest reflection of who God is.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: How do you feel about receiving this gift? What does it make you reflect on when it comes to your gift giving?

Stay Humble for God

As I mention, salvation cannot be earned through following the commands of the Law, rituals, personal achievements, or any other human-made effort. These works come with a transformed life for those in a relationship with God, but they are never the foundation of our relationship with Him. God saves us by His grace so that the focus of glory can be given to Him only. Salvation can leave us humble, so that we give God all the glory and boasting.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Does it feel fair to you that we must give God the boasting for salvation?

Boastful for God

Let’s talk more about what it means to boast in this capacity. Boast is the Greek verb kauchaomai (kow-khah’-om-ahee). It means two different things: one human and one divine. It can mean to self-exalt (lifting ourselves up above others). It can also mean to exalt righteousness through God’s grace.

Paul uses the words from Jeremiah to convey that all legit boasting should be to celebrate God’s faithfulness to His people. When we boast about ourselves, it comes across as arrogant and focuses on ourselves. When we boast about God, we lift up the message of the Gospel and God has affected our lives. For Paul, to boast about God in our current life will guide us to a place in our eternal life, which Paul believed would happen during his life time.

What does this mean for us? It’s leading a life with humility. I can very much understand the joy and the celebration we want to have when we do something spectacular or when we do something amazing. However, we need to ground our celebration in Christ. Show the world what it means act as a representative of God. Tell others how God’s graciousness, confidence, patience, faithfulness, and love permeated all throughout our lives.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: What ways can you boast about God?

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