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NASB | Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace [God's remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God; |
Subject: Faith a gift? |
Bible Note: Hi keliy, I'm apologize. My response was brief and time simply did not allow me to fully deal with all aspects:-) Perhaps I should have expanded my reply? Let me try. In Rom. 10:17, what Paul says with the particle (apa)- with which the verse begins- seems to indicate that what he says is a consequence of what was said previously in vs. 14. I believe "out of hearing" (ex akons) means that the source of faith is that which is heard or the thing heard. "Faith is derived from the essence of what is heard, which means that the key to understanding this verse centers in that which is heard" (Campbell). All who believe that God's method of saving sinners today is entirely by grace, must, in order to be consistent, also believe that he gives sinners the necessary faith for appropriating salvation. The question comes up that what about sinners who have little or no exposure to the Word of God, but upon hearing John 3:16, they are saved? Where did they get their instant faith? I would say this, upon the basis of this context, faith is obviously generated in sinful men, but can we truly affirm that this is the only way God imparts saving faith to those chosen in Christ? In Rom. 12:3 we can note that our thinking soundly is qualified by the statement, "as God has distributed to each one a measure of faith" Many commentators note that it is difficult to ascertain exactly what Paul means by the phrase "a measure of faith" (metron pisteos). Marvin Vincent, for example,offers the following insight- "The measure of faith (metron pisteos). An expression which it is not easy to define accurately. It is to be noted: 1. That the point of the passage is a warning against an undue self-estimate, and a corresponding exhortation to estimate one’s self with discrimination and sober judgment. 2. That Paul has a standard by which self-estimate is to be regulated. This is expressed by (os) as, according as. 3. That this scale or measure is different in different persons, so that the line between conceit and sober thinking is not the same for all. This is expressed by (emerisen) hath imparted, distributed, and (ekasto) to each one. 4. The character of this measure or standard is determined by faith. It must be observed that the general exhortation to a proper self-estimate is shaped by, and foreshadows, the subsequent words respecting differences of gifts. It was at this point that the tendency to self-conceit and spiritual arrogance would develop itself. Hence the precise definition of faith here will be affected by its relation to the differing gifts in vs. 6. Its meaning, therefore, must not be strictly limited to the conception of justifying faith in Christ, though that conception includes and is really the basis of every wider conception. It is faith as the condition of the powers and offices of believers, faith regarded as spiritual insight, which, according to its degree, qualifies a man to be a prophet, a teacher, a minister, etc.; faith in its relation to character, as the only principle which develops a man’s true character, and which, therefore, is the determining principle of the renewed man’s tendencies, whether they lead him to meditation and research, or to practical activity. As faith is the sphere and subjective condition of the powers and functions of believers, so it furnishes a test or regulative standard of their respective endowments and functions. Thus the measure applied is distinctively a measure of faith. With faith the believer receives a power of discernment as to the actual limitations of his gifts. Faith, in introducing him into God’s kingdom, introduces him to new standards of measurement, according to which he accurately determines the nature and extent of his powers, and so does not think of himself too highly. This measure is different in different individuals, but in every case faith is the determining element of the measure. Paul, then, does not mean precisely to say that a man is to think more or less soberly of himself according to the quantity of faith which he has, though that is true as a fact; but that sound and correct views as to the character and extent of spiritual gifts and functions are fixed by a measure, the determining element of which, in each particular case, is faith." Speaking the Truth in Love, BradK |