Ephesians 2:8-9
8 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.
King James Version
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
New International Version
Salvation
In Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul sums up the way in which salvation is offered to human beings. It is by grace alone through faith, not based on any sort of human effort or good works.
He emphasizes that this salvation is ultimately a free gift from God, not anything humans can earn or merit on their own. The grammar Paul uses reveals that even the faith through which men and women accept God’s gift of salvation is itself God-given; faith is “not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
This passage powerfully expresses that salvation depends completely on God’s grace. Grace is God’s unmerited favor, His free gift to humanity, which they could never deserve or acquire through good deeds. Eternal life comes not because of righteous things people have done, but because of God’s divine mercy.
To further underscore this, verse 9 states salvation is “not by works.” No amount of human effort, either religious ritual or moral behavior, can earn salvation. If people could earn salvation, then they would have a reason to boast. But since it is a free gift, excluding any human effort, no one can boast or take credit. All glory belongs to God alone.
Ephesians 2:8-9 explains the doctrine of salvation by God’s grace alone through faith alone. It powerfully indicts any notion that people can somehow merit or earn eternal life through human wisdom, religiosity, or morality. Salvation is a free gift offered to humanity by God’s grace, received only through faith in Christ.
