Ephesians, Lesson 5.

Lesson 5

Ephesians 2: 4-10, salvation by grace through faith

VV 4-5, 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Because of God’s abundant mercy and great love, he saved us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ’s substitutionary atonement.on the cross. God justified us even when we were still sinners.

Romans 5:8, ”But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

VV 6-7, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Because of God’s abundant mercy, great love, and saving grace, He will resurrect and seat us together in God’s heavenly throne in Christ’s millennial kingdom.

VV 8-9, 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9 is a memory verse. Greek for grace is “charis”, which means unmerited favour given as a gift to someone who does not deserve it. Grace is getting what we do not deserve. Salvation is a gift from God that is not earned by doing good work. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Greek for faith is “pistis”, which means believe or trust.

Galatians 3:6-7, “just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness, therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham”.

Romans 3:28, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law”.

Romans 4:5, “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness’’.

Romans 5:1, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

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

Greek for workmanship is “poima”, which means poetry. We are God”s poetry in action. God predestined, prepared us beforehand, created us, and saved us for good works, not by good work. Good works come after only salvation and not before. We must never boast about our salvation because this is from the grace of God. We did not earn it and we did not deserve it. We must always boast about Jesus Christ who saved us and died for us on the cross.

Romans 4:2, “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God”.