“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:8-10
We will never deserve what He has done.
We struggle with this, and we try very hard to earn our salvation. Paul reminds us that this is simply given and we can’t work enough to deserve it.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
Grace-saved-faith, these definite words bring a triple lesson in how the Father makes salvation happen. It’s grace first. Saved is second, and our faith makes it all real.
“Not a result of works, so that no one may boast.“
Works in the original is ἔργον which can be translated as “energy.” That stresses work, effort, and labor. Paul is amazingly clear and our obfuscation is thrown out the window. It confuses us and we often try to produce good works.
“In contradistinction to the Gospel of Christ, the gospel of Satan teaches salvation by works.
The gift of grace mystifies. It is a handout that befuddles. But you must realize that your “energy” will never be enough. Salvation will always be charity, an undeserved endowment that gives us eternal life without us making an effort.
I’m thinking now of the thief on the cross dying with Jesus. (Read Luke 23:42-43.) He had nothing. He deserved nothing–all he could do is ask. And Jesus promised that he would be saved.
What we have is His gift. It’s only given and never earned. It’s the blood of Jesus that saves you.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Let’s think about this, and let’s pray that we understand. Works (energy), workmanship, and good works–words mentioned in this verse. There’s a real connection here between the three which may need an explanation.
- “Works” is what we do to earn salvation.
- “Workmanship” is God’s effort in making us like His son. He is creating us to be like Jesus.
- “Good works” is what happens when we understand what He has done.
Good works are not the cause of our salvation; good works are the evidence of our salvation. Our spiritual efforts can’t save us, but as a result of being saved (free) we’ll do good things.
Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works.
Alaska Bible Teacher 