Ephesians 2:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Or it may be understood otherwise. He does not call faith the gift of God, but salvation through faith. This is the gift of God. For even if faith is ours, how could it alone save, unless God were pleased to receive us for its sake? Thus we are not altogether without a share in the work of our salvation, but appear to contribute something from ourselves.

Because God will show in kindness, in the ages to come, the riches of His grace, he says that you have been saved by grace through faith, and not through works. And this faith itself is not from you, but from Him who called you.

This is said so that a hidden thought may not creep into us: “If we are not saved through our works, then surely we are saved through faith, and consequently. In another respect, the fact that we are saved belongs to us.” Therefore he added and said that even faith itself is not the result of our will, but of a divine gift.

But this does not mean that freedom of will is denied in man. Nor does it mean, according to the Apostle’s word in Romans, that “it depends not on him who wills or runs, but on God who shows mercy” (Rom 9:16). Rather, even freedom of will itself has God as its source, and everything belongs to His beneficence, since He has allowed us even to desire the good.

All this is so that no one may boast that he has been saved by himself and not by God.

Grace is not given for works, because if it were given for works, it would not be grace but a reward. “If it is of works, it is no longer grace” (Rom 11:6). Faith does not come from works, because no one can believe unless God enlightens and teaches him. “No one,” said the Lord, “can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (Jn 6:44).

Neither faith, nor grace, nor salvation is given for works. If we received them for our works, we would have cause to boast. Not considering that our works, though great and wondrous, are not worthy of the Kingdom of God, we would boast as though we had received God’s benefits as a reward for our good works (Rom 5:18), and not as a gift proceeding from God’s mercy and love for mankind.

The following apostolic words teach that such thinking is unrighteous and senseless.

Thus St. John Chrysostom says: “So that the greatness of the benefits may not puff you up, see how he humbles you, saying, ‘By grace you have been saved.’ But so as not to destroy your participation. He adds what is required from us: ‘through faith.’ Then again he seems to take away this free participation of ours when he says, ‘and this is not of yourselves.’ He teaches that even faith is not from you.

If Jesus Christ had not come, if He had not called us, how could we have believed? It is written: ‘How shall they believe if they have not heard?’ (Rom 10:14). Thus, according to the Apostle’s teaching, faith is not our possession, but the gift of God. Faith is insufficient for salvation. But so that He may not save us without any participation of ours, God requires it from us. Faith saves, but not by itself; it saves through God. God wills, and faith saves.”

“The Apostle does not call faith the gift of God, but being saved by faith. This is the gift of God” (Blessed Theophylact).

“But lest, on hearing that our salvation is accomplished not by works but by faith, you become careless, see what the Apostle says next: ‘For we are His workmanship, created for good works.’ Notice, the same Apostle preaches this. Here he alludes to our recreation. Indeed, our salvation is a second creation. By the first creation we were called to life. By this one we were created capable of a good life.

Now constant virtue is required from us, until the final hour of life. We must keep all the commandments” (Chrysostom).

Faith and virtue make Christians saved, pure, holy, pleasing to God, and thereby fit to be seated with Christ. Since they are created in the Christian by grace, it is evident that through this being seated together, only the riches of God's grace will be manifested.

By grace you have been saved, you Ephesians. All who are saved are saved by grace. But the Apostle turns to the Ephesians because he now had it in mind to impress this truth more strongly upon them.

His general discussion proceeds with we. But whenever he must especially fix the Ephesians' attention on something, there he speaks as though exclusively to them.

He had already said these same words above (Eph 2:5). There they seem to have burst unexpectedly from his heart, like an exclamation, perhaps to awaken feelings of thanksgiving. Here the speech is calm, perhaps with a view to moral instruction and the lesson that no one should boast.

By salvation one may understand both the divine economy of salvation and the personal salvation of each person. The divine economy of salvation is God's pre-eternal counsel concerning it and its fulfillment. It is that the Son of God came to earth, was incarnate, suffered, died on the cross, rose, ascended into heaven, sat at the right hand of God the Father, sent down the Holy Spirit, and established the Church on earth.

The Church is the receptacle of all saving means, centered in the word of God and the mysteries. All this is the independent work of God's grace. Man, on his part, supplied neither means nor motives for it.

The personal salvation of each person begins from the preaching of the Gospel. The preachers were sent by God and guided by God where to go and what to say. All this too is the work of grace.

When the preaching is given, whether to listen or not listen, and while listening, whether to attend or not attend, and while attending, whether to consent and wish to believe or not consent and not wish, belongs to freedom.

But further, as soon as consent has been uttered in the heart and the desire for salvation by faith has formed, faith itself is sealed and transformed into living, unshakable conviction, again through the action of God's grace upon the heart.

After this, grace dwells in the heart through the mysteries and becomes the unfailing and guiding principle of life according to faith. Thus the whole ordering of salvation is accomplished by God's grace. The personal salvation of each person is also wholly from grace.

From man there is only consent to faith and the desire to be saved in this way. This accords with the character of a free creature. All the rest is accomplished by grace. Consent and desire, by themselves, will lead to nothing unless all-active grace comes.

Blessed Theodoret writes: "The grace of God counted us worthy of these blessings, and we contributed faith alone. Yet even in this divine grace works together. We did not believe of ourselves, but, being called, we came. From those who came, the Lord did not require purity of life as a condition of receiving them. Receiving faith alone, He granted remission of sins."

Saint Chrysostom, speaking more directly toward moral correction, expresses the same truth: "So that the greatness of the benefits may not puff you up, see how he humbles you by saying: by grace you have been saved. But so as not to destroy your own participation, he adds what is required from us: through faith.

"Then again he almost destroys this free participation of ours when he says: and this is not of you. Faith too, he teaches, is not from you. If Jesus Christ had not come, if He had not called us, how could we have believed? 'How shall they believe,' it is said, 'unless they hear?' (Rom 10:14).

"Thus faith, according to the Apostle's teaching, is not our possession, but God's gift. Faith is insufficient for salvation. Yet so as not to save us without any participation on our part, God requires it from us. He said that faith saves, but not by itself. It saves through God. God wills, and faith saves."

Oecumenius and Theophylact express Saint Chrysostom's last thought more clearly. They say that faith in itself has no special power, but has it because it pleased God to unite this power with it. It is pleasing to God that we be saved by faith, and therefore faith saves.

It is God's gift that we are saved through faith. Oecumenius writes: "This is God's gift because faith by itself would not have been strong enough to save, if God had not willed to save through faith. Thus both that we believe is God's gift, and that we are saved through faith is also God's gift."

Blessed Theophylact, after saying that faith is God's gift because, if the Lord had not come and called, we would not have believed, then adds: "Or otherwise: he does not call faith God's gift, but salvation through faith. This is God's gift. For let faith be ours, yet how could it alone save if God had not graciously willed to receive us on account of it, so that we should not be wholly without participation in the work of our salvation, but should appear to contribute something from ourselves?"