Is Faith a gift of God? Ephesians 2:8 in Biblical Greek
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- Опубліковано 10 вер 2024
- Reading New Testament Greek to interpret Ephesians 2:8
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I’m struggling with my faith. Please pray for me. Prayers are all we need. I’m a single mom, my husband passed away years ago, I’m all alone. I’m struggling to provide for my children. I feel like a failure. But no matter what I will keep faith in Jesus. I can’t seem to get back on my feet. I lost my job for declining the vaccine. I declined due to my health conditions. I suffer from lupus, and heart disease. I’m now waitressing and so thankful to be working but I’m not making nearly enough to get by. I have two beautiful sons both are autistic. I’m overwhelmed because they require so much from me. I recently started homeschooling them because they were having so many issues including bullying. With homeschooling them my hours to work are now limited. Every month is a struggle to not end up on the streets with my boys. I’m so tired of not being able to afford simple things like groceries. But I know God will provide. He has this far. Jesus hear my prayers. I have so much love for you. I know you will carry me through this difficult journey. All Praise to THE MOST HIGH!
Praying
Are you an involved participant member of a local, true Bible believing Church?
I'm praying for you, but also asking the same question, are you a member of a church? Your church of which you are in covenant membership should be helping you. What is your church name?
God will help you endure, not necessarily to succeed in all things in this life. Obedience to God, despite difficult circumstances, will ensure your place in heaven. Don't be afraid to ask those around you for help.
These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 NASB1995
@Micah Lantz , I hear you!
1. You might try this:
# Blaspheme God! You can´t? Then in you is the Holy Ghost, 1 Cor 12:3 - διὸ γνωρίζω ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἐν πνεύματι θεοῦ λαλῶν λέγει Ἀνάθεμα Ἰησοῦν, καὶ οὐδεὶς δύναται εἰπεῖν Κύριον Ἰησοῦν, εἰ μὴ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ...
2. You might consider this:
# You are fully included in the faith OF Christ, Eph 3:12 - ἐν ᾧ (= Christ) ἔχομεν τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ προσαγωγὴν ἐν πεποιθήσει διὰ (genitive preposition) τῆς πίστεως αὐτοῦ (= Christ)...
3. You understood something fundamentally wrong - a genitivus subjectus has nothing to do with you the way you imagine:
# Rom 3:21 starts with a typical Pauline phrase - νυνὶ δὲ = "but now" to mark a brand new beginning with Christ & continues - χωρὶς νόμου δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ πεφανέρωται, μαρτυρουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν· And verse 22 has a genitive subject + a genitive preposition - δικαιοσύνη δὲ Θεοῦ διὰ (= gernitive preposition) πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (genitivus subjectivus) = rather than "faith IN Jesus Christ" I understand "faith OF Jesus Christ"!
My advice:
Forget the pressure you undergo by believing "you must believe in Christ & repent"! You are able only to have "faith like a mustradr seed" - small, tiny, insignificant in YOUR view! But we have the story around Mark 9:24! Read it! And thank God for your WEAKNESS & SINS! For THIS has brought you to God! Kindest regards & love from Germany!
PS: Watch that clip - ua-cam.com/video/sWkEuZfPqPc/v-deo.html
I think this interpretation of Ephesians is spot on. Thanks for the thoughtful video! As a non-Calvinist, I disagree with the interpretations of the other two verses.
In Romans 12, the passage is all about spiritual gifts and cooperation in the body of Christ, not about salvation and redemption. Just as words like “apostle,” “church,” etc. can have different meanings depending on the context, “faith” can be the same. In this context Paul is discussing the faith (and amounts thereof) pertaining to spiritual and miraculous gifts, not necessarily the basic faith in the resurrection of Christ for salvation. Of course, we don’t want to completely separate those two ideas, but there is some distinction, and the context should be taken into consideration. Basically, Paul is telling them that God chooses who gets what spiritual gifts, and that they ought not think that their spiritual gifts are bigger than they really are, and to acknowledge that others may have greater gifting than they do. (Somebody want to go preach this one to Bethel and NAR? 😉)
For the passage in John, Jesus is speaking in response to the question “what should we do that we may work the works of God?” From the context it seems clear to me that this genitive “of God” is not talking about something that is God’s in the sense that He is doing it, but rather in the sense that it belongs to Him or is under His jurisdiction. (I’m sure Wallace has some official sperate categories for these!) As in something like, “This is Mom’s chore, that you wash the dishes.” Obviously Mom isn’t the one washing the dishes or causing you to wash the dishes (except in that she is instructing that it be done).
Hey, this is a great video, just thought I’d throw in my two Arminian cents! I agree that this is a large topic that involves way more passages than these. Thanks Darryl for your helpful videos and for being a great Greek teacher here and on BMA. Really appreciate it, keep up the good work.
I completely agree with this comment! I have interpreted John 6 & Romans 12 in a similar way 😄 this is a helpful break down of Ephesians 2:8 though. Darryl you are a legend! Thanks for everything you have done for God's Kingdom! 😄
I’ve been senior pastor at Park Meadows Church for 35 years in ministry 40 years. This was a fantastic explanation of Ephesians 2.8. I’ve studied this many times myself for many many hours, and come up with the same conclusion. The whole idea is the salvation, the grace, the faith, all of it is a gift. Beautiful. I have to disagree with two previous listeners who made a point of saying they’re not Calvinists which is fine, but what is not fine is to take whatever you are, and try to pass scripture through that sieve, that’s cheating :-) if you look at verse one in chapter 12 of Romans, it says “therefore….” So you have to ask what is the “therefore” there for? It refers to the passage before it in ch 11. The whole context in 11, leading into chapter 12, (and of course, there are no chapter divisions in the Greek) is about salvation-faith of the Jew and gentile so no it’s not just talking about gifts. It’s talking about faith and salvation and gifts, and all of it is a gift from God whether you’re a Calvinist or not, that’s beside the point. Context is SO important. Once we become adults in the word, it is OK to lay aside some of the beliefs of our denominations because they are not all correct. We just need to look at the grammar, the definitions and the context, etc. and all the 10 or more rules of proper Bible interpretation and not cheat; after all who cares who wins the argument it’s about seeking truth.
Spot on!
@@davidmitchell5467 There is broad context and immediate context. The initial "therefore" in chapter 12 refers to the "mercies of God" which are covered in the preceding context extending back prior to chap 11 (but including chap 11). Because of the mercies of God we should present ourselves as living sacrifices. He then proceeds to describe what it looks like to be a living sacrifice. Beginning with 12:3 the immediate context is indeed referring to spiritual gifts as they relate humility (renewing of the mind and sober judgment) and expression in the Body of Christ.
Amen. Amen. Amen
My mother is such an amazing Scripture teacher. She taught me this years ago even without knowledge of Greek. Her words were "and THIS... the very fact that you are saved by grace through faith... is not OF YOU, but a gift OF GOD."
The gift is eternal life. Not faith. IF faith was the gift, God would give that faith to everyone because it is His will that all would come unto the knowledge of the truth. Jesus died for sinners. First Timothy 2:4. Second Peter 3:9.
Great Point! Grammatically speaking..."this" CAN'T refer to grace or faith but rather the over all context of salvation which is the topic.
Even if faith is a gift...so is everything we have...even the breath of life....but the grammar in this passage does not allow "gift" to apply to other previous gifts but rather the subject at hand...."salvation".
Justification-salvation is the gift. Yes, exactly.
Thank you so much! This is my 3rd time watching "this" now I understand, I believed it's all God's Grace now I understand and have Faith
Great video! I think Philippians 1:29 is another text that seems to indicate that faith is a gift of God: “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,”
(Philippians 1:29 ESV). As faith is granted to believers by God, so is suffering, which means faith is a gift from God.
Totally agree!
Amen!
Amen
This is and excellent explanation of Eph. 2:8. Especially when you add in John 6:29 and Romans 12:3. All of salvation is what is being referred to as the gift of God, faith is only a part of it with grace being the dominant component of salvation, through faith that is only a part of the gift of God.. All good gifts come from the father of light per James.
This is very helpful, especially having grammar before theology. thanks!
The fact that I was awakened from a state of spiritual death is something that daily runs through my mind even 50 years after that February day in 1972. It would be nice to claim that in gratitude to that regeneration, I have been a live-wire since. But to be honest, so many days, weeks and years of my walk with Christ Jesus seem to resemble Weekend at Bernies rather than " "self-motivation". I am reminded that "it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure". My part is to daily "work out my salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12-13). It removes the insufficient "Weekend at Bernies" metaphor.
Thank You! I learned this in my 1st year of Greek years ago but it's difficult to explain to folks lol.
In the Greek of this passage, it is clear that the gift referred to is Salvation...not faith or grace etc.
Then we get into everyone's theology which leads you and I to different conclusions on the "hinting" of faith being a gift. Lol. I would say that there is no hinting at all in this passage. Lol, but I'm not a calvanist either:)
However one could argue everything we have from God is a gift but that also means the breath of life itself....however this context is not referring to other gifts given prior....but the gift of salvation.
I do agree In other contexts faith is referred to as a gift...and I also acknowledge all we have comes from God....but those must be established as gifts elsewhere in scripture.
God Bless
:)
salvation is not a neuter word. Take neuter "that" to refer to neuter doron (gift).
@lufknuht5960 the word salvation is not in the passage my friend.
@lufknuht5960 while the word salvation is not in the text...the subject is inferred with the phrase "are you saved".
Grammatically speaking..."this" CAN'T refer to grace or faith but rather the over all context of salvation which is the topic.
Even if faith is a gift...so is everything we have...even the breath of life....but the grammar in this passage does not allow "gift" to apply to other previous gifts but rather the subject at hand...."salvation".
@@interpretingscripture8068
I know this post is 4 months old, but I was struck by your position on the text. The neuter demonstrative used here, “this” refers to the whole concept of salvation by grace through faith, but, if salvation as a whole is a gift (cf. Acts 13:48, Philippians 1:29), so then must be the parts (i.e., grace, faith, etc., cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:13). To say that salvation is a gift, but faith is not, is contradictory, unless salvation is by works, and it isn’t. That is why Paul said that “this” (salvation by grace through faith) is not of yourselves, because if you were somehow able to muster up faith by an autonomous act of your will, then he could not say that “this is not of yourselves.”
I concur.. and I also have years of Greek study and work
So then grace and faith are both gifts. The argument cannot be made: “τούτο is referring to a concept, not faith. The concept is ‘being saved by grace through faith.’ Therefore the τούτο is referring to the salvation. Therefore it’s referring to the grace as a gift and not the faith.” Now that person would be back at square one saying that τούτο refers to a single word and not the entire concept. NO. Both the grace and the faith come as a package deal. One blessed gift. Good video!
Grace faith and salvation are all gifts from God.
Salvation is not a neuter word. Take τούτο to refer to gift (doron, neuter).
THANK YOU FOR ADDRESSING THIS!!!!!!!!
If the WHOLE THING is the gift of God, then faith is STILL a gift of God, in alignment with 1.Pete 1:1
Correct, but that isn’t the point that the grammar argues for. 😉
@@bma yes that might be true, however, Arminians try to refute that faith is a gift from God because of the gender mismatch with the antecedent "faith", and think that it proves that saving faith is not a gift from God...
I enjoy your channel.
Oh 👉👉👉👉 please add Gospel of John 1:12,13 to your list....
Does it teach that born of God is a past completed event in the lives of those described in verse 12????
I will patiently wait...
Another aspect of faith is "faith comes by hearing." So, a person who never hears will not have much faith, while a person who diligently studies the Word of God will have greater faith. In light of that, I would argue God gives us some faith, and then it's up to us what we do with that faith we've been given.
A person who God hasn’t regenerated wouldn’t hear or read the Word of God in Spirit, because they’d be dead in their transgressions and the dead do neither. Therefore one wouldn’t enjoy God’s given faith through hearing or reading of the Word in Spirit. However if one is regenerate the more one reads and listens to the Word, the more God increases one’s faith. Because it still is God who measures (distributes) faith.
Faith does come by hearing just not audibly, there is a reason Jesus said he that have ears let him hear, Jesus told Peter flesh and blood does not reveal who the son of man is, only God, you can not "hear" without God that is what makes it Grace.
Having been saved by grace through faith, is the gift of God. It is also not of ourselves, but that cannot be said if the faith portion is of ourselves. Therefore, the faith is not of ourselves, but is included as an aspect of the gift. The one passage is enough to prove the point, if we think it all the way through.
This video was very helpful. I have been struggling with Eph.2:8 for decades . The NASB 2020 has changed the wording of this passage from their 1977 and 1995 versions. They now align with the NIV, ESV,NET and numerous others with "this" instead of "that" like the KJV and NKJV.
Never mind the grammar, if faith is not a gift from God explain how the gospel can be preached in a room full of people and only some will believe while others will outright reject it.
”You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed.“
Ephesians 2:8 CEB
Anti what the scripture said, It is like you do not what grace is, it is and unmerited favor. if you had faith first the scripture would be wrong because it said not of yourself
The end of the verse described what works looks like "you can boast" if you provide the faith you are not saved by Grace because Grace means unmerited you providing faith mean you earned it and therefore it is works.
Thanks for the detailed explanation.
My question for those who lean towards Calvinism is if passages like Romans 12:3 means that a measure of faith is given IN ORDER for us to come to saving faith, or does this mean that God gifts all believers with a measure of faith to equip each believer in their walk with Christ? I'd tend towards the latter. But as to the former, Romans 10:16 says that faith comes as a result of hearing God's word, which is the instrumental cause through which faith comes and not that God gives faith to some and not others so that they can be saved.
Thanks for your question. I don't know that it is necessary to divide faith as "for service" and "for salvation." It's the same faith either way.
Hi ! The word in grec translated by "throught" in english, is it neutral ?
We also Have Hebrews 11 for a definition of faith. Additionally, we have 2 Thessalonians 3:2. Faith can be thought of in very diverse and broad terms. If I look at a chair and say, "I am going to sit in that chair" then I have "faith" that that chair will hold me up and not fall apart. The word "trust" is often thought of as a synonymous term as well. As in, "I trust you" or "I have faith in you". Given this thinking by a broad spectrum of people who argue that everyone has faith, the theologian ought to clarify the issue by using the terminology, "saving faith". Or, having the ability to believe in Jesus Christ as a personal Lord and Savior. The overarching concepts of general revelation vs. special revelation also can help someone understand that saving faith is a gift and not given to everyone. God gives saving faith to His elect. And, when they receive such a faith, they are enabled to believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
The dictionary that I consulted, stated that gift could also be translated as sacrifice. Is that an option? I couldn't find any translations did not use gift.
Hello, you have articulated very well your thoughts, and I agree with you. Thank you!
I don't think Paul is saying that grace is not from us. Only the faith is not from us. Why? There is no reason to say the grace is not from us because that is the very nature of grace.
Saving faith IS A GIFT FROM GOD given ONLY to His elect. 1. Peter 1:1 says we "obtained" the precious faith.
Also Ephesians 1 says we believe by His resurrection power.
Why study greek is so important?
Because understand the language that the bible was written (also Hebrew and aramaic ) helps you to get in the head of the person who wrote it.
The true author of the Bible GOD made sure that if we study his word, his SPIRIT will guide us to the whole truth
Act 20:27, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
But know what the correct intention by the penman was, goes a long way in understanding and also increase our capability to bring the meanings of the Scripture to the present age in a form that everyone can understand.
Thanks again for your precious work❤
Sounds like Greek Onlyism? Is that a Biblical position to hold in your view?
Thanks, brother.
This vídeo helped me a lot .Why?
I always understand that grace and faith both are a gift of God, and you just showed that in this video.
But by and through the guide of the HOLY SPIRIT, I am able to understand that.
If by grace I understand it is not of merit, then following faith must also be a gift
But if i must believe and it is of myself logically, it is my merit, and grace does not apply, but justice.
But if justice comes to the table, also all my other sins, in which case i will be condemned because, is not of grace ,but works.
This is how i came to the conclusion that both grace and faith are both a work of GOD in us and not of ourselves.
Your servant
A slave of CHRIST
Christian
So I have always believed that we are saved by grace through faith. It is a gift from god. Not of ourselves.
Is that correct?
Thanks for your well thought out explanation of Ephesians 2:8. You just made my day!
Thanks for your kind comment! You just made mine!
I watch your channel and now am a subscriber. Even though I had to watch your video a few times, your logic makes sense but there might be another way to look at the faith part. I can see that if it were not for the grace of God, we could have no faith or salvation at all. But if we look at Romans 10, the apostle Paul tells us how we get faith.
Romans 10:17 NKJV So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The verses above tells us it is from preaching.
Yes but not all who hear the preaching have faith.
@@yahrescues8993 Agree
With regards to Romans 12:3: The faith that Paul is referring to has to do with the function of believers in the body - note v.4:
“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;”
Romans 12:4-6 NIV
V. 4 starts with "for" it refers back to what has just been said, and then not v.6 "if your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith. It is crystal clear that it refers to the function that God has graciously given each of the members of the body of Christ.
Ephesians 2: 8, has to do with salvation. You can't save yourself. That should be plan by reading the old KJV. That's what I thought way back in the late 1960s before I learned any Greek. It should be clearly obvious that it is referring to salvation. Salvation is not something that one can provide for themselves. What is the gift of God? Romans 6: 23 "...the gift of God is eternal..." Salvation is by grace not earned. However it is through faith. How does faith take place? Through the preaching of the gospel (Rpmans 10: 17) and the context surrounding it. I took Greek back in the 1970s and I never would use it like you are doing because it neglects the use of scripture to explain scripture. We need to know the Bible as a whole. Yes, it does help to know Greek however it becomes to technical a things to keep us from knowing what the plain understanding of the Bible stands for. Do you think that the apostle Paul went through all of those gymnastics to unravel what he was trying to teach?
We don’t disagree here. Just because the verse doesn’t say faith is a gift explicitly it still argues clearly that salvation is a gift of God and it goes on to say “and this not of yourself” so I don’t disagree with you at all.
through faith is a prepositional phrase. It seems more likely that the antecedent would be the verb saved (salvation) as what "this/that not of yourselves" is referencing.
Kenneth wuest said that by Grace you are saved sometime in the past and are in a continuous state of salvation right up to the point you read this. I was just wondering if this jives with your thinking and why would they leave out the verbal tenses
I think the antecedent in John 6 v29, is that which Lord Jesus is doing, His speaking words which are Spirit and life, His giving of His body and blood, the things of His sermon; Lord Jesus' thenpresent ministry is the work of God to the result of belief. The hearers respond by asking what sign He'll show so that they may believe, so the hearers seem to have agreed with me regarding the antecedent. Also, "touto" is in an emphasized form, further affirming that the antecedent is Lord Jesus' thenpresent actions.
Thanks for this. I have heard the explanation of Eph 2:8 before from another Greek scholar, but it is great to see someone else explain it the same way.
The bottom is that Paul after mentioning grace through faith, ADDS this is NOT FROM YOURSELVES. So it doesn't matter about faith being not a gift. This text does not support free will nor a strict faith as a gift view. Need to use other texts to show God saves like 2 Tim 1*9.
I've heard that if you continue to ask for something you're not in faith anymore that God heard you the first time some of the old time religious people say this teachers here's the point the Bible says you'll know the truth experimentally and the truth will set you free so we've been given this measure of Faith nobody knows how big it is and if I was to ask for something a measure of something like spiritual a gift to the spirit and then ask again for a second measure of the gift of the spirit and another measure after that all of these independent of each other as individuals stand alone measures does that make sense
To come back to Eph. 2:8, I agree with your analysis, that "this" or "that" refers to the whole clause. But I don't think it suggests that God grants faith perse as in the Calvinistic sense. Like you said 'that' or 'this' refers to the whole clause "God's gift is that we are saved by grace through faith". The contrast is v.9: “not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:9 NIV
So v.8&9 teaches that 'the gift of God is that we should be saved by His grace which we receive through faith, not by our works'. God gets all the glory.
i agree with you on the first scripture (Eph.2.8) but not on the other two, but that's OK 😇
... always interesting and informative content... 👍
I think we have the wrong idea about who’s faith is the topic of discussion here we assume it’s about our but I believe that’s wrong minded it wasn’t our faith that saved us but rather the faithfulness of Jesus Christ it is his faith that brought about our salvation and this indeed is a gift from God, for it is written “If we are faithless, He remains faithful [true to His word and His righteous character], for He cannot deny Himself.
This is so fun. I have a question. I'm wondering if the translations that have used "that" instead of "this" are referring to the concept of "for by grace you have been saved" - it is a concept that was repeated earlier in the chapter (verse 5). My question is - could a demonstrative pronoun be renaming a verb? Or the phrase "by grace you have been saved" has a combination of Feminine noun and Masculine verb? A demonstrative pronoun can rename a concept?
Clear and well presented! Regardless of a person's position on the Arminian/Calvinist scale, it's valuable to see this passage for what it really says. English can sometimes be so foggy with its grammar! Thanks!
Being wishes and foggy it's very simple. Received by God's grace not of works, and the way we enter into salvation is by faith. It's so simple. Calvinism is bunk
Thank you! Very interesting 🤔 It changed what I need to meditate on this morning 🙂🌄
👉👉👉👉Thank you again so much for reading these messages. I was the one who asked you to exegite Ephesians 2:8-9...
Please address Ephesians 1....Martyn Lloyd Jones brought the Glorious truth of Ephesians 1 my attention and I want to see if it is solid according to Greek grammer...
Question: Does Ephesians 1 clearly say that believers believe according to the power of Christ? Thank you in advance. the church NEEDS your expertise!!
You’re welcome! I’ll see how I go but I’m teaching through Ephesians so I may be able to look into it. 😉 I’m cautious about making promises though in case I disappoint you!
@@bma as long as you have it on your schedule I am a happy camper! These are the most critical versus and all of scripture because arminianism is a horrifying false gospel and these scriptures refute their basic false beliefs. Thank you for your Channel. And thank you for being attentive to the messages. Your video about Ephesians 2:8-9 is fantastic and I will be sharing it with many people. Roy
Hey, thanks for pointing this out!
Is “trust” a better way to translate Pisteos rather than Faith?
The nominitive case must modify themselves; The nominative case is the subject of the sentence. (That; Salvation; Gift) are all in the nominative case. Therefore "That gift of Salvation" is the rendering. Grace and faith are not in the nominative case therefore faith is not the gift nor Grace the gift. But only Salvation is the Gift. The Greek makes this planly clear when we look at the grammar without letting our presupposition of theology teaching interfer.
I have a problem over your John 6.29 as in v28 the disciples are asking, what must WE do, to be doing the works of God? Jesus answers, this is the work of God... surely answering their question about what to do. Unless "works" vs "work" is significant here.
Thank you for the great exegetical insight as it relates to the grammar.
You're very welcome!
I guess I don't understand. If salvation is given by God then is He not also giving every component thereof? If I give you a bicycle, then you automatically were given the wheels, the tires, etc. It goes without saying.
Very thorough! Thank you for this video
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
Romans 12:3 mic drop 🎤
Excellent presentation. Thanks.
Note he doesn’t seem to realize it is the same grace’s surpassing riches that saves not faithfulness and this refers to the surpassing riches grace that saves. This passage is saying this same grace given from His faithfulness is God’s gift.
Thanks. It makes a lot of sense. It didn't make me angry!
This is helpful and close to correct but why did you cherry pick those two verses after?
Based on those the jury is still out on if the “faith” itself is a gift as opposed to the fact employing faith and having it DO something useful toward salvation is the systematic gift.
I appreciate your clarification on the Greek in Ephesians 2:8. However, I would push back on your representation of John 6:29. ‘Work of God’ is I. The context of people doing something that pleases God:
“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
Jesus is saying, the only thing God requires of you is belief in Jesus.
Thanks for your comment. I corrected myself in a later video.
@@bma Thanks for your example in correcting yourself. I look forward to watching more content from you!
I studied latin as a boy many years ago and i enjoyed doing so. Is the Greek language similar to Latin? To put it another way, if i started to study the Greek language, would my knowledge of Latin be helpful?
Very helpful! In an attempt to sum it up quickly, I would describe Latin as a slightly dumbed down version of Greek. Your understanding of declensions, verb conjugations, participles, etc. from Latin - all of it is present in Greek. In my opinion Greek just has *more* stuff to know along these lines. Greek does not have an ablative case, but other cases in Greek perform all the functions that the Latin ablative does. Greek has a "middle" voice in addition to active and passive, which Latin does not. In addition to the indicative and subjunctive, Greek has an "optative" mood. Greek also has an additional verb tense called the "aorist" etc. etc.
I restate that your knowledge of Latin will serve you extremely well. Greek just has additional points ans concepts to study on top.
Is there a particular school of (Erasmian?) pronunciation that teaches students to pronounce Greek ‘ου’ like /aʊ/ - as in English words like “out” and “ouch”?
Not that I know of. No koine Greek speakers from the first century were harmed in the making of this video. 🤪
Since pistis (faith) is feminine & that is neuter, eph 2:8 is not establishing that faith is a gift. Take the neuter that to refer to the neuter gift (doron) which follows.
I have translated this verse for myself as: "For by His Grace you are having been saved through Jesus' faith/fulness or faith in His Faithfulness, and this (act of salvation) is the sacrificial-gift of God, not of works (of the law of circumcision) lest any man (specifically man, not woman) may boast (in his flesh)." Compare this with a parallel passage in Romans 3:23-29 which has the same words: Grace/Saved/Faith/Gift/Works/Boast ... But... it says "works of the law" which Paul mentions in other passages when he is discussing circumcision. So unpacked, I believe that Paul is saying that an uncircumcised man should not be carried away with the idea from the sect of "the circumcision" which were believing Jews that insisted on circumcision as being necessary for salvation, but instead that this gift of salvation is to be received by faith in the faithfulness of Jesus that God the Father gave His son as the sacrificial gift on the altar to pay for the sins we committed, He receiving all the credit so man can't boast in the mark of circumcision in his flesh/body. Faith in Hebrew is Faithfulness (faith and works of faithfulness). Greek faith is a concept or idea, but true Hebraic faith as John, Paul, and James were trying to express, is a VERB, an action; something that you do i.e. an act of faithfulness, obedience.
Great video brother.
Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent?
Paul hears God on the Damascus Road. Others hear by way of a Spirit endued messenger. So the instrumentality involves both the Word and the Spirit.
Very helpful, thank you.
You’re welcome! Thank you for your comment!
Great vid, thanks.
I was thinking that grace was the gift, accessed by faith.
Better to understand salvation through faith as the gift that comes by grace. Thanks for your comment!
Simply amazing
Hello. Thanks for the upload. In Matthew 5:48 the word 'perfect' is that correctly translated or should you use the word 'complete' or 'mature' ? Maybe make a video on this?
One of the principles of hermeneutics (bible study) is to allow clear passages to interpret unclear passages. Matthew's gospel uses the word that we've translated "perfect" but look at how Luke cites the exact same event:
Luke 6:36 - Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
When you let the bible interpret the bible then you can skip a lot of in depth Greek analysis. Hermeneutics is the key to good bible interpretation. Hermeneutics is the guardrail that prevents you straying off into error. There are only a few rules of the road so it's not hard to remember.
1) Context is king
2) Let the bible interpret the bible
3) Let clear passages interpret unclear passages
4) Use bible names for bible things
5) Gather all the evidence before committing to a doctrine
There are other rules but that's enough for now.
I might just do that. I find this word interesting!
Agreed. This passage (the first discussed) always bothered me when translated into the RSV/NRSV.
Love it!!!!
Thank u bro
Thank you for your careful explanation of Eph.2:8.
With regard to John 6:29 where you say it is cataphoric, instead of anaphoric, I have to disagree. V. 27 Jesus says “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life" - so Jesus says they should work for food that endures to eternal life. The crowd asks in V.28 “Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?””
and then Jesus answers them: “Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.””
Jesus doesn't negate their assumption that they have to perform a work that God requires that will lead to eternal life, because Jesus just said that they should work for food which leads to eternal life. Therefore "God's work" refers back (anaphoric) to the work that God requires.
So what I understand John 6:27-29 is teaching is that God requires man to trust in His Son for eternal life.
Awesome.... 5 stars
Not quite sure what your goal was in this video??
It actually says “for ye are saved by the same grace via faithfulness and this is not out of yourselves - it is God’s own gift”
His faithfulness results in the gift of grace needed to be saved. This grace refers to the extreme riches of it in v7.
I’m not sure what Greek text you’re referring to but I don’t see grounds for this translation here. So if you’re right, you’ll need to put up a good case. 😉
@@bma I don’t see yours you lack foundation use of words like trying to use faith for God’s faithfulness. You’re so used to watering down the Greek you don’t understand it.
@@bma Ephesians 2:7 is referred to by the anaphoric (you didn’t see that?) article τῇ in front of χάριτί. In Ephesians 2:7 you find “His grace’s own exceeding riches” which is what the grace referred to. So this refers also to the grace’s riches by which ye are saved via (His own) faithfulness; this (saving grace) isn’t of yourselves but God’s own gift. Get it through your head, if your faith actually by itself could save, that would be a work you (and lots of Protestants) think they can boast about. It is His faithfulness (not mere faith) that saves by send the grace needed.
@@bma I using NA27/28/SBL τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι διὰ πίστεως· καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν, θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον· this starts with an anaphoric article definitizing grace as that which has just been spoken of v7 and Γαρ is a postpositive conj. (For) you are (continuing) (being) saved (saved is a state) δια=via πίστεως=faithfulness (the orthodox definitise this faithfulness with an article) and this (referring to the graces riches which is neuter) (is) not εξ=from out of yourselves (gen. to match ex) (it’s) God’s own gift
Don’t see any reason for you not to see this. Maybe you like to water down πίστις or have the wrong idea of who it belongs to. Certainly if the riches of grace are his so is the faithfulness that provides them.
Indeed it is the faithfulness of Jesus Christ by which he gifted us salvation, even while we were faithless he remained true to his character for he cannot deny himself.
I always wonder about doctrines that imply that some sort of module, in this case faith, was plugged into the brain, or some coding in the brain took place!
The truth is that the Holy Spirit came to dwell in the saint - His presence and operations is the 'Faith Gift' and the Law written on the Heart i.e, the effective work of God. (And no I'm not that person that didn't watch to the end 🙂 - but Theology and parsing cannot be divorced). SDG
Romans 12:3-8 is certainly post new birth not pre new birth. What is more, it refers to the gifts of the HS post repentance. So it should not be used to support the Calvinist doctrine you assert. The amplified gives a better reading: For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;
Mat 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:20 - Jesus criticizes the disciples for their lack of faith or their small faith. If faith were fully given by God, then Jesus would ultimately be criticizing God! So, where does faith come from?
Would you lean on these verses to the exclusion of all evidence for the position I'm arguing for? I can provide an answer to your question. Can you do the same? Our positions must be able to deal with verses like these. We can't just lean on one set of verses and ignore the rest.
Thanks for the video. Quick question. If the pronoun could relate to a concept such as faith or grace, could it not apply to being saved? I have no issue with salvation being a gift…
I think that is the whole point here! 😀
Unless I misunderstood you I have one problem with your analysis (admittedly you know Greek FAR BETTER, but the delivery is in English I and I do not know if you realize something you said). Correct me if I am wrong, your entire point with τοῦτο is that it doesn't refer back to anything specific as an antecedent; so in the middle of the video you suggested it turns back to the entire phrase: "by grace you have been saved through faith." Then the rest of the video you suggest not using it as a proof text. I feel like that was an odd place to expound to next. Why? does this suddenly become an apologetic for it not being a proof text that we are saved by faith? If it is an antecedent for the entire phrase it is a proof text that we are "by grace saved through faith" just as the text says in the Greek and then the English, is it not? Just because it doesn't refer back to faith, the word alone specifically, doesn't mean it is not a proof text of faith given that rightly faith is linked to God's Grace which brings salvation. The next words as you know go into it being a Gift from God. Is it wrong to refer back to the entire thought to suggest that the entire thought mirrors the salvation message of the Gospel (by grace through faith)? What am I missing?
what he's arguing for is that it isn't an prooftext for a particular theological view regarding salvation by faith (namely, the Calvinistic one).
@@matthewmencel5978 Problem is that I think it is like any other verse that says it is by faith alone. I don't think calvinist has anything to do with it, nor am I one.
The truth is in the bible. Mark 12:28-32, John 17:3, John 20:17, Rom 15:6, Rom 16:27, I Tim 2:5, Rev 3:2, Rev 3:12 to name a few.
Right on Brother God bless you I would like you to see the Sotierology 101 video that Dr. Flowers has on this verse the false teacher, the word salad he speaks into the text just left me so bamboozled for a minute and didn’t detect the heresies spoken right away but the Lord’s spirit rested upon me, I would kindly ask if you could check him out and expose this so no one else would stumble. Grace be to you
You missed the real meaning, The key word here in Eph 2:8 was the greek term for GIFT.
Means Sacrifice,, now what is this sacrifice????
God comming Himself in flesh and giving Himself for us, this is the very gift of faith. Gift = God Hiumself in time and space, being worked out in us, via faith etc e tc etrcccc No time to further exgete,
Paul
New Orleans
You missed the most important critical word, GIFT.
This exgesis unlocks the entire mystery of this verse
Nice Day
Paul
New Orleans
Dr. Burling, thank you very much for your exegesis of this passage. From my lay perspective, you were spot on. I did have a few questions though, which I hope you can clarify for me. What did you mean by the whole concept? Because I see two concepts or means, by which salvation is given and obtained. (1) τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι / (2) διὰ πίστεως Explanation of (1) γὰρ-For- logical explanatory of verse 7 / τῇ χάριτί- By Grace- showing that this is an Instrumental Dative (by grace), and this is obviously God’s grace. / ἐστε -you are- / σεσῳσμένοι -saved- / So God’s grace is the means or instrumentality by which we are saved. Explanation of (2) διὰ -through- with πίστεως being in the Genitive, this shows that the preposition διὰ is also functioning as an Instrumental with a Genitive of cause. / πίστεως -faith- object of the preposition διὰ / So we obtain {salvation by God’s grace} through the means or instrumentality of faith. Concur or am I off seeing two concepts? My second question is how is σεσῳσμένοι functioning in the sentence? I know that it is a participle, but I have not got there yet in my studies. And thank you very much for supplying great content for slow learners like myself! Grace and Peace.
ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι is a periphrastic construction - a "round about way of saying something" and generally translated using a finite verb in English. Periphrastics tend to provide a little more emphasis.
EPHESIANS 2:8 the word for "faith" in greek, as well as in english, is NOT a VERB, but as a noun it is referred to the means of grace "THROUGH faith" that's "a GIFT of God" but it's not referred to the action of BELIEVING; because that verb is not here.
But, in 1:13 in greek, as well as in english, both words "heard" and "BELIEVED " ARE verbs, activated by the subject "YE" who make the action of those verbs.
So; God's predestination by his own absolute will and grace(v.4-14) was to save those who believed "the gospel of salvation" sent by God, and are placed "IN Him" "IN Christ"(v.4-13) by the seal with the Holy Spirit. But
Paul DOESN'T say 'God MADE you believe' , He actually says: " after...
YE believed".
The same in Romans 9:
God in his own absolute "election"
v. 11-16) HE chose to justify by the means "of fait" and not by "works", that's Paul's conclusion of what he has said so far (that's why in v. 11 he put God' s election in opposition to "works", but not in opposition to faith) so that we may receive "GOD'S righteousness" (10:3), and HIS "righteousness which is of faith SPEAKETH on THIS WISE" (v.6)..."the word of faith WE PREACH"(v.8) says: "if THOU confess...and BELIEVE...saved"(v.9), Not BEFORE Believing, and not if YOU don't believe,. This is God's election to save that PAUL and the other apostles preached. And he DOESN'T say: 'God will MAKE you believe' or 'God will believe FOR you' without YOU Believing. That's why it's for "all that call upon Him with "no difference" v12-13(2:11)(3:22-23) (11:32).
So; when we believe God's way to save, we honor God's absolute election, predestination.
THE SAME in 4:3 "Abraham believed God ....for righteousness" (Abraham made the action of the verb "believed") and Abraham's faith for "jusftification" is a pattern for all of us v. 9-25. for "all nations" Gal.3:6-9.
After Peter said to Jesus, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus was so taken aback that He answered and said to Peter, "Blessed art thou Simon Barjona for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my Father, which is heaven."
Jesus believed that a realization that He was the Christ and the confession of the same was indeed a gift from God.
As Protestants, we are loathe to give much attention to this passage because of what that corrupt Mother of Harlots has done to it over the centuries. But in our disgust and loathing, let's not miss what a monumental event this was. It had such an impact on Jesus that he gave to Peter the "keys of the kingdom of heaven".
Now, to the Mother of Harlots, that means, "Apostolic Succession", which is a huge stretch and a complete obliteration of the context for the sake of grabbing power. There is no evidence that "Apostolic Succession" has any foothold in the context. You have to read that into the passage (eisegesis).
But in fact, Peter unlocked the kingdom of heaven to the Jew first (Acts 2) then also to the Greek (Acts 10). Peter bound baptism, for the purpose of (Greek: eis) the forgiveness of sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and he loosed us from dietary laws and circumcision. Peter bound other things as well, but these are the biggies.
Jesus gave Peter a position of authority that the greedy monsters of that Mother of Harlots have lusted after for centuries. He gave to Peter alone the keys of the kingdom and to nobody else.
χαῖρε ὦ διδάσκαλε Δαρηλ·
I have to agree that the neuter gender singular has some unique things about it, one of which you well illustrated, but here is a thought. In the 1 Corinthians 11 quote from Jesus, τοῦτο ποιεῖτε ... considering sometimes common words are implied, it seems the Demonstrative neuter pronoun is pointing to "τὸ πρᾶγμα" ...implied.
τὶ δοκεῖς;
And I have to admit you could be right, but leaning toward "τοῦτο τὸ δῶρον τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν"... reworded to show τοῦτο pointing to the neuter noun "gift".
Thoughts?
you seem to be making a mistake re. Jesus teaching about “work of God”. The people have asked to be taught to do the works of God. this was an intense emphasis during Jesus’ time. i.e. which rules do we jews follow when so many teachers tell us so many things? Jesus simply boils it down to “It’s simple. God wants you to do only one thing - one ‘work’, Believe in His Messiah.” This is even more clear in the NET:
John 6:28-30 (NET 2nd ed.): 28 So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?” 29 Jesus replied, “This is the deed God requires-to believe in the one whom he sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you?
One can see here that, even if the modern reader takes the words of Jesus in a TULIP sense, the people he was speaking to certainly didn’t. For that matter neither does Dan Wallace, who seems to me to be also of a reformed bent.
BTW, i think that Wallace’s NET is more of a dynamic equivalence work than he probably would acknowledge. However the context here pretty much demands Wallace’s interpretation. I may be mistaken, but i think the last bit of the hermeneutical spiral should be, “now that I know what the book/epistle is saying overall, and how this passage/periscope fits into that, and how this sentence supports the purpose of the passage, is there anything in the original language which tells against my tentative interpretation?” This is why I don’t give much credence to teachers who teach by a single verse. It is much to easy (it’s human intuition, actually) to proof text, whether one means to or not.
thanks for your service to the Body, my friend.
No-one will come to Christ without first the conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit
Justification is a work of God the Father and the Holy Spirit in us and without us. Justification and faith do not have a sequence in time but in order Faith- Justification but are simultaneously in time. Sanctification is a work of The Holy Spirit in us but not without us. Justification and SANCTIFICATION cannot be separated. There is no sanctification without justification or justification without sanctification, this even when sanctification is just a begin of regeneration through all our life. Faith is by Grace and the free gift of God. The Bible teaches us the Justification of the UNGODLY. [Made/ declared Righteous. Based only on the righteousness of Christ] Not a believer is justified. The UNGODLY chooses SIN by nature. Sanctification is called Fruits of the Holy-Spirit.
James 2: 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works [read FRUITS] is dead? Faith First then Fruits of Faith
There is a general working of the Holy Spirit in the hearing of the Word that convicts and precedes faith but not always leads to salvation. See the parable of the sower. The plow is needed to make the soil good to receive the seed. Conviction is a work of the Holy Spirit and without no-one will come to Christ. Never lost is never saved. Jesus came to save the lost.
Jesus said so
The antecedent in John 6:29 is the question posited to Him by those questioning how to do the miracles He is doing. Jesus refers back to that question, hence the antecedent. Clearly, Jesus is saying you, questioners, believe or have faith in the Father who sent Him. It is a vigorous twisting of the answer of Jesus to claim He is saying get faith from God. Rather, He is saying believe in God active on the part of the believer. This reformed doctrine of the manufacturing of saving faith apart from our choice makes us incoherent automatons. Refer to the destruction of personal faith referred to by Paul of Hymenaeus and Alexandar making shipwreck their (personal) faith. If it is from God as a gift then that gift is irrevocable but not for those two apostates.
that's easy Hymenaeus and Alexander had a personal superficial faith...one that trusts facts and not the Person of Jesus.
@@TheApologeticDogyou assume facts not in evidence - personal superficial faith. You just made that up. What does that even mean? Do you have a reference for foundation supporting your creative thinking?
@@jarvisnelson4701 yes the word pistis has a semantic domain and context would determine its usage. The context is with false teachers and so their faith would be “belief” only without conviction.
Sorry brother me being English speaking American u r talking Greek to me. I find it ironic that Gods word could only be interpreted if I knew ALL these congugations of these vrs. I'm sure u r rightly explaining the proper interpretation of these Greek structures, but me be of limited intelligence am totally lost.
Faith can't be a gift of God. I can prove you with text but the simple question is, if faith is a gift of God then why not God give the faith along with Grace to everyone so that everyone will be saved?
Perhaps because he simply did not choose everyone?
You started so good then you said ok lets put our reformed glasses on to truly understand this verse......oooops.🙄
Really enjoyed your understanding of the Greek but unfortunately you let your doctrine take over and to inadequately explain the passages you wanted to, to try to uphold irresistible grace by faith as a gift. Romans 12:3 was not exegeted very well at all. Some food for thought: "The context is of Christians. This is not talking about unbelievers being given an Irresistible Grace in order to become believers. What we know from Ephesians 1:3 is that every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places is in Christ, meaning only for Christians. So, in context, Paul is talking about the body of Christ, in terms of each person being given their own unique spiritual gift for their assigned function within the body."
I have a couple of alternative understandings of John 6:29 that I think is supported by Greek grammar.
First is expressed in the net Bible.
Jesus replied, “This is the deed God requires - to believe in the one whom he sent.”
The Net Bible seems to understand του θεου as a descriptive genitive rather than subjective genitive.
Second alternative understanding is that the work of God referes back to the merical(work) of feeding the 5000. In this case it could be translated "This is the work of God, that you may believe in him whom he has sent." ινα with the aorist subjunctive is sometimes translated with the idea of possiblity rather than certainty. I didn't find any translations with the word "may" or "could" so I'm a little hesitant to take this view.
With regards to John 6:29: “Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.””
John 6:29 NIV
You say it is cataphoric, this is not true, there is a anticedent - v.27 and 28:
“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?””
John 6:27-28 NIV
So Jesus does not negate their assumption that they have to do work that God require that will lead to eternal life, for He told them in v. 27 that they should work for food that endures to eternal life. So "God's work" refers back to "the work that God require".
V.27-29 teaches that 'what God requires man to do is to trust in His Son for eternal life'.