GRACE ALL THE WAY

Justin Holcomb »

Some of my friends and others who reviewed my book On the Grace of God have told me that the fifth chapter was their favorite. So, I thought it would be a great idea to give it away for free! You can download a copy of chapter 5 here. In the meantime, here’s a post adapted from the chapter.

Ephesians 2 is filled with the high-octane gospel of grace for both our justification and sanctification. It begins with how believers were dead in their sins, then moves to how God loved us and rescued us from this death by his grace, bringing salvation to all in Christ, uniting Jews and Gentiles as one people in which the Spirit of God dwells.

The first half of the chapter focuses on God’s rescue operation for his people, which delivered us from our sin and God’s wrath, and ends with verse 10, which centers on how God’s deliverance means we are created anew for lives of righteousness. As one commentator notes, salvation has already been described by Paul as “a resurrection from the dead, a liberation from slavery, and a rescue from condemnation”; he moves now to the idea of a new creation.

GRACE TAKES CENTER STAGE

The theme of Ephesians 2:8–9 is clear: grace. This theme was already mentioned in verse 5, but what was then more of an “undercurrent” now becomes the main point. We are saved by grace, not anything we have done. The passage is a traditional one used to support the idea that justification before God is by grace alone, and not anything we do—and for good reason.

Good works can’t be the cause of our salvation—they just don’t work like that.

The verses strike with great emphasis the note of salvation as a complete “gift of God.” We have done nothing to bring it about that could lead us to boast about it. And yet it is nearly impossible notto boast in the radical love of God when we grasp this reality.

We now move to Ephesians 2:10 with its focus on “good works.” It is tempting at first glance to think that verses 8 and 9 are about grace and verse 10 is about works. But this would be to miss something very important that we easily neglect: everything is grace. Or, as one scholar puts it, “It is grace all the way.”

So what does that mean exactly?

WALKING IN GOOD WORKS

Notice how God-centered Ephesians 2:10 is. In the Greek, the first word in the sentence is “his,” which is an unusual placement and puts the emphasis squarely on God. We are “his workmanship.” We “are created [by God] in Christ Jesus” for good works. These good works were those “that God prepared beforehand.” Clearly works are important to Paul, but his emphasis here is on God bringing them about within us.

Notice that this verse does three important things:

It gives the reason why Paul can say in verses 8 and 9 that salvation is a complete gift of God: because we are hisworkmanship, re-created in Jesus Christ.
It points forward to other places the new creation idea is found in the epistle (Eph. 2:14–15; 4:24).
It completes the section of Ephesians 2:1–10 in a fitting way by using again the idea of “walking,” which contrasts with verse 2 where Paul talks about how we used to “walk” in sin, following the “course of the world.” Now we “walk” in good works God has set before us.

THE GOAL, NOT THE CAUSE OF

Ephesians 2:10 continues, saying that we have been created in Christ Jesus “for good works.” So we are saved for the purpose ofwalking in good works. Good works are never the ground or cause of our salvation. They can’t be—they just don’t work like that. They are not the cause but the “goal of the new creation.” And God has already prepared them for us ahead of time.

We must always hold Ephesians 2:10 together with 2:8–9. The Bible paints a holistic picture of the believer as one whose life is continually lived in grace that bears fruit, fruit that is used by God to bless others.

Want more? Grab the book (and the whole A Book You’ll Actually Read series while you’re at it) today.
This book will also be available in the SBC Coffee shop and bookstore!