“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8 (ESV)
As we often stress, context is important when studying the Bible. Since verses and chapters were not a part of the Bible when it was written, they provide an artificial sense of division and compartmentalization. Our Verse explains for us “the incomparable riches of His grace” promised in verse 7. Then, we note the words “and this is not your own doing;” Some want to say the ‘this’ is the grace and others want to say it is the faith in the previous sentence. But it is likely Paul’s intention for saying saying ‘this’ is to refer back to the concept of salvation in the previous four verses. What we find in the salvation we receive is: God’s riches in mercy; His great love with which He loves us; making us alive in Christ while still dead in our sins; promising that we are positionally raised up with Christ; positionally seated with Christ in heavenly places; promising to show immeasurable riches of His grace and kindness in Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul wraps all these promises (the ‘this’ which is not our doing) into the promise that by grace we have been saved through faith.
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