the gift - ephesians 2:8-10

The Gift

Ephesians 2:8-10

Ephesians 2:8–10 (ESV)

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 a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk

in them.

Saved from what?

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

• Examples of salvation:

– Noah

– Lot

– Israel’s flight to Egypt

– Israel out of Egypt

– Wars, famines, etc.

– Context: Eph. 2:1-3 The sin virus from Adam

Ephesians 2:1–3

2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all

once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and

were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

How Were We Saved?


• We are Saved by Grace

– Undeserved favor, kindness, good will• True in the OT

• True in the new

– This Grace is not the sacraments: Lord’s supper, baptism, confession, penance, etc.

Saved through Faith


• Saved by grace through Faith:– Believe, TrustJohn 3:16 (ESV) “For God so loved the

world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

– Faithfulness of ChristGalatians 2:16 (NET) yet we know that

no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. See also Rm. 3:22 and Phil. 3:9

Salvation is not of our doing!


• “It is not of Yourselves”

– You didn’t do anything to deserve it.

– There is nothing in you that makes you worthy to receive it.

It’s not of our doing.

Deuteronomy 9:4–6 (ESV) 4 “Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is

because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you. 5 Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your

heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving

them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and

to Jacob. 6 “Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your

righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.

Salvation is a Gift from God!


Salvation is a Gift.John 3:16 “For God so loved

the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 1:12–13 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Salvation is not of your working

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

• For Jews: Not the fulfillment of the law.

• For Gentiles: Not because you are good or good performance.

It’s all of God, so you can’t take credit.

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

• There is nothing we can do to take credit for what God alone has done.

– Can we take credit for the creation.

– We are his new creation.

We are God’s Masterpiece

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

• Workmanship – is a creation term used only one other time in NT.

Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

We are new creation in Christ Jesus


• Now that we are in Christ we are a new creation

2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Not saved by works, saved for works


• We were not saved by works.

• But we were saved in order to do good works.

• We are now instruments of God for good works.

The masterpiece and works were planned beforehand


• God planned us.

• God planned the good works He would do through us.

We were saved to walk in good works


How we walked: Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV) And you

were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

How should we walk?

Galatians 5:14, 22-25 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You

shall love your neighbor as yourself.” …22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have

crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step

with the Spirit.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Do You Want Your Wages?

Or,

The Gift?

the gift - ephesians 2:8-10

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