The Nugget:
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
My Comment:
This verse clarifies just what place works have in salvation: none. But it does not stop there. Once we are saved through faith, we are His workmanship. He creates us in Christ Jesus “unto good works.” He has ordained that once we are saved through faith, good works will be a pattern for our life, and of our life. As a practical matter, the way this works out in practice or experience is that a saved person will bear the fruit of the spirit through the work of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23). It is not something we manufacture for ourselves. These are important principles to understand from the Bible, God’s Word. As noted before, these principles contradict normal human intuition, as well as the teaching of many churches.
For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:
(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 1360 for Ephesians 2:8-10.
(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 1379 or in Logos 5 Bible software for Ephesians 2:8-10.
(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them as given below:
Ephesians 2:8. by grace. See on ver. +Eph 2:5. Ho 14:2. Mt 20:9. Ac 13:43. 18:27. +*Ro 3:24. 6:15. 11:6. +*1 Cor 15:10. +*2 Tim 1:9. *Titus 2:11. are ye saved. Ps 6:4. +*Ps 37:39. +*1 Cor 15:2. +*2 Tim 1:9. *Titus 2:11. Re 7:10. through faith. Ps 27:13. Mk 2:5. 9:24. *Mk 16:16. +*Lk 7:50. *Lk 8:15. **Jn 3:14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 36. **Jn 5:24. 6:27, 28, 29, 35, 40. Ac 13:39. 15:7, 8, 9. **+Ac 16:31. 18:27. +*Ac 26:18. *Ro 3:22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27. *Ro 4:5, 16. **Ro 10:9, 10. 1 Cor 12:9. Ga 3:14, 22. *2 Th 2:13. Titus 1:1. Jam 2:14. 1 P 1:5. **1 J 5:10, 11, 12. not of yourselves. ver. *Ep 2:10. Ep 1:19. *Mt 16:17. **Jn 1:12, 13. *Jn 6:37, 44, 65. Ac 14:27. *Ac 16:14. Ro 3:12. 4:6. **Ro 10:14, 15, 16, 17. 2 Cor 3:5. 4:7. *Phil 1:29. Col 2:12. *Titus 3:5. *Jam 1:16, 17, 18. the gift. Gr. dōron (S#1435g, Mt 2:11). Ep 1:4, 5. 3:7. 4:7. *Jn 4:10. Ac 8:20. 13:48. Ro 5:15. 2 Cor 9:15. Heb 6:4. *Jam 1:17. of God. +*Phil 2:13.
Ephesians 2:9. Not of works. Nu 23:4. Jn 6:65. +*Ro 3:20, 27, 28. *Ro 4:2, 4, 5, 6. *Ro 9:11, 16. *Ro 11:6. Ga 3:12, 13. +*2 Tim 1:9. **Titus 3:3, 4, 5, %Titus 3:8. lest any. Dt 8:12, 17, 18. Jg 7:2. *Lk 18:12. *1 Cor 1:29, 30, 31. *2 Cor 12:9, 10. should boast. +Ro 2:17. 3:27. 2 Cor 4:7.
Ephesians 2:10. we are. ver. Ep 2:8. Dt 32:6, 15. Ps 95:6. 100:3. 138:8. 149:2. Is 19:25. 29:23. 43:21. *Is 60:21. 61:3. 64:8. Je 31:33. 32:39, 40. Ho 8:14. *Jn 3:3, 4, 5, 6, 21. *1 Cor 3:6, 7, 8, 9. *2 Cor 5:5, 17. *Phil 1:6. **Phil 2:13. *He 13:21. workmanship. ver. Ep 2:5, 6. Ep 1:19. Ge 1:27. Is 45:11. 64:8. *Ezk 36:26. Lk 8:8. 15:5. Ro 1:20 g. Ro 14:20. created. Ep 3:9. *Ep 4:24. *Ps 51:10. 102:18. 119:17. Is 43:1, 7. 45:8. **2 Cor 5:17. *Ga 6:15. Col 3:10. *2 Tim 3:15. in Christ Jesus. Jn 14:20. +Ac 19:4. Ro 16:7. 1 C 1:30. unto good. Gr. agathos (S#18g). In agatha erga we mark only the intrinsic character of the works: they are essentially good. Contrast kala erga, also rendered “good works,” but emphasizing the notion of their effect on others, of their nobility which attracts, looked at under the aspect of moral beauty (see Westcott on He 10:24). Ro 2:7g. Ro 13:13g. 2 Cor 9:8g. +*Col 1:10g. 2 Th 2:17g. 1 Tim 2:10g. 1 Tim 5:10g. 2 Tim 2:21g. +*2 Tim 3:17g. Titus 1:16g. Titus 3:1g. %+He 10:24g, note. He 13:21g. works. Ep 4:23, 24. Ps 4:3. *Ps 15:2. +*Mt 5:16. 26:10. Mk 14:6. *Jn 15:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. +Ac 9:36. *Ro 6:1, 2, 6, *Ro 6:12, 13, 14. *2 Cor 9:8. +**Ga 5:22, 23. Ph 1:11. +**Col 1:10. 2:11. 2 Th 2:17. 1 Tim 2:10. 5:10, 25. 6:18. *2 Tim 2:21. +*2 Tim 3:17. *Titus 2:7, 14. **Titus 3:1, +Titus 3:8, 14. *He 10:24. *He 13:21. 1 P 2:12. which God. +Ep 1:4. Is 26:12. +*Ro 8:29. 1 Th 1:5. 4:7. ordained. or, prepared. Ge 2:8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. =Nu 4:27. Dt 6:10, 11. 1 Ch 6:48. +*Jn 15:16. Ro 9:23g. that we. Ep 1:12. walk. ver. Ep 2:2. Ep 4:1. Dt 5:33. Ps 81:13. 105:45. 119:3. +*Is 2:3, 4, 5. 26:7. 35:8. Ezk 37:24. Lk 1:75. Ac 9:31. *Ro 8:1. **Ga 5:16. +**Col 1:10. 1 Th 5:18. *1 J 1:7. +*1 J 2:6.