to save · verb — perfect passive participle, nominative plural masculine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Acts 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ephesians 2:4-10
Here the apostle begins his account of the glorious change that was wrought in them by converting grace, where observe,
I. By whom, and in what manner, it was brought about and effected. 1. Negatively: Not of yourselves, Eph 2:8. Our faith, our conversion, and our eternal salvation, are not the mere product of any natural abilities, nor of any merit of our own: Not of works, lest any man should boast, Eph 2:9. These things are not brought to pass by any thing done by us, and therefore all boasting is excluded; he who glories must not glory in himself, but in the Lord. There is no room for any man's boasting of his own abilities and power; or as though he had done any thing that might deserve…
dead in sins--The best reading is in the Greek, "dead in our (literally, 'the') trespasses."
quickened--"vivified" spiritually, and consequences hereafter, corporally. There must be a spiritual resurrection of the soul before there can be a comfortable resurrection of the body [PEARSON] (Joh 11:25-26; Rom 8:11).
together with Christ--The Head being seated at God's right hand, the body also sits there with Him [CHRYSOSTOM]. We are already seated there IN Him ("in Christ Jesus," Eph 2:6), and hereafter shall be seated by Him; IN Him already as in our Head, which is the ground of our hope; by Him hereafter, as by the conferring cause, when hope shall be swallowed up in fruition [PEARSON]. W…
Even when we were dead in sins - Dead in our souls; dead towards God; dead in law; and exposed to death eternal,
Hath quickened us together with Christ - God has given us as complete a resurrection from the death of sin to a life of righteousness, as the body of Christ has had from the grave. And as this quickening, or making alive, was most gratuitous on God's part, the apostle, with great propriety, says; By grace ye are saved.
John Gill on Ephesians 2:5
The Church Fathers
God made us in Christ. So it is through Christ once again that he has formed us anew. We are his members; he our Head.
The sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the future glory that will be revealed in us. If so, we are saved by grace rather than works, for we can give God nothing in return for what he has bestowed on us.
Since he rose, we hope that we too shall rise. He himself [by his rising] has paid our debt. Then Paul explains more plainly how great the gift is: "You are saved by grace." For it is not because of the excellence of our lives that we have been called but because of the love of our Savior.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Election of Grace — The Scripture speaks (1) of the election of individuals to office or to honour and privilege, e.g., Abraham, Jacob, Saul, David, Solomon, were all chosen by God for the positions they held; so also…
Eternal life — This expression occurs in the Old Testament only in Dan. 12:2 (R.V., “everlasting life”). It occurs frequently in the New Testament (Matt. 7:14; 18:8, 9; Luke 10:28; comp. 18:18). It comprises the…
Grace — (1.) Of form or person (Prov. 1:9; 3:22; Ps. 45:2). (2.) Favour, kindness, friendship (Gen. 6:8; 18:3; 19:19; 2 Tim. 1:9). (3.) God’s forgiving mercy (Rom. 11:6; Eph. 2:5). (4.) The gospel as…
Atonement, The · Exhibits the: Grace and mercy of God — Exhibits the: Grace and mercy of God
Dead, The · Illustrative of: Man’s state by nature — Illustrative of: Man’s state by nature
Death, Spiritual · Deliverance from, is through Christ — Deliverance from, is through Christ
Grace · Is the source of: Salvation — Is the source of: Salvation
Life, Spiritual · All saints have — All saints have
Love Of God, The · Exhibited in: Quickening of souls — Exhibited in: Quickening of souls
New Birth, The · Described as: A spiritual resurrection — Described as: A spiritual resurrection
Regeneration
Even when we were dead in sins,.... See Gill on Ephesians 2:1.
Hath quickened us together with Christ: which may be understood either of regeneration, when a soul that is dead in a moral or spiritual sense, is quickened and made alive; a principle of life is infused, and acts of life are put forth; such have their spiritual senses, and these in exercise; they can feel the load and weight of sin; see their lost state and condition, the odiousness of sin, and the beauty of a Saviour, the insufficiency of their own righteousness, and the fulness and suitableness of Christ's; breathe after divine and spiritual things; speak in prayer to God, and the language of Canaan to fellow Christians; move…
Ephesians 2:4-7
4. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
4. Deus autem, qui dives est in misericordia, propter multam suam dilectionem, qua nos dilexit,
5. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ; (by grace ye are saved;)
5. Etiam quum essemus mortui peccatis, convivificavit cum Christo; (Gratia estis salvati;)
6. And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus;
6. Et simul excitavit, et sedere fecit in coelestibus in Christo Iesu,
7. That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
7. Ut demonstraret in…
gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead (literally made us alive together with Christ): Joined with Christ, believers share in his resurrection, now and in the future (see 2:6; Rom 6:4-14; Col 3:1-4). • It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved: See Eph 1:2; 2:8-9.
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
