"So that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Ephesians 2:7-10
Paul's point is that salvation is all of God. Sometimes it is questioned whether the phrase 'the gift of God' in v 8 refers to 'grace' or to 'faith'. But it is best perhaps to take it as referring to salvation, and as including both grace and faith. Faith is certainly the gift of God, as we read in Paul's writings elsewhere (Philippians 1:29 - 'It is given to us ... to believe'), whether Paul means it here in Ephesians 2 or not. And this is the point that is made in 10, in the words 'we are His workmanship' - which stands in contrast to 'not of works'. For if salvation is a gift from God and all of grace, something we receive from His bountiful hand, then our 'works' do not, and cannot, come into it at all. It is His work and we are His workmanship. This is a favourite theme of Paul's, as we may see from such verses as Philippians 1:6, 'He that hath begun a good work in you ....' and Philippians 2:13, 'Work out your own salvation ... for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure'. There is more to be said on this important theme and we shall return to it in later Notes but at this point we must consider what Paul says in 7 'that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus'. These are words which show the sheer breadth of Paul's thought, and we shall turn to them in detail in tomorrow's Note.