Ephesians 2:8, 9. (NKJ) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Grace and faith fit together. God’s grace is received by our faith. Grace is God reaching out to us, and faith is our means of reaching out to Him. “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that [faith] not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” What is not of ourselves? The answer usually is that grace is not of ourselves, but that should be obvious.
What this verse is really telling us is faith is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 3:12 also tells us this: “We have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.” In Acts, we read about the crippled man’s healing at the Gate Beautiful. Peter explained:
And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by [from] him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all (Acts 3:16).
In Ephesians 2:9, Paul tells us when it came to receiving the free gift of God—salvation—we did not even have the ability to become born again. God had to give us the ability to be able to receive His gift.
Imagine the president of General Motors is your special friend. A new model car is to be placed on the market, and he has brought it by your house to show it to you before it ever hits the showroom floor. He is so excited that he wants to show it to you, his special friend, first. After he shows it to you and you realize how badly you want it, he tells you the price is $100,000. Then he asks why are you laughing! You are bankrupt and have no means of buying the car. Your friend tells you he has already placed in your bank account enough money to buy the car. In other words, he designed the car and then gave you the ability to purchase it.
Faith is not just our means of receiving salvation, but it is also our means of receiving anything else God has for us. Healing, finances, and freedom from worry and oppression are all available through the faith God gives us. That way, all the glory goes to God the Father, not to us. If the faith came from us, we could boast before God. But since everything comes from God, even the means of attaining everything, then all the glory and praise goes to Him: “Not of works [human effort], lest any man should boast [glory in himself].” In addition, we are not to worship the gift, but we are to reverence the Giver of the gift. Faith is a wonderful tool given to us to acquire all of God’s blessings, but we should not worship faith. Many people today who are studying faith almost esteem faith as their god. All praise and glory should go to God and Jesus Christ. The Father is seeking those who will worship Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23).
As you go into today, know that you have been saved by faith in God and not because of your works and as a result, you have eternal life.
—George Evuarherhe Djorhogba
Bible In One Year: Job 1-2 (In Devotional Audio)
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