For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Salvation comes wholly by God's grace received through faith, not by human effort, merit or goodness, so no one has any ground for boasting or taking credit. Grace is God's free, unmerited favor and boundless mercy, providing salvation through Christ whose sacrifice and imputed righteousness makes undeserving sinners righteous. Faith is simple personal trust in God, taking Him at His word, laying hold of His power and of Christ's merits, and choosing His way in place of human weakness and sinfulness. Both salvation as a whole and faith itself are the gift of God, not manufactured by human beings, though each person is given a measure of faith and must choose to exercise it. This living faith does not release anyone from obedience but works by love, purifies the soul, and bears fruit in good works God prepared beforehand, without which no one is saved.
Words and Phrases
Faith in the verse means simple trust in God, taking Him at His word, believing that He loves us and knows what is best for us, and laying hold of divine power. It leads the believer to choose His way and to receive His wisdom, strength and righteousness in place of ignorance, weakness and sinfulness, acknowledging that life already belongs to God and accepting His blessing and ownership. That faith is independent of feeling, joins the believer to God, and brings Christ's grace to strengthen the moral powers to resist sin. Fully received and held against doubt, unbelief, darkness and temptation, it breaks their power, presses on in the good fight without failing, grows stronger until both life and words declare cleansing from all sin through the blood of Jesus Christ. It also gives the truth, uprightness and purity needed for a successful life, for every good impulse and aspiration comes from God and faith receives from Him the light that produces true growth and effectiveness. When this truth of imputed righteousness without merit as a free gift is made clear, the power of evil is broken, which is why it is opposed.
Grace in the verse means God's unmerited favor and boundless mercy, freely providing salvation through Christ and grounded not in any goodness or merit found in us but in His mercy and loving-kindness. It provides salvation through Christ, whose imputed righteousness makes sinners righteous, so that God pronounces believers just and treats them as His children, and abundant grace also provides power to keep the believing soul free from sin. That grace comes through Christ taking the guilt of sins and bearing the penalty of transgression in His own body on the tree in one full oblation of sacrifice, making it possible to live in obedience to God's commands and fulfil the condition of entering eternal life. Through faith characters are conformed to Christ's perfect character as the pattern of all righteousness, souls are brought out of darkness into His marvelous light, the image of God is renewed in the soul and sealed in obedience to His law, and believers become His loyal subjects with pure and undefiled religion to honor God. Christ's righteousness is the wedding garment that makes a person welcome at the marriage supper of the Lamb, making the believer new and a light to the world, for human sin calls for mercy and grace sent Christ to seek sinners and bring them back to God. By infinite-cost sacrifice He offered Himself and turned aside the sword of justice, placing poor sinners on vantage ground, presenting each one He gave His life for to the Father as saved by His grace to be received as His child, and the Father loves him as He loves His own Son and will not refuse him. All the treasures of eternal love are a free, everlasting gift to him who is content to receive without deserving, who feels he can never repay such love, who lays all doubt and unbelief aside, and who comes as a little child to the feet of Jesus. Those so saved show they appreciate what has been done by manifesting God's love, loving their brethren, and having their life hid with Christ in God.
"Not of yourselves" means people cannot save or regenerate themselves, change their own sinful hearts, overcome evil unaided, or lessen the guilt of sin by their own works, for salvation depends on God's grace and the atonement. When sinners are converted and led to Christ, even when human efforts help lead them, the transformation comes through God's goodness and Christ's transforming work, so no one has ground for boasting, must take no credit, and should give glory to God. The sinner still has something to do to secure salvation: he must come to Christ, who will in no wise cast out him that comes, and when repenting must believe that Christ accepts and pardons him. It is received only by believing in the merits of the blood of Christ and clinging to Jesus as Saviour under the sense of inability to save oneself by one's own righteousness, for human righteousness and human standards of goodness are pitiful, no better than any poor sinner's. Salvation is not by personal morality, sincerity, correct conduct, or any goodness of one's own, but by grace through faith in Jesus as the only hope, relying on the merits of His blood as all-sufficient, because man is utterly ruined and lost and requires a new nature and new purpose that Christ alone gives. The one who believes must acknowledge Christ openly, come with repentance, accept what is seen, receive every ray of light Heaven has given, believe for self and not make others the criterion, having nothing to do with whether others accept or not, and when from the heart there is no price to bring and only clinging to the cross, the Way, the Truth, and the Life is learned.
"It is the gift of God" means salvation as a whole by grace through faith is wholly God's gift through Jesus Christ, and faith itself is also God's gift which human beings cannot manufacture. Christ as the author and finisher of faith gives a source so sure it cannot be doubted and attends believers every step of the way when they are willing to be saved in His appointed way through obedience to His requirements. The verse does not mean idleness; joined to the command to work out salvation with fear and trembling, it means human working is not done by weak mortals in their own line and strength but by Christ working within to will and to do, a privilege open to every son and daughter of Adam, calling all to active work in the world rather than folding the arms. Faith earns nothing; it is to be received and cherished by making Christ a personal Saviour, and it must be active, not dormant, taking hold of God's strength, claiming His promises as certain, receiving His blessings, and bringing those renewed through Christ's grace into harmony with God's love. Christ supplies the grace, repentance, willingness, pardon and righteousness by which a person is saved; nothing in human ability, character, achievement or effort earns eternal life or pardon, human works can only use what God has first given, and they are acceptable to God only when cleansed by Christ's righteousness. The gift can be refused by talking doubts and cherishing unbelief, which makes unhappy and grows into an impassable barrier shutting the heart away from the Spirit of God and closing it to His light and His love, dishonoring God, making the priceless sacrifice of none effect to the one refusing, and giving opportunity for triumph where there could be triumph over evil. Looking to Jesus and trusting in Him keeps people perfectly safe from attempts to gain control over them, for being kept by the power of God comes through faith, and even that faith is not of themselves; this gift brings happiness in the love of God and longing for His salvation and to see the King in His beauty. True faith comes from God, not from themselves, while each person is individually responsible for exercising it; it is genuine, sanctifying faith that pleases God and does not fail under test and trial, needed now for building character and showing the characteristics of the Saviour before the world, going with true conversion and earnest, prayerful study of the example of Christ, and preparing the church in unity of spirit to receive wonderful endowments from God.
Surrounding Context
Paul is describing people who were dead in trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world and the prince of the power of the air, the spirit working in the children of disobedience, having their manner of life in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and being by nature children of wrath. This was their past condition in time past, while under Satan's misrepresentations and in disloyalty, and it is the state from which none can save or regenerate themselves. The call to those in this state is to seek the Lord while He may be found, to forsake wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts, and to return to Him to receive mercy and abundant pardon. Daily decision still determines with whom a person walks, whether with Christ in obedience to God's requirements or with the god of this world in disobedience, and the character developed in daily practical life decides destiny for eternity.
But God, who is rich in mercy and great in love, loved them even when dead in sins and quickened them together with Christ. He raised them up together and made them sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, giving them life with Christ and a share in His heavenly life. This is wholly by grace through faith, not from human effort, merit, ability or power, not of themselves and not of works lest any man should boast, for salvation is the gift of God. Therefore God's people must not trust in their own facilities or in the strength of organizations and institutions, but depend wholly on the Lord God of Israel as their stronghold in every emergency, looking constantly to Jesus as the source of all strength and being armed with faith and prayer against Satan's devices.
This raising up was done that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward them through Christ Jesus. That display is made both to the world now and to the ages to come, and that same kindness is to be brought into dealings with one another. God has a purpose for each one, and what is shown reveals what people may become in striving to fulfil that purpose. It was made possible because God, whose holiness, justice and truth could not change yet who yearned to save fallen humanity and reconcile them to heaven's immutable law without their perishing, accepted Christ's offer to clothe His divinity with humanity and give His life as a ransom to gain them everlasting life.
Those thus saved are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God before ordained that they should walk in them. Those good works are the prepared path they are to walk rather than the basis of their salvation, for all good works depend on a power outside of themselves and thoughts of self-exaltation must be subdued and cut away. They are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple in the Lord, for through Christ true believers are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit, as God's husbandry and God's building and Christ's purchased heritage called away from disloyalty to work in His vineyard building character in obedience as laborers together with God.
Salvation by Grace Alone
Salvation and eternal life come by God's grace through faith, not from anything people produce, achieve, earn, or merit by effort, ability, or goodness, not of works lest anyone should boast, and it is wholly God's infinite, unearned gift so that no one has ground for boasting or taking credit for salvation or for the change in a sinner's life after conversion, since that change is not produced by human goodness. Faith receives the gift and leads to gratitude and praise, and sound faith does not produce fanaticism or idleness, for salvation rests on Christ's righteousness rather than on looking to oneself, while doing God's will and Christ's work brings blessings as gifts and not as rewards for personal worth. Those saved are created in Christ for good works prepared beforehand, and the call to unity among workers rests on this ground of God's rich mercy, great love, and kindness toward them through Christ Jesus. This promise is a comfort and help, with Christ dwelling in the heart by faith as kept in view and cherished as dearest and most honored friend, so as not to grieve or offend Him.
This salvation is found in Christ alone through His sacrifice, blood, atoning death, and imputed righteousness given as a free gift and not because of any merit, which makes sinners righteous so that God pronounces believers just and treats them as His children. His sacrifice appeases the Father's wrath, His blood washes away impurity, His cross bears the curse, and His death atones and turns aside justice, giving peace and joy even under condemnation and death. Transgressors of the law are saved by grace through faith as the one grand principle to depend on, through Christ taking the guilt of sins and bearing the penalty of transgression in His own body on the tree in one full oblation of sacrifice, which makes it possible to live in obedience to God's commands and fulfill the condition of entering eternal life. Through faith characters are conformed to Christ's perfect character as the pattern of all righteousness, souls are brought out of darkness into His marvelous light, the image of God is renewed in the soul and sealed in obedience to His law, and believers become His loyal subjects with pure and undefiled religion to honor God, while abundant grace provides power to keep the believing soul free from sin and to obey acceptably toward a home in restored Eden. Everlasting life is not found by human philosophy and learning but is God's work in raising the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead to destroy death, extirpate sin, and shut the gates of hell, for Christ alone has taken away sin and ransomed the sinner and gives peace, and the faith through which this comes is true faith manifested by a holy life ordering works to be acceptable to God. That faith is simple trust taking God at His word and laying hold of divine power, believing that for Christ's sake God has forgiven sins, to be encouraged and held against doubt, unbelief, darkness, and temptation, pressing on in the good fight until it grows stronger in Christian life and words, and when fully received Satan's power is broken.
There are only two religions in the world: religions men have invented, in which man saves himself by ceremonies and good works, and the one religion revealed in the Bible, in which man looks for salvation solely to the free grace of God. The mediation of saints, good works, prayers, fasting, penance, confession, indulgences, pilgrimages, adoration at altars and shrines, obedience to the church, and ceremonies of the church are powerless to atone for sin, lessen the guilt of sin, evade its punishment, reconcile the soul with God, relieve conviction before a holy and just Judge, or bring peace. The grace of Christ cannot be purchased with money or earned by humiliation and penance but is a free gift received by repentance toward God and faith in Christ, by looking away from self in faith to the crucified Redeemer who has already accomplished peace and redemption, and that looking brings peace and joy. Trusting instead in strict obedience to the church, buying indulgences, and trusting in penance leaves the convicted sinner without an intercessor with nothing before him but the blackness of eternal despair and still perishing in sin, while no pope or other person has been given power to grant pardon of sin or remit its penalty, and all merits save those of Jesus are to be held in abomination.
Heaven cannot be purchased by making gifts to God's work, by money, possessions, or any meritorious works however large, and no human gift can atone for a person's own sins or for the sins of another, for salvation comes only by God's grace exercised to save to the uttermost all who come to Him, and divine honor is jealous and uncompromising on this point. Faith and good works cannot purchase salvation or put God in the creature's debt, no merit of fallen people can procure eternal life, justification is wholly by grace and not by works, and giving money or possessions cannot earn His favor because everything given already belongs to Him. No sinner is saved by his own good works, including self-imposed fasting and prayer that injures health and self-imposed rigor, for such self-originated effort is pharisaical righteousness springing from self and not from Christ, a deception God has not required and with which He has nothing to do. Every sinner must rely alone upon the merits and blood of the crucified and risen Saviour, whose righteousness received by faith is true godliness, giving health to the body and strength to the soul. God could accomplish His work without human gifts, but in great love He gives people the privilege of giving to prove the sincerity of their love and to show that they have consecrated themselves to His service.
Nature of Saving Faith
Genuine faith is personal reliance on Christ, not merely believing facts about Him. It takes Him as Priest and Advocate to represent fallen humanity, receive transgressions and pardon them, and it takes Him as King to enlist in His service, know His will and do it. Those who so believe look to Jesus in all His completeness and follow Him wherever He goes as subjects of His kingdom, recognizing their sin and helplessness and depending wholly on His saving grace rather than on anything they are or possess, whether birth, reputation, wealth, talents, virtues, piety, philanthropy or church standing. Increase of faith is needed, and nothing depends on human ability.
Faith is the understanding's assent to God's words, binding the heart to His service. It is the hand by which the soul takes hold upon the divine offers of grace and mercy and wholly lays hold on the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. The understanding, heart, intellect and energy belong to God and come from Him, so to have faith is to render back to Him what was received from Him, and exercising it earns no credit and gives no cause for boasting or thought of inherent merit. The sinner cannot save himself yet still has something to do to secure salvation: he must come to Christ, who will in no wise cast out him that comes, and when repenting must believe that Christ accepts and pardons him. Faith itself is God's gift, not of self, but the power to exercise it belongs to the person, and even repentance is brought about through the application of grace, for the natural heart can feel no need of repentance. Such faith enables trust in the heavenly Father with unlimited confidence and reaches beyond death to eternal realities, so that those who believe acknowledge that all they have comes from God.
Saving faith is living, earnest, active and working, not dormant. It grows in zeal as it is exercised, is expressed in earnest work for the Lord with the whole life consecrated to God and service undivided, takes hold of God's strength, claims His promises as certain, and receives His blessings. It works by love and purifies the soul from selfishness and sin, bringing the new birth and bringing those renewed through Christ's grace into harmony with God's love. True faith is manifested by a holy life that orders works to be acceptable to God, with the rich giving goods to the poor and the poor giving service to the rich, since labor useful to self alone is not service to God. Good works cannot buy salvation, yet they are essential as the fruit and evidence of genuine faith, for God's grace through Christ is the only way to approach Him, and faith trusts His promises and presses forward despite obstacles rather than yielding to doubt or circumstances.
Faith rests not in feeling, sight or circumstances but in truth and in things hoped for though unseen. Simple faith takes God at His word and lays hold of divine power, believing that for Christ's sake God has forgiven sins, and regardless of feeling it joins the believer to God while Christ's grace strengthens against sin. The hellish shadow of Satan will continually be cast across the pathway to obstruct faith and eclipse light from the presence of Jesus, so faith must not stagger but cleave through that shadow, refusing to bury experience in the darkness of doubt. Fully received, this faith breaks the power of doubt, unbelief, darkness and temptation, and those who believe they are forgiven must press on and fight the good fight of faith without failing under temptation until both life and words declare cleansing from all sin through the blood of Jesus. Learning to live by such faith makes dark and painful hours the brightest, as Christ dwelling in the heart by faith — contemplating Him, beholding Him, and cherishing Him as the best and most honored Friend whom one would not grieve or offend — brings divine grace.
Believers are kept by God's power through faith, and Christ's presence and sustaining grace are the source of their spiritual light and life. Salvation and this keeping do not come from human power, merit, righteousness or goodness but are God's free gift, because Jesus earned them and continually watches over churches and individuals. Looking to Jesus and trusting in Him keeps people perfectly safe from Satan's attempts to gain control, and even that faith is not of themselves, bringing happiness in the love of God and longing for His salvation and to see the King in His beauty. The human grasp on Christ is feeble and easily broken, so safety depends on the firm hold Jesus keeps on believers and on His living intercession, and keeping power is to be asked in daily prayer while walking humbly and doing faithfully the work given in the remaining probationary hours until the reward of the faithful is theirs.
There is no hope except in Christ. Salvation is a free gift that cannot be purchased, and all rebellion against God's plans arises from unwillingness to receive it in this way. It is received as a little child would receive, without deserving and without price, by only believing in the merits of the blood of Christ and clinging to Jesus as Saviour under the sense of inability to save self by one's own righteousness. Human righteousness and human standards of goodness are pitiful, no better than any poor sinner's, so the one who believes must believe for self and not make others the criterion, receive every ray of light Heaven has given, lay aside doubt and unbelief, and having nothing to bring learn the Way, the Truth and the Life by clinging to the cross. Accepting Christ in this way means suffering with Him and denying self, trusting Him to sustain hope through painful and difficult hours.
Faith Works and Obedience
Salvation comes by grace through faith, not from human effort or merit, and leaves no ground for boasting, for it does not originate in people but is God's gift. Those who were dead in sin are made alive together with Christ by grace, raised up with Him, and given the privileges of His children. This gift does not leave them unchanged, for those so saved are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand and appointed them to walk in and live out. All such good works depend on power outside ourselves, with Christ working within to will and to do what weak mortals cannot do in their own strength.
No one is saved by good works and no one can depend on them, yet no one is saved without them. Good works do not buy God's love or put Him in debt, for His love is received as a gift, but they show that it is possessed, as the fruit and evidence of genuine living faith. Without Christ human works are tainted by selfishness and sin, so no one can become holy by personal efforts to keep the law, but Christ's grace alone received through faith makes people holy. Faith itself earns nothing and is God's gift to be received and cherished by taking Christ as a personal Saviour, and it can be refused by talking doubts and cherishing unbelief until unbelief becomes a barrier shutting the heart away from the Spirit and His light and love, dishonoring God and making the sacrifice of none effect to the one refusing. As Israel had to show faith by separating from the Egyptians, putting the blood on the house and remaining inside, so all who hope to be saved must give evidence of faith by obedience, turning from sin, cooperating with the saving agencies, and believing and obeying all the divine requirements, for sincerity without heed to the Lord's directions will not save, and faith will be tested in the judgment.
Faith does not release anyone from obedience, and a claim to faith that rejects obedience is presumption, not genuine faith. True faith is living faith that bears the fruit of obedience, delights in the commandments, and is shown in sanctification with works testifying that the believer is born of God. Salvation by grace through faith brings the change that must take place in the heart, in which those dead in trespasses and sins are quickened together with Christ and raised to sit in heavenly places to show the exceeding riches of grace. Like leaven hidden in meal working invisibly until the whole is converted, the Spirit works inwardly and is revealed in the life, cleansing the heart from impurity, softening and subduing natural inclinations, implanting new thoughts, feelings and motives, and regenerating every faculty without loss of identity or supply of new faculties, fitting character for service. Through belief in Christ people share the divine nature and escape sin and corruption, are morally transformed from sinners to children of God and heirs of heaven, have their characters conformed to Christ's perfect pattern of righteousness, have the image of God renewed and sealed in obedience to His law, and reveal Christ's character in pure and undefiled religion and practical mercy. This grace comes through Christ taking the guilt of sins and bearing the penalty in His own body on the tree in one full oblation, which makes it possible to live in obedience and fulfil the condition of entering eternal life, with faith coming by hearing the Word of God as the great agency of transformation sanctifying through the truth.
Life Application
For by grace through faith is a promise to take as comfort and help when depressed, to be read carefully with Ephesians 2:4-22 as full of instruction, bringing assurance of pardon with continual comfort, cheerful trust, peace, joy and hope grounded in Christ who gave His life to redeem. Christ dwelling in the heart by faith means keeping Him in view, contemplating and beholding Him, and cherishing Him as dearest, best and most honored Friend whom one would not grieve or offend. The hellish shadow of Satan will always be cast across the pathway to obstruct faith and eclipse light from the presence of Jesus the Sun of Righteousness, so faith must not stagger or bury experience in darkness of doubt but cleave through that shadow, since faith rests not in feeling but in truth. In the human heart cleansed from all moral impurity the precious Saviour dwells, ennobling and sanctifying the whole nature and making the person a temple for the Holy Spirit, with precious possibilities and encouragement, and this gift brings consolation in God's tenderness and love to all who appreciate it. Consecration to God's will brings peace and joy, with grace and peace working in harmony and increasing together in surrender to God and obedience to His commandments, while dependence is to be wholly on the Lord God of Israel as stronghold in every emergency rather than on human facilities or the strength of organizations and institutions, looking constantly to Jesus as source of all strength and being armed with faith and prayer against Satan's devices and deceiving power and strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Because salvation is wholly of grace through faith and not from human effort, merit, goodness or selves, no one has ground for boasting or taking credit for salvation or for the change in a sinner's life after conversion, since that change is not produced by human goodness, and thoughts of self-exaltation must be subdued and cut away from religious experience. Those who accept Christ by faith walk humbly, exalt Christ rather than themselves, depend on Him and on His blood and righteousness for the hope of eternal life, do faithfully the work given in the few remaining probationary hours, and let their lives show His meekness and lowliness as His witnesses. Safety and the eternal weight of glory ahead are not earned by any righteousness or goodness of our own but are a free gift because Jesus earned them, and since human grasp on Christ is feeble and easily broken, safety depends on the firm hold Jesus keeps on believers and on His living intercession, in whom those who walk with God repose while faith grows brighter unto the perfect day until the reward of the faithful is theirs. People are helpless and hopeless until grace rescues them, so all are equally indebted to God regardless of race, birth, wealth or standing, and faith in Jesus and acceptance of His sacrifice are the source of what is good and precious in character, with all abilities and graces to be acknowledged as received and all glory given to God.
Grace received through faith calls believers to unity on the ground of God's rich mercy, great love and kindness toward them through Christ Jesus, especially workers not working in harmony, requiring them to lay aside pride, envy, jealousy, strife, malice and hatred, and to cherish love, bear good fruit, and reveal they are Christians by unity and love for one another. That same kindness displayed to the world and to ages to come in raising the dead in trespasses and sins to sit together in heavenly places in Christ is to be brought into dealings with one another, with the heart opened so Christ takes possession and His love flows forth in tenderness, courtesy and kindly deeds. Faith works by love and purifies the soul from selfishness, so receiving grace and mercy through Christ's blood calls believers to be tender and merciful, to show compassion and love to others as those freely pardoned through His blood, and to manifest God's love to brethren. These words need to be closely studied, especially by those in charge of institutions, calling them to change in heart and character and to yoke up with Christ to learn His meekness and lowliness, lest without reformation and obedience they lose the attributes Christ came to give, and faith is to trust God's promises and press forward despite obstacles rather than yielding to doubt or circumstances.
Those who receive saving grace are sustained by Christ and continue to receive and share His blessings, moving steadily forward doing His work with unselfishness in humble dependence upon Him, committing present and future to His wise providence, and holding the beginning of confidence firm unto the end. Salvation through grace is the glad tidings every follower of the Saviour is to proclaim, with everyone who has received the message of Christ's love having this work to do and the responsibility to reflect the light of heaven to those in darkness, relieving suffering and cooperating as laborers together with God in saving souls, and no one is to fail of living the truth received. Outward surroundings, splendid temples, religious services or association with godly people amount to nothing if the heart is not right, so the greatest anxiety must be over spiritual condition, with worship turning thoughts toward God and children taught to direct their thoughts heavenward.
The truth of salvation by grace through faith, revealing the exceeding riches of God's grace in kindness through Jesus Christ to be shown in ages to come, is to be constantly taught to children, youth, parents and mothers to children as part of Christianizing the family, showing what Christ is, His love, goodness, mercy and the great plan of redemption, and exemplifying Bible religion in everyday duties and pleasures so that a hallowed, sacred impress is made on the heart. To know this salvation all must regard the Word of God as the voice of God to men and the source of all wisdom, truth and higher education, and make it their study, teacher and guide leading them to trust and obey, with the whole chapter recommended as a lesson for all to study in connection with Christ's sacrifice making it possible to return to allegiance to God's commandments and with dependence on God rather than human agents. Faith does not begin in people or come from themselves but is God's gift coming through hearing God's Word, and parents are to seek understanding so they can believe and obey what God has revealed in it.
Daily decision is required with whom to walk, whether with Christ in obedience to God's requirements or with the god of this world in disobedience according to the course of this world and the prince of the power of the air, and the character developed in daily practical life decides destiny for eternity. In time past all walked in lusts of the flesh fulfilling desires of flesh and mind and were by nature children of wrath and dead in sins, but God rich in mercy for His great love quickened them together with Christ and raised them up to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus to show the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness through Jesus Christ. The grace becomes effectual when the truth of the cross of Calvary as the great center is acted upon, bringing reconciliation for iniquity and the everlasting righteousness the Messiah brought in through sacrifice and humiliation, giving everlasting deliverance to all who walk after Him with positive evidence of separation from the world, and all who endure to the end will be saved and all who hold the beginning of confidence firm unto the end will have eternal righteousness.
Salvation comes wholly by God's grace received through faith, not by human effort, merit or goodness, so no one has any ground for boasting or taking credit. Grace is God's free, unmerited favor and boundless mercy, providing salvation through Christ whose sacrifice and imputed righteousness makes undeserving sinners righteous. Faith is simple personal trust in God, taking Him at His word, laying hold of His power and of Christ's merits, and choosing His way in place of human weakness and sinfulness. Both salvation as a whole and faith itself are the gift of God, not manufactured by human beings, though each person is given a measure of faith and must choose to exercise it. This living faith does not release anyone from obedience but works by love, purifies the soul, and bears fruit in good works God prepared beforehand, without which no one is saved.
Words and Phrases
Faith in the verse means simple trust in God, taking Him at His word, believing that He loves us and knows what is best for us, and laying hold of divine power. It leads the believer to choose His way and to receive His wisdom, strength and righteousness in place of ignorance, weakness and sinfulness, acknowledging that life already belongs to God and accepting His blessing and ownership. That faith is independent of feeling, joins the believer to God, and brings Christ's grace to strengthen the moral powers to resist sin. Fully received and held against doubt, unbelief, darkness and temptation, it breaks their power, presses on in the good fight without failing, grows stronger until both life and words declare cleansing from all sin through the blood of Jesus Christ. It also gives the truth, uprightness and purity needed for a successful life, for every good impulse and aspiration comes from God and faith receives from Him the light that produces true growth and effectiveness. When this truth of imputed righteousness without merit as a free gift is made clear, the power of evil is broken, which is why it is opposed.
Grace in the verse means God's unmerited favor and boundless mercy, freely providing salvation through Christ and grounded not in any goodness or merit found in us but in His mercy and loving-kindness. It provides salvation through Christ, whose imputed righteousness makes sinners righteous, so that God pronounces believers just and treats them as His children, and abundant grace also provides power to keep the believing soul free from sin. That grace comes through Christ taking the guilt of sins and bearing the penalty of transgression in His own body on the tree in one full oblation of sacrifice, making it possible to live in obedience to God's commands and fulfil the condition of entering eternal life. Through faith characters are conformed to Christ's perfect character as the pattern of all righteousness, souls are brought out of darkness into His marvelous light, the image of God is renewed in the soul and sealed in obedience to His law, and believers become His loyal subjects with pure and undefiled religion to honor God. Christ's righteousness is the wedding garment that makes a person welcome at the marriage supper of the Lamb, making the believer new and a light to the world, for human sin calls for mercy and grace sent Christ to seek sinners and bring them back to God. By infinite-cost sacrifice He offered Himself and turned aside the sword of justice, placing poor sinners on vantage ground, presenting each one He gave His life for to the Father as saved by His grace to be received as His child, and the Father loves him as He loves His own Son and will not refuse him. All the treasures of eternal love are a free, everlasting gift to him who is content to receive without deserving, who feels he can never repay such love, who lays all doubt and unbelief aside, and who comes as a little child to the feet of Jesus. Those so saved show they appreciate what has been done by manifesting God's love, loving their brethren, and having their life hid with Christ in God.
"Not of yourselves" means people cannot save or regenerate themselves, change their own sinful hearts, overcome evil unaided, or lessen the guilt of sin by their own works, for salvation depends on God's grace and the atonement. When sinners are converted and led to Christ, even when human efforts help lead them, the transformation comes through God's goodness and Christ's transforming work, so no one has ground for boasting, must take no credit, and should give glory to God. The sinner still has something to do to secure salvation: he must come to Christ, who will in no wise cast out him that comes, and when repenting must believe that Christ accepts and pardons him. It is received only by believing in the merits of the blood of Christ and clinging to Jesus as Saviour under the sense of inability to save oneself by one's own righteousness, for human righteousness and human standards of goodness are pitiful, no better than any poor sinner's. Salvation is not by personal morality, sincerity, correct conduct, or any goodness of one's own, but by grace through faith in Jesus as the only hope, relying on the merits of His blood as all-sufficient, because man is utterly ruined and lost and requires a new nature and new purpose that Christ alone gives. The one who believes must acknowledge Christ openly, come with repentance, accept what is seen, receive every ray of light Heaven has given, believe for self and not make others the criterion, having nothing to do with whether others accept or not, and when from the heart there is no price to bring and only clinging to the cross, the Way, the Truth, and the Life is learned.
"It is the gift of God" means salvation as a whole by grace through faith is wholly God's gift through Jesus Christ, and faith itself is also God's gift which human beings cannot manufacture. Christ as the author and finisher of faith gives a source so sure it cannot be doubted and attends believers every step of the way when they are willing to be saved in His appointed way through obedience to His requirements. The verse does not mean idleness; joined to the command to work out salvation with fear and trembling, it means human working is not done by weak mortals in their own line and strength but by Christ working within to will and to do, a privilege open to every son and daughter of Adam, calling all to active work in the world rather than folding the arms. Faith earns nothing; it is to be received and cherished by making Christ a personal Saviour, and it must be active, not dormant, taking hold of God's strength, claiming His promises as certain, receiving His blessings, and bringing those renewed through Christ's grace into harmony with God's love. Christ supplies the grace, repentance, willingness, pardon and righteousness by which a person is saved; nothing in human ability, character, achievement or effort earns eternal life or pardon, human works can only use what God has first given, and they are acceptable to God only when cleansed by Christ's righteousness. The gift can be refused by talking doubts and cherishing unbelief, which makes unhappy and grows into an impassable barrier shutting the heart away from the Spirit of God and closing it to His light and His love, dishonoring God, making the priceless sacrifice of none effect to the one refusing, and giving opportunity for triumph where there could be triumph over evil. Looking to Jesus and trusting in Him keeps people perfectly safe from attempts to gain control over them, for being kept by the power of God comes through faith, and even that faith is not of themselves; this gift brings happiness in the love of God and longing for His salvation and to see the King in His beauty. True faith comes from God, not from themselves, while each person is individually responsible for exercising it; it is genuine, sanctifying faith that pleases God and does not fail under test and trial, needed now for building character and showing the characteristics of the Saviour before the world, going with true conversion and earnest, prayerful study of the example of Christ, and preparing the church in unity of spirit to receive wonderful endowments from God.
Surrounding Context
Paul is describing people who were dead in trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world and the prince of the power of the air, the spirit working in the children of disobedience, having their manner of life in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and being by nature children of wrath. This was their past condition in time past, while under Satan's misrepresentations and in disloyalty, and it is the state from which none can save or regenerate themselves. The call to those in this state is to seek the Lord while He may be found, to forsake wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts, and to return to Him to receive mercy and abundant pardon. Daily decision still determines with whom a person walks, whether with Christ in obedience to God's requirements or with the god of this world in disobedience, and the character developed in daily practical life decides destiny for eternity.
But God, who is rich in mercy and great in love, loved them even when dead in sins and quickened them together with Christ. He raised them up together and made them sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, giving them life with Christ and a share in His heavenly life. This is wholly by grace through faith, not from human effort, merit, ability or power, not of themselves and not of works lest any man should boast, for salvation is the gift of God. Therefore God's people must not trust in their own facilities or in the strength of organizations and institutions, but depend wholly on the Lord God of Israel as their stronghold in every emergency, looking constantly to Jesus as the source of all strength and being armed with faith and prayer against Satan's devices.
This raising up was done that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward them through Christ Jesus. That display is made both to the world now and to the ages to come, and that same kindness is to be brought into dealings with one another. God has a purpose for each one, and what is shown reveals what people may become in striving to fulfil that purpose. It was made possible because God, whose holiness, justice and truth could not change yet who yearned to save fallen humanity and reconcile them to heaven's immutable law without their perishing, accepted Christ's offer to clothe His divinity with humanity and give His life as a ransom to gain them everlasting life.
Those thus saved are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God before ordained that they should walk in them. Those good works are the prepared path they are to walk rather than the basis of their salvation, for all good works depend on a power outside of themselves and thoughts of self-exaltation must be subdued and cut away. They are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple in the Lord, for through Christ true believers are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit, as God's husbandry and God's building and Christ's purchased heritage called away from disloyalty to work in His vineyard building character in obedience as laborers together with God.
Salvation by Grace Alone
Salvation and eternal life come by God's grace through faith, not from anything people produce, achieve, earn, or merit by effort, ability, or goodness, not of works lest anyone should boast, and it is wholly God's infinite, unearned gift so that no one has ground for boasting or taking credit for salvation or for the change in a sinner's life after conversion, since that change is not produced by human goodness. Faith receives the gift and leads to gratitude and praise, and sound faith does not produce fanaticism or idleness, for salvation rests on Christ's righteousness rather than on looking to oneself, while doing God's will and Christ's work brings blessings as gifts and not as rewards for personal worth. Those saved are created in Christ for good works prepared beforehand, and the call to unity among workers rests on this ground of God's rich mercy, great love, and kindness toward them through Christ Jesus. This promise is a comfort and help, with Christ dwelling in the heart by faith as kept in view and cherished as dearest and most honored friend, so as not to grieve or offend Him.
This salvation is found in Christ alone through His sacrifice, blood, atoning death, and imputed righteousness given as a free gift and not because of any merit, which makes sinners righteous so that God pronounces believers just and treats them as His children. His sacrifice appeases the Father's wrath, His blood washes away impurity, His cross bears the curse, and His death atones and turns aside justice, giving peace and joy even under condemnation and death. Transgressors of the law are saved by grace through faith as the one grand principle to depend on, through Christ taking the guilt of sins and bearing the penalty of transgression in His own body on the tree in one full oblation of sacrifice, which makes it possible to live in obedience to God's commands and fulfill the condition of entering eternal life. Through faith characters are conformed to Christ's perfect character as the pattern of all righteousness, souls are brought out of darkness into His marvelous light, the image of God is renewed in the soul and sealed in obedience to His law, and believers become His loyal subjects with pure and undefiled religion to honor God, while abundant grace provides power to keep the believing soul free from sin and to obey acceptably toward a home in restored Eden. Everlasting life is not found by human philosophy and learning but is God's work in raising the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead to destroy death, extirpate sin, and shut the gates of hell, for Christ alone has taken away sin and ransomed the sinner and gives peace, and the faith through which this comes is true faith manifested by a holy life ordering works to be acceptable to God. That faith is simple trust taking God at His word and laying hold of divine power, believing that for Christ's sake God has forgiven sins, to be encouraged and held against doubt, unbelief, darkness, and temptation, pressing on in the good fight until it grows stronger in Christian life and words, and when fully received Satan's power is broken.
There are only two religions in the world: religions men have invented, in which man saves himself by ceremonies and good works, and the one religion revealed in the Bible, in which man looks for salvation solely to the free grace of God. The mediation of saints, good works, prayers, fasting, penance, confession, indulgences, pilgrimages, adoration at altars and shrines, obedience to the church, and ceremonies of the church are powerless to atone for sin, lessen the guilt of sin, evade its punishment, reconcile the soul with God, relieve conviction before a holy and just Judge, or bring peace. The grace of Christ cannot be purchased with money or earned by humiliation and penance but is a free gift received by repentance toward God and faith in Christ, by looking away from self in faith to the crucified Redeemer who has already accomplished peace and redemption, and that looking brings peace and joy. Trusting instead in strict obedience to the church, buying indulgences, and trusting in penance leaves the convicted sinner without an intercessor with nothing before him but the blackness of eternal despair and still perishing in sin, while no pope or other person has been given power to grant pardon of sin or remit its penalty, and all merits save those of Jesus are to be held in abomination.
Heaven cannot be purchased by making gifts to God's work, by money, possessions, or any meritorious works however large, and no human gift can atone for a person's own sins or for the sins of another, for salvation comes only by God's grace exercised to save to the uttermost all who come to Him, and divine honor is jealous and uncompromising on this point. Faith and good works cannot purchase salvation or put God in the creature's debt, no merit of fallen people can procure eternal life, justification is wholly by grace and not by works, and giving money or possessions cannot earn His favor because everything given already belongs to Him. No sinner is saved by his own good works, including self-imposed fasting and prayer that injures health and self-imposed rigor, for such self-originated effort is pharisaical righteousness springing from self and not from Christ, a deception God has not required and with which He has nothing to do. Every sinner must rely alone upon the merits and blood of the crucified and risen Saviour, whose righteousness received by faith is true godliness, giving health to the body and strength to the soul. God could accomplish His work without human gifts, but in great love He gives people the privilege of giving to prove the sincerity of their love and to show that they have consecrated themselves to His service.
Nature of Saving Faith
Genuine faith is personal reliance on Christ, not merely believing facts about Him. It takes Him as Priest and Advocate to represent fallen humanity, receive transgressions and pardon them, and it takes Him as King to enlist in His service, know His will and do it. Those who so believe look to Jesus in all His completeness and follow Him wherever He goes as subjects of His kingdom, recognizing their sin and helplessness and depending wholly on His saving grace rather than on anything they are or possess, whether birth, reputation, wealth, talents, virtues, piety, philanthropy or church standing. Increase of faith is needed, and nothing depends on human ability.
Faith is the understanding's assent to God's words, binding the heart to His service. It is the hand by which the soul takes hold upon the divine offers of grace and mercy and wholly lays hold on the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. The understanding, heart, intellect and energy belong to God and come from Him, so to have faith is to render back to Him what was received from Him, and exercising it earns no credit and gives no cause for boasting or thought of inherent merit. The sinner cannot save himself yet still has something to do to secure salvation: he must come to Christ, who will in no wise cast out him that comes, and when repenting must believe that Christ accepts and pardons him. Faith itself is God's gift, not of self, but the power to exercise it belongs to the person, and even repentance is brought about through the application of grace, for the natural heart can feel no need of repentance. Such faith enables trust in the heavenly Father with unlimited confidence and reaches beyond death to eternal realities, so that those who believe acknowledge that all they have comes from God.
Saving faith is living, earnest, active and working, not dormant. It grows in zeal as it is exercised, is expressed in earnest work for the Lord with the whole life consecrated to God and service undivided, takes hold of God's strength, claims His promises as certain, and receives His blessings. It works by love and purifies the soul from selfishness and sin, bringing the new birth and bringing those renewed through Christ's grace into harmony with God's love. True faith is manifested by a holy life that orders works to be acceptable to God, with the rich giving goods to the poor and the poor giving service to the rich, since labor useful to self alone is not service to God. Good works cannot buy salvation, yet they are essential as the fruit and evidence of genuine faith, for God's grace through Christ is the only way to approach Him, and faith trusts His promises and presses forward despite obstacles rather than yielding to doubt or circumstances.
Faith rests not in feeling, sight or circumstances but in truth and in things hoped for though unseen. Simple faith takes God at His word and lays hold of divine power, believing that for Christ's sake God has forgiven sins, and regardless of feeling it joins the believer to God while Christ's grace strengthens against sin. The hellish shadow of Satan will continually be cast across the pathway to obstruct faith and eclipse light from the presence of Jesus, so faith must not stagger but cleave through that shadow, refusing to bury experience in the darkness of doubt. Fully received, this faith breaks the power of doubt, unbelief, darkness and temptation, and those who believe they are forgiven must press on and fight the good fight of faith without failing under temptation until both life and words declare cleansing from all sin through the blood of Jesus. Learning to live by such faith makes dark and painful hours the brightest, as Christ dwelling in the heart by faith — contemplating Him, beholding Him, and cherishing Him as the best and most honored Friend whom one would not grieve or offend — brings divine grace.
Believers are kept by God's power through faith, and Christ's presence and sustaining grace are the source of their spiritual light and life. Salvation and this keeping do not come from human power, merit, righteousness or goodness but are God's free gift, because Jesus earned them and continually watches over churches and individuals. Looking to Jesus and trusting in Him keeps people perfectly safe from Satan's attempts to gain control, and even that faith is not of themselves, bringing happiness in the love of God and longing for His salvation and to see the King in His beauty. The human grasp on Christ is feeble and easily broken, so safety depends on the firm hold Jesus keeps on believers and on His living intercession, and keeping power is to be asked in daily prayer while walking humbly and doing faithfully the work given in the remaining probationary hours until the reward of the faithful is theirs.
There is no hope except in Christ. Salvation is a free gift that cannot be purchased, and all rebellion against God's plans arises from unwillingness to receive it in this way. It is received as a little child would receive, without deserving and without price, by only believing in the merits of the blood of Christ and clinging to Jesus as Saviour under the sense of inability to save self by one's own righteousness. Human righteousness and human standards of goodness are pitiful, no better than any poor sinner's, so the one who believes must believe for self and not make others the criterion, receive every ray of light Heaven has given, lay aside doubt and unbelief, and having nothing to bring learn the Way, the Truth and the Life by clinging to the cross. Accepting Christ in this way means suffering with Him and denying self, trusting Him to sustain hope through painful and difficult hours.
Faith Works and Obedience
Salvation comes by grace through faith, not from human effort or merit, and leaves no ground for boasting, for it does not originate in people but is God's gift. Those who were dead in sin are made alive together with Christ by grace, raised up with Him, and given the privileges of His children. This gift does not leave them unchanged, for those so saved are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand and appointed them to walk in and live out. All such good works depend on power outside ourselves, with Christ working within to will and to do what weak mortals cannot do in their own strength.
No one is saved by good works and no one can depend on them, yet no one is saved without them. Good works do not buy God's love or put Him in debt, for His love is received as a gift, but they show that it is possessed, as the fruit and evidence of genuine living faith. Without Christ human works are tainted by selfishness and sin, so no one can become holy by personal efforts to keep the law, but Christ's grace alone received through faith makes people holy. Faith itself earns nothing and is God's gift to be received and cherished by taking Christ as a personal Saviour, and it can be refused by talking doubts and cherishing unbelief until unbelief becomes a barrier shutting the heart away from the Spirit and His light and love, dishonoring God and making the sacrifice of none effect to the one refusing. As Israel had to show faith by separating from the Egyptians, putting the blood on the house and remaining inside, so all who hope to be saved must give evidence of faith by obedience, turning from sin, cooperating with the saving agencies, and believing and obeying all the divine requirements, for sincerity without heed to the Lord's directions will not save, and faith will be tested in the judgment.
Faith does not release anyone from obedience, and a claim to faith that rejects obedience is presumption, not genuine faith. True faith is living faith that bears the fruit of obedience, delights in the commandments, and is shown in sanctification with works testifying that the believer is born of God. Salvation by grace through faith brings the change that must take place in the heart, in which those dead in trespasses and sins are quickened together with Christ and raised to sit in heavenly places to show the exceeding riches of grace. Like leaven hidden in meal working invisibly until the whole is converted, the Spirit works inwardly and is revealed in the life, cleansing the heart from impurity, softening and subduing natural inclinations, implanting new thoughts, feelings and motives, and regenerating every faculty without loss of identity or supply of new faculties, fitting character for service. Through belief in Christ people share the divine nature and escape sin and corruption, are morally transformed from sinners to children of God and heirs of heaven, have their characters conformed to Christ's perfect pattern of righteousness, have the image of God renewed and sealed in obedience to His law, and reveal Christ's character in pure and undefiled religion and practical mercy. This grace comes through Christ taking the guilt of sins and bearing the penalty in His own body on the tree in one full oblation, which makes it possible to live in obedience and fulfil the condition of entering eternal life, with faith coming by hearing the Word of God as the great agency of transformation sanctifying through the truth.
Life Application
For by grace through faith is a promise to take as comfort and help when depressed, to be read carefully with Ephesians 2:4-22 as full of instruction, bringing assurance of pardon with continual comfort, cheerful trust, peace, joy and hope grounded in Christ who gave His life to redeem. Christ dwelling in the heart by faith means keeping Him in view, contemplating and beholding Him, and cherishing Him as dearest, best and most honored Friend whom one would not grieve or offend. The hellish shadow of Satan will always be cast across the pathway to obstruct faith and eclipse light from the presence of Jesus the Sun of Righteousness, so faith must not stagger or bury experience in darkness of doubt but cleave through that shadow, since faith rests not in feeling but in truth. In the human heart cleansed from all moral impurity the precious Saviour dwells, ennobling and sanctifying the whole nature and making the person a temple for the Holy Spirit, with precious possibilities and encouragement, and this gift brings consolation in God's tenderness and love to all who appreciate it. Consecration to God's will brings peace and joy, with grace and peace working in harmony and increasing together in surrender to God and obedience to His commandments, while dependence is to be wholly on the Lord God of Israel as stronghold in every emergency rather than on human facilities or the strength of organizations and institutions, looking constantly to Jesus as source of all strength and being armed with faith and prayer against Satan's devices and deceiving power and strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Because salvation is wholly of grace through faith and not from human effort, merit, goodness or selves, no one has ground for boasting or taking credit for salvation or for the change in a sinner's life after conversion, since that change is not produced by human goodness, and thoughts of self-exaltation must be subdued and cut away from religious experience. Those who accept Christ by faith walk humbly, exalt Christ rather than themselves, depend on Him and on His blood and righteousness for the hope of eternal life, do faithfully the work given in the few remaining probationary hours, and let their lives show His meekness and lowliness as His witnesses. Safety and the eternal weight of glory ahead are not earned by any righteousness or goodness of our own but are a free gift because Jesus earned them, and since human grasp on Christ is feeble and easily broken, safety depends on the firm hold Jesus keeps on believers and on His living intercession, in whom those who walk with God repose while faith grows brighter unto the perfect day until the reward of the faithful is theirs. People are helpless and hopeless until grace rescues them, so all are equally indebted to God regardless of race, birth, wealth or standing, and faith in Jesus and acceptance of His sacrifice are the source of what is good and precious in character, with all abilities and graces to be acknowledged as received and all glory given to God.
Grace received through faith calls believers to unity on the ground of God's rich mercy, great love and kindness toward them through Christ Jesus, especially workers not working in harmony, requiring them to lay aside pride, envy, jealousy, strife, malice and hatred, and to cherish love, bear good fruit, and reveal they are Christians by unity and love for one another. That same kindness displayed to the world and to ages to come in raising the dead in trespasses and sins to sit together in heavenly places in Christ is to be brought into dealings with one another, with the heart opened so Christ takes possession and His love flows forth in tenderness, courtesy and kindly deeds. Faith works by love and purifies the soul from selfishness, so receiving grace and mercy through Christ's blood calls believers to be tender and merciful, to show compassion and love to others as those freely pardoned through His blood, and to manifest God's love to brethren. These words need to be closely studied, especially by those in charge of institutions, calling them to change in heart and character and to yoke up with Christ to learn His meekness and lowliness, lest without reformation and obedience they lose the attributes Christ came to give, and faith is to trust God's promises and press forward despite obstacles rather than yielding to doubt or circumstances.
Those who receive saving grace are sustained by Christ and continue to receive and share His blessings, moving steadily forward doing His work with unselfishness in humble dependence upon Him, committing present and future to His wise providence, and holding the beginning of confidence firm unto the end. Salvation through grace is the glad tidings every follower of the Saviour is to proclaim, with everyone who has received the message of Christ's love having this work to do and the responsibility to reflect the light of heaven to those in darkness, relieving suffering and cooperating as laborers together with God in saving souls, and no one is to fail of living the truth received. Outward surroundings, splendid temples, religious services or association with godly people amount to nothing if the heart is not right, so the greatest anxiety must be over spiritual condition, with worship turning thoughts toward God and children taught to direct their thoughts heavenward.
The truth of salvation by grace through faith, revealing the exceeding riches of God's grace in kindness through Jesus Christ to be shown in ages to come, is to be constantly taught to children, youth, parents and mothers to children as part of Christianizing the family, showing what Christ is, His love, goodness, mercy and the great plan of redemption, and exemplifying Bible religion in everyday duties and pleasures so that a hallowed, sacred impress is made on the heart. To know this salvation all must regard the Word of God as the voice of God to men and the source of all wisdom, truth and higher education, and make it their study, teacher and guide leading them to trust and obey, with the whole chapter recommended as a lesson for all to study in connection with Christ's sacrifice making it possible to return to allegiance to God's commandments and with dependence on God rather than human agents. Faith does not begin in people or come from themselves but is God's gift coming through hearing God's Word, and parents are to seek understanding so they can believe and obey what God has revealed in it.
Daily decision is required with whom to walk, whether with Christ in obedience to God's requirements or with the god of this world in disobedience according to the course of this world and the prince of the power of the air, and the character developed in daily practical life decides destiny for eternity. In time past all walked in lusts of the flesh fulfilling desires of flesh and mind and were by nature children of wrath and dead in sins, but God rich in mercy for His great love quickened them together with Christ and raised them up to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus to show the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness through Jesus Christ. The grace becomes effectual when the truth of the cross of Calvary as the great center is acted upon, bringing reconciliation for iniquity and the everlasting righteousness the Messiah brought in through sacrifice and humiliation, giving everlasting deliverance to all who walk after Him with positive evidence of separation from the world, and all who endure to the end will be saved and all who hold the beginning of confidence firm unto the end will have eternal righteousness.