“He made us alive.” “He raised us up together” and “made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ.” Salvation is that, but more than the blessings that we receive, salvation is a free gift of God to all who believe. It’s a free gift. We all know Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Pretty clear, isn’t it? Well, you know what a lot of people do? They argue over what the word “that” means. You may have heard this before. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and THAT… ,” they say, is referring to “faith.” THAT faith “… is not of yourselves, it is a gift of God.” Which leads us to the conclusion that the only people that can be saved are the people that God gives the gift to. And God only gives “the gift of faith” to certain people that He has chosen. That is NOT what the text is saying. The words “grace” and “faith” are feminine, and the word “that” is neuter. Even from a grammatical point of view, you can’t push that idea. If the “that” is not referring to grace or faith, what’s it referring to?
Let’s back up to verse four. “But God, who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved,) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” I want you to notice three things God did because of His love and mercy. Number one, “He made us alive together with Christ.” And then there’s a parenthesis, “(by grace you have been saved).” That’s what the “that” is referring back to. I mean, it’s pretty simple. You have to wonder how people miss it. But. So the first thing, “He made us alive,” and then secondly, “He raised us up together.” And then third, “He made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ.”
All three of those things happen at the moment of salvation: 1) He makes us alive; 2) He raises us up, and 3) He makes us sit together with Christ. So the “that” is actually looking back to the three things that God did for us at the moment of salvation. Think about “that” in the mind of God. You not only were given life, raised up in resurrection and seated with Christ … Where is He? Psalm 110:1, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” He’s seated in the place of honor. He is seated in the place of power. And guess who seated with Him? Each and every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. In the mind of God, we’re already there. Pretty amazing thought!
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Pretty clear, isn’t it? Salvation is a free gift of God to all who believe. It’s a free gift. We are “saved by grace through faith.” Faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone. Will you receive the gift or will you reject it?