The ruins of the Roman Theater in Ephesus, Turkey. Paul visited here on his Second Missionary Journey and later wrote the epistle Ephesians to the Christians of Ephesus

Paul, addressing the Ephesians, interchanges the pronouns “you”, “we”, and “us” (verses 1, 3, and 4, for example), pointing out that we were all lost in our sin.  But God, being rich in mercy, made us alive through Jesus Christ, in whom we were raised up, along with Him.  He says that we are saved by grace through faith.  The significance of that statement is emphasized by making clear that it is not by anything that we did (verse 8), but it is the gift of God.  But one must take account of the whole of Scripture in order to understand this part, as is always the case.  It is by grace that we are saved, certainly.  But it is not by grace alone, otherwise the entire world would be saved without even having belief.  Therefore, faith is a necessary part of that salvation, but faith alone, without grace, cannot save us.  But one must also remember that, as James said (James 2:24),  “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

He then goes on to remind that the Gentiles were once separated by the Law of Moses, a wall that in Christ Jesus was broken down (verses 13-16); and through Him, Jews and Gentiles alike have access “in one spirit to the father” (verse 18).  Such salvation for all people of the world was always the plan of God through Jesus (Titus 2:11), on which foundation He is the cornerstone (verses 20-21, Isaiah 28:16).

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

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