Ephesians 2:8–9: Saved by Grace, Through Whose Faith?

Ephesians 2:8–9 reads as follows:

Ephesians 2:8–9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.

This is a very popular text, often quoted in support of the view that believing the Gospel is a necessary condition for ones eternal salvation. In this article, I would like to briefly explore different interpretations that have been proposed for this text, followed by a defense of my own interpretation.

View #1 We Are Eternally Saved by the Act of Faith (Believing)

Arminians, Calvinists, and proponents of Free Grace theology typically read this text as stating that we are saved by the grace of God, but only if we comply with the condition of believing the Gospel. There are, of course, some variations between these perspectives. The Calvinist reads the text as indicating that God causes the elect child of God to meet the condition, thus God gets the credit for our eternal salvation. The Arminian would interpret this text as speaking of our initial salvation which must be kept up and can potentially be lost. The Free Gracer sees this as a one-time act needed in order to become eternally saved, which salvation can never be lost. In all three views, however, “faith” in this text is understood as referring to the activity of faith.

There are a few issues I take with this interpretation:

1. The Doctrine of Total Depravity Demands That Regeneration Precede Faith

Given that the natural man is incapable of receiving (i.e accepting) the things of the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:14), he cannot be expected to exercise the spiritual work of believing on Jesus Christ for his eternal salvation. Faith is a fruit of the Spirit and is born of God (Galatians 5:22; 1 John 5:4), thus it logically and unavoidably follows that one must already be in possession of the Spirit in order to exercise belief.

2. Believing is a work, and the text says that we are NOT saved by works

This is a very contentious point which many people dispute, even those within the Reformed tradition are not entirely agreed upon this point. However, God’s word and basic English and Greek vocabulary makes it clear that believing is in fact a work.

The definition of a “work” according to the Oxford English Dictionary:

work, n.
I. 1. Something that is or was done; what a person does or did

The Greek word for “work” is defined by Mounce’s Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament as:

ἔργον
ergon
anything done or to be done; a deed, work, action

Additionally, Scripture expressly shows that believing is something one does, and the Lord Jesus himself explicitly says that believing is a work:

John 6:28–29 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? (29) Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

The Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved. Paul did not respond by saying “do nothing”, he told the jailer to believe:

Acts 16:30–31 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (31) And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

(Note: This text is not talking about eternal salvation, see my article on this passage for more information)

The Apostle John expressly says that believing on Jesus Christ is just as much of a commandment of God as loving the brethren is. It is something that we do which is pleasing to God:

1 John 3:22–23 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. (23) And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

We do NOT get to heaven by commandment-keeping, ANY commandment keeping! It is all by grace:

Titus 3:5–7 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (6) Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; (7) That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

2 Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began

For these reasons, it seems obvious to me that Ephesians 2:8 cannot possibly refer to the activity of faith on the part of the believer.

View #2 We Are Eternally Saved By the Seed or Habit of Faith

This next view I think is a better one than the first, although I have still not been able to bring myself to accept it fully. Essentially what this interpretation states is that the “faith” spoken of here is not referring to the act of believing, but rather to faith as a habit or capacity within the regenerate child of God.

To illustrate this distinction, we might conceive of faith as a seed planted in the ground, which grows up and flourishes into a plant or a tree upon being watered. Faith, as a fruit of the Spirit, is imparted to the child of God upon regeneration. This might be thought of as the “seed” of faith. When the child of God exercises that faith by believing the Gospel, they are exercising the activity of faith. Scripture makes reference to “faith” in both senses throughout. One example of where we can see Paul referring to the habit of faith is found in 2 Thessalonians 3:1–2:

2 Thessalonians 3:1–2 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: (2) And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.

This is quite a fascinating text for several reasons. Notice that Paul asks the Thessalonians to pray for the Lord to bless his preaching ministry. Notice also that he is praying, not for the opportunity to preach to unreasonable and wicked men, but rather to be delivered (saved) from such men. The reason being, “all men have not faith”. He is not saying “all men don’t believe”, but “all men do not possess faith”. Paul wanted to find and preach to those who were already in possession of faith, because those individuals are born again children of God who have the capacity to exercise that faith by believing the Gospel. In contrast, he wanted to be delivered from those who do not have faith, since such men would only hinder the preaching of the Gospel through persecution.

Having explained that distinction, I find at least two difficulties with interpreting “faith” in Ephesians 2:8 as the seed of faith:

1. We are not eternally saved even through the habit of faith

The main issue with this interpretation is that the “salvation” in view is “through”, meaning “by means of” or “through the instrumentality of” faith. Faith, as a capacity or habit, is the product of regeneration. While it is true that we receive faith, along with all of the fruits of the Spirit, at the same moment of regeneration, it is not the case that we are eternally saved by the fruits of regeneration. Rather, we are eternally saved by regeneration itself. They are not separate, but they are distinct nonetheless.

2. Why Only Through Faith? Why Not the Rest of the Ninefold Fruit of the Spirit?

The second problem I find is that, if we are going to say that we are eternally saved by the habit of faith, why only this fruit of the Spirit? Why are we not also eternally saved through love, joy, peace, longsuffering, etc.? To me this seems rather arbitrary and inconsistent. I have yet to hear a good explanation from the advocates of this view on this point.

My View: We Are Saved From Sin by the Faith of Jesus Christ

I will now present a defense of my position on this verse. I believe this verse is stating that we are eternally saved from sin through the faith of Jesus Christ. My argument is primarily based upon the immediate context.

Regeneration or Justification?

The beginning have of this chapter reads as follows:

Ephesians 2:1–7 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (2) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (3) Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (4) But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (6) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (7) That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

There is some dispute as to whether or not Paul is dealing with regeneration (vital salvation) or justification (legal salvation) in this text. I take the position that Paul primarily has our justification before God in view in this passage. It is true that Paul speaks of the Ephesians’ former sinful conduct (vs 2–4), but it seems to me that this only serves as a springboard for his point in verses 4–7. Namely, that even when they were walking in the sinful desires of their flesh, nevertheless Christ died for them, and God justified them.

I also believe that the language used here is clearly that of representation and federal headship. The elect died with Christ when he was put to death for our sins (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:14–15; Galatians 2:20). Likewise, when Christ was raised from the dead, he was raised as the legal representative of all of the elect, thus the elect were raised to life in him (cf. Colossians 2:10–12). The phrase “with him” cannot be overlooked here. God quickened us together with Him. The text goes on to say that God raised us and seated us together in heavenly places in Christ. The quickening, raising, and seating are all aorist tense verbs in the original. They are past completed actions. This means that when Jesus Christ was quickened, we were quickened too. When Jesus Christ was raised up and made to sit in heavenly places, we were too. He was quicked, raised, and seated at God’s right hand as the federal head and representative of all the elect. Thus the whole scope of this section is clearly representational and pertaining to our justification.

Also of note is Paul’s parethetical statement “by grace are ye saved” in the midst of this declaration. This gives us a hint at what he is getting at in verse 8. If these verses are dealing primarily with the legal salvation of the elect, then it is reasonable to suppose that verse 8 is also dealing with this legal salvation.

Justification Always Relates to the Faith of Jesus Christ

Secondly, it is also worth noting that whenever Paul is discussing the legal phase of our salvation (justification), it is always with reference to the faith of Jesus Christ. Here are some examples:

Romans 3:20–24 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (21) But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; (22) Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: (23) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (24) Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

Notice that in this text we see the righteousness of God coming by way of the faith of Jesus Christ, in conjunction with “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”, which refers to the shedding of his blood for the remission of sins.

Paul does the same thing in Philippians chapter 3:

Philippians 3:8–9 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, (9) And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith

And again in Galatians 2:

Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Moreover, in Ephesians chapter 3, which is still dealing with substantially the same context as chapter 2, Paul explicitly mentions the access that we have to God as a result of Christ’s atoning work, and says that this access is by Christ’s faith:

Ephesians 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him

Thus, it makes good sense for Paul to be referring to the faith of Jesus Christ in Ephesians 2:8–9, given these considerations.

Conclusion

So, to re-cap, I see Paul as saying that we are eternally saved from sin by grace, through the faith of Jesus Christ. And this salvation is not of ourselves. Meaning we played absolutely no role in bringing it about. It is entirely the gift of God. I am always open to adjusting my position in light of exegetical and related evidence, but this view makes the most sense to me currently.