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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 is the first gift of GOD" |
Bible Note: Let me begin by saying that I agree with your premise; that no one can come to salvation without faith. However, I have one question and one point of clarification. My question is, where do you find a biblical basis for your statement, "All men receive this gift, but not all place that 'FAITH' in Jesus Christ." My point of clarification is that the "gift" spoken of here in Eph. 2:8 is NOT faith. That is clear from the context. Paul states in v. 9 that the gift is not of works. Contextually, you will not find a passage where Paul makes this statement about faith. You will, however, find abundant references (See Rom. 4) dealing with salvation. In this passage, at least, we must understand that the gift of God, spoken of here, is clearly salvation. You could, however, argue that the phrase "and that not of yourselves" is referring to faith. I would not worry too much about differing with the notes included in the Amplified Biblical Commentary sometimes erroneously referred to as the Amplified Bible. |