We are saved by grace, through faith. We are saved purely because of the unlimited and unmerited goodness and kindness of God. We need to to continually remind ourselves of this, not to make ourselves feel bad, but in order to help us realise the wonder and greatness of the plans that God has for us. It is true that "by nature we were objects of wrath", but God did not save us so that we would live in a perpetual state of feeling unworthy. Instead we are to live in a state of knowing how much God loves us and the extent of His plans for us. All that we have been reading about in Ephesians is about the wonder of God's plans for us.
"and this is not from yourselves". "this" refers to the whole process of salvation, not just the faith part. "So that no one can boast". If ever we imagine we are able to save ourselves we will quickly come a cropper, but Jesus died so that we could live. This may also be a dig at the Judaisers, who boasted of their Jewishness, circumcision in particular.
We were saved for a purpose. We are God's workmanship, created to do good works. And these were prepared long ago by God. We have not been saved just so we have a ticket to heaven, but so that we can be and do what God always intended us to be and do.
"and this is not from yourselves". "this" refers to the whole process of salvation, not just the faith part. "So that no one can boast". If ever we imagine we are able to save ourselves we will quickly come a cropper, but Jesus died so that we could live. This may also be a dig at the Judaisers, who boasted of their Jewishness, circumcision in particular.
We were saved for a purpose. We are God's workmanship, created to do good works. And these were prepared long ago by God. We have not been saved just so we have a ticket to heaven, but so that we can be and do what God always intended us to be and do.
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