Here’s Ephesians 2:1-10 –
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:1-10, NIV)
There’s a lot of theology in the middle. I don’t particularly like theology.
Looking at the beginning and the end, there’s a contrast. The beginning speaks of people who had no choice but to basically do what feels good, in the moment. The end speaks of people who now have a choice: implicitly they can now choose against what feels good in the moment, if a different choice is more truly good. The author says this choice, this ability is a gift from God.
The author points out that since it’s a gift we can’t take credit for earning it; to me that doesn’t really need saying – of course a gift is different from something earned!
This passage is one of those used by some Christians to explain how to ‘become saved’ or ‘become a Christian’. But it’s written to people who already are Christians.
When some Christians talk about ‘becoming a Christian’ they refer to it as ‘the gift of salvation’ but then they say it has prerequisites. That makes no sense to me; it’s not how people give gifts so why would it be how God gives a gift? People don’t come bearing a gift then say “Ah but I’m not going to give it to you unless you tell me a) how much you need this b) you absolutely didn’t deserve it”.
In Ephesians 2:1-10 I can see that Paul is reflecting on God’s generosity. Recipients of gifts may well reflect on how amazingly gracious and unbelievably generous it was of the gift giver to gift them a gift. But that doesn’t mean the giver will only give his gifts to people who make a big deal of how much they need and don’t deserve them. Maybe he gives them just because he’s generous.
I think it’s unwise for people who are aware they are recipients of God’s generosity, to set rules for other people about what’s required for God to be generous to them. Matthew 16:1-20 is about the workers in the vineyard complaining that late arrivals received the same pay as them; the owner’s response is “Are you envious because I’m generous?” Then Jesus concludes with “the first shall be last and the last shall be first”.
If we think we know God presumably we’re the ones already at work in the vineyard. We are not ‘last’. It’s not the end of the workday yet and we do not even know what God’s generosity to those who are ‘last’ is going to look like. Maybe it’s beyond what we can imagine.