Ephesians Series: Ephesians 2:8b-The Church Age Believer’s Salvation Because of Grace By Means of Faith Originates From God as a Source

Ephesians 2:8 Each and every one of you as a corporate unit are saved because of grace by means of faith! In other words, this never originated from any one of you as a source. It originated as the gift from God. (Lecturer’s translation)

As we noted the first statement in Ephesians 2:8 is then followed by an elliptical epexegetical clause, which means that it explains from an emphatic negative perspective the previous assertion which states that the church age believer is saved because of the Father’s grace policy through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

This elliptical epexegetical statement asserts that the church age believer’s salvation is emphatically not from themselves as a source but rather that it originates as a gift from God the Father.

Therefore, it is expressing in emphatic terms the idea that because the church age believer’s salvation is based upon the Father’s grace policy through faith in His Son, or “in other words” their salvation is emphatically not from themselves as a source but rather it originates as a gift from God the Father.

This epexegetical statement which appears in Ephesians 2:8 is elliptical in order to emphasize with the recipients of the Ephesian letter that their salvation does not originate with anything that they have done but rather is solely the work of God.

In other words, the figure of ellipsis in this epexegetical clause states in emphatic terms that the church age believer can never receive credit for their salvation but rather all the credit flows to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

It also emphasizes the divine initiative with regards to the salvation of the church age believer as well as the divine activity which provided and appropriated their salvation for their benefit.

The nominative neuter singular form of the demonstrative pronoun houtos(οὗτος) means “this” and is “anaphoric” meaning it is referring to the immediate preceding statement, which asserts that the church age believer is saved because of the Father’s grace policy through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, the referent of this word is the church age believer’s salvation, the Father’s grace policy on their behalf and their faith in Jesus Christ at the moment of justification.

Specifically, the referent of this word is the previous declarative statement, which asserts that the church age believer’s salvation is based on God’s grace and is received by means of faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Harold Hoehner writes “Much debate has centered around the demonstrative pronoun ‘this’ (touto). Though some think it refers back to ‘grace’ and others to ‘faith,’ neither of these suggestions is really valid because the demonstrative pronoun is neuter whereas ‘grace’ and ‘faith’ are feminine. Also, to refer back to either of these words specifically seems to be redundant. Rather the neuter touto, as is common, refers to the preceding phrase or clause.”[1]

The genitive second person plural form of the personal pronoun su (σύ), “any one of you” since the word not only refers to the recipients of the Ephesian epistle as a corporate unit but also is used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.

This word is the object of the preposition ek (ἐκ) means “from” since the word is functioning here as a marker of source.

Therefore, this prepositional phrase ex hymōn (ἐξ ὑμῶν) is expressing the idea that the church age believer’s salvation, which is based upon grace and received through faith in Jesus Christ by no means “originates from” themselves as a source or we could say that it emphatically never “originated from” themselves as a source.

The articular nominative neuter singular form of the noun dōron (δῶρον), “the gift” pertains something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation.

The referent of this word is the previous assertion that the church age believer is saved because of grace through faith.

In other words, the referent is the church age believer’s salvation, as well as grace and their faith in Jesus Christ at their justification.

The articular construction of this word is monadic which means that the church age believer’s salvation, grace and their faith in Jesus Christ at justification constitute a “unique” gift because they originate only from God the Father.

The genitive masculine singular form of the noun theos (θεός), “God” refers to the Father since He is the word’s referent in each instance in which the word has appeared in this epistle (cf. Eph. 1:1, 2, 3, 17; 2:4).

This word is the object of the preposition ek (ἐκ) which is omitted but implied from the previous prepositional phrase because of Paul using the figure of ellipsis again.

As was the case earlier in this verse, this preposition means “from” since the word is functioning here as a marker of source.

Therefore, this prepositional phrase ex hymōn (ἐξ θεοῦ) is expressing the idea that the church age believer’s salvation, which is based upon God’s grace and received by means of faith in Jesus Christ “originates from” God the Father as a source or we could say that they emphatically “originate from” the Father as a source.

[1] Hoehner, H. W. (1985). Ephesians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 624). Victor Books.