The second chapter of the great Rabbi’s letter to the congregation at Ephesus is very important. It contains some foundational doctrines: the doctrine of the total depravity of man; the doctrine of salvation by grace alone; and it contains important teaching on the relationship between Messianic Jews and Messianic Gentiles. May the Lord help each one of us to understand and embrace and apply these important truths!
Let’s review the first seven verses: humanity is not merely wounded with a small wound, so that we have the ability to recover on our own, but we are dead in our trespasses and sins, and dead men can’t help themselves or heal themselves. We are part of an evil world system that lives in opposition to God and His good ways. We are wicked, disobedient children. We are naturally inclined to sin with our bodies and with our minds, and we give in to physical and mental lusts. We are far from God, alienated from our Maker, but allied to Satan, the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air. Because of all this, the Lord is very angry with humanity. We deserve the wrath of this holy and powerful God. We are not OK. We are not good. We are not saved, but utterly and completely and totally lost. We are headed to the First Death – physical death, which will be followed by the Second Death – which is Hell and the Lake of Fire.
And, we can’t save ourselves. Salvation by human beings is impossible. Salvation, which involves forgiveness, atonement, and the restoration of a right relationship to God, and restoration of life that was lost, and the recreation of perverse human nature, and the giving of eternal life, is way beyond our ability to accomplish. We can’t atone for ourselves. We can’t forgive ourselves for all of our sins against God, humanity and nature. We can’t restore to ourselves the kind of life that was lost by the Fall of man. We can’t recreate our nature the way it needs to be recreated. We can’t give ourselves eternal life. All of these things, which comprise salvation, are the work of God, not man. He rightfully deserves the credit for salvation, which only He can accomplish.
But what we could not do to get ourselves out of this horrible and desperate situation, the blessed Creator God, motivated by His great love and mercy for us, brought those who are joined to Messiah back to life! Not only did He restore us to life, but He raised us up out of our extremely low place, and elevated us to the highest place in the heavenly places, a place full of everlasting honor!
Let’s continue with verse 8: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. This is one of the most important teachings of the Holy Scriptures. It is foundational. It is crucial to the Gospel, and an integral part of what salvation is all about. It is something that we must understand, and be absolutely clear in our understanding.
This doctrine of salvation that comes to us by the grace of God and our faith separates Messianic Judaism and Christianity from all other religions. It separates Messianic Judaism from non-Messianic Judaism. It separates true Christianity from false forms of Christianity. The other religions of the world are based on human beings working – doing something to save themselves. But Christianity and Messianic Judaism are based on something entirely different – not on what we must do to be saved, but rather simply accepting what God has already done for us.
The first part of verse 8 can be understood in two ways, and both are true: that salvation is the gift of God, and that faith is the gift of God. Faith is the gift of God. What is faith? Faith is believing the truths about God and Messiah that are contained in the Holy Scriptures. Faith is created, and faith is nourished when we read or hear the truths about God and Messiah, and come to know that they are true. Faith is knowing and believing and trusting and having confidence in these realities.
Faith is the gift of God. The Lord generates faith in us. The almighty and wise God brings about the circumstances so that we can have faith. He creates the conditions so that we are receptive. He gives us each and every opportunity. The Infinite One brings the people into our lives that tell us the Good News about Messiah. He softens ours heart so it becomes warm to the truth. He opens our spiritual eyes so that we can see. He opens our spiritual ears so that we can hear. Perhaps He will bring difficult circumstances into our lives to make us aware that life in this world is not the goal, and so that we should seek for something higher and better.
Apart from God’s work, His divine activity, His Spirit wooing us and drawing us and teaching us and guiding us and enlightening us, we would not develop or maintain faith in God the Father or Messiah the Son or the Holy Scriptures.
Salvation is also the gift of God. It is a gift because salvation is not something that we work so as to be earned. It is not something that we can buy. It is not something that we can do. It is only something that we can receive – a gift.
By God’s grace, by means of the Lord’s unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor given to you, and based on the work of the Messiah, you have been saved, and because you responded positively to the truth, and not because you think you are a good person, and you know that you are better than murderers, rapists, drug dealers and felons.
By God’s grace, by means of His unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor given to you, based on the work of the Messiah, you have been saved, and because you responded positively to the truth, and not because you were born into a Christian home, or were baptized, and your call yourself a Christian, and occasionally go to a building that you call a church.
By God’s grace, because of His unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor given to you, based on the work of the Messiah, you have been saved, and because you responded positively to the truth, and not because you keep the 10 Commandments (which you don’t).
By God’s grace, due to His unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor given to you, based on the work of the Messiah, you have been saved, and because you responded positively to the truth, and not because you did some good things in this life, or gave money to good causes.
By God’s grace, because of His unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor given to you, based on the work of the Messiah, you have been saved, and because you responded positively to this truth, and not because you are Jewish.
By God’s grace, His unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor given to you, based on the work of the Messiah, you have been saved, and because you responded positively to this truth, and not because you are Torah observant.
We can not save ourselves. It is totally, utterly impossible. We are too fallen, too sinful, too lost, too weak, too alienated from God, too far from our Creator, too dead in our trespasses and sins, too much under the domination of the evil spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
What is salvation by faith, based on the grace of God working through the Messiah, like? It is like receiving a wonderful, undeserved gift. It is like a starving man, malnourished, emaciated, like a survivor of a concentration camp who was on the verge of death, being freely offered nourishing, healthy, life-giving food. All he has to do is receive the food and then begin to eat.
Salvation by faith, based on the grace of God working through Messiah is like a man who has embezzled millions of dollars from his company, spent it all, and is also hugely in debt to the bookies, and is about to go to go jail, or worse. Suddenly and unexpected, not only is he forgiven by his employer, who doesn’t report his crime to the authorities, but his company also gives him enough money to pay off his remaining debts.
Salvation by faith, based on the grace of God working through Messiah is like someone who comes up to you, and you are poor and struggling to pay your mortgage and feed your family, and for no reason whatsoever, hands you a check for 100 million dollars. All you have to do is accept the check, sign your name on the back, and deposit it in your bank.
Salvation by faith, based on the grace of God working through Messiah means that all we have to do to be saved is to believe that this offer of this amazing gift of salvation is real, and then act on it. Nothing more.
Have you ever done this? Have you ever told God, “Eternal Lord, I believe in You. Thank you for creating faith in me to believe in You. Thank You for giving me the ability to believe that Messiah came to Earth, and died on a cross, and rose from the dead, and came back to life, making atonement and salvation possible. Thank You, Supreme Being, that I am saved not by my efforts, or anything I have done or will do, but only because I have come to know that You are the One true and living Three-In-One God who alone can save me.”
The Creator chose to save us by His grace, and simply ask us to place our faith in Him and Messiah, for a reason. The inspired emissary goes on to teach us: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The Lord God chose this way of salvation of grace through faith because He didn’t want us to boast. One of the greatest problems with our fallen, sinful nature is the boastful pride of life. Sin causes us to want to be independent of God. This boastful attitude that wants to be independent from our wonderful and good Creator is what the Bible calls pride.
This is what the boastful pride of life says: “I can do it. I don’t need God. I can be good enough. I can do it on my own. I don’t want the Lord’s help. I don’t want to depend on Him. If I need to be saved, I can do it. I can do it my way. I have my own standards, and they are good enough. I will come up with my own religious system.”
You insignificant little paramecium! You weak, sinful, arrogant, proud, boastful, pathetic little bit of temporary matter with a corrupt soul, no you can’t! The Lord will not allow your rebellious pride to continue throughout eternity. It is that proud boasting that dishonors the Lord, and perpetuates evil, and ruins everything it touches. It is that boastful pride that is killing you. Your sinful pride and arrogance and boastful independence of the great Creator must come to an end for you to be saved. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Not only are we saved by God’s grace, but in just the same way we receive salvation, by grace, is the way we are continue to live and serve the Lord: For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
We are God’s workmanship: The life of every child of God is beautiful, precious and meaningful, like a great work of art, or a beautiful poem. What is the most beautiful poem you have read, the most beautiful song you have heard, the most moving art you have seen? The life of each and every son or daughter of God is like that – only better! The life of every child of God is well-crafted, beautiful and meaningful, full of precious truth and eternal value. You struggle with sin? You don’t feel valuable? You struggle with feelings of low self-esteem? Know that your Maker is not finished with you yet. You are a great work in progress, and all the Lord’s works are done with an incomparable excellence! This knowledge should help you now.
God’s lasting and enduring workmanship is only for those who are in Messiah Yeshua – those in Messiah and not those outside of Messiah; those who have heard of Yeshua, and what a wonderful Lord and Savior He is of all who place their faith and confidence and trust in Him, and receive His Spirit, and are joined forever to Messiah. Don’t you want to be in Messiah? Aren’t you afraid of being out of Messiah? Don’t you want to tell those who are out of Messiah that they need to do all that they can to make sure that they are in Messiah?
We are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works: God created us for various reasons – to pour out His infinite love on us; to make us into beings who could be His friends, and not just friends, but His precious sons and daughters. God created us to eternally demonstrate His grace and mercy. God also created us, Paul tells us, for good works – so that we could accomplish good things that would adorn the universe and bring honor to the Creator. Just as a father is more highly esteemed by the accomplishments of a son or daughter, so the Lord is honored by our good works. Do you have good works? Are you walking in them?
For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. And, our works are not even our own! They were prepared beforehand for us. Just as God is the author of salvation, so He is the creator of our good works.
All of our skills and abilities, all of the opportunities that we will ever have are a gift from God. Before you came into being, the Lord knew when and where you were going to be born, and gave you the talents and strengths and opportunities that you would receive, and He prepared all of them so that you would be able to live life in a way that you could accomplish good things.
For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works. I believe that one day, after we have completed our lives on Earth, as we look back at everything we have accomplished – all the love given, the sacrifices offered, the people served, the good words spoken, the truth defended, the works done, and we will fully realize that all the good things that we ever accomplished all came about as a result of God’s workmanship of our lives, the Creator crafting us and our lives in such a way so as to make something beautiful and precious and lasting. Just as He deserves all the praise and credit, for our salvation, so He will get the honor for our lives and works as well.
The way we start our life with God is the way we continue it – looking to God to show us what to believe and then what to do. Our challenge after we come to know the Lord is to continue to seek the Lord, and find out how and where He wants us to direct our strength and energy, interests and talents, and find out what good things He wants us to accomplish, and then do those things with His help.
Are there insignificant works, unprofitable things, that are taking up your time and energy, and crowding out better works? Then, let’s get rid of them.
We are not saved by works, but if we are saved we will produce good works. If we are saved we will show it by our works. Do you have good works? Are you walking in them?