Ephesians 2: 8-9
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.
I realize that this is a much shorter section than the other passages that we have studied in Ephesians. However, the content of this short passage is directly related to the doctrine of how we are saved (soteriology for those of you who like big words). As a result, it is an important section to look at with considerable detail.
The big questions in this passage include:
- What, specifically, is the gift of God that Paul is referencing?
- What about the gift precludes boasting?
The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary does not include a great deal of Ellen White’s perspective on this section of Scripture. The lone quotation from her in the Bible Commentary is:
Boasting Out of Place—[Ephesians 2:8, 9 quoted.] Human beings are in continual danger of boasting, of exalting self. Thus they reveal their weakness…. The great change that is seen in the life of a sinner after his conversion is not brought about through any human goodness; therefore all human boasting is entirely out of place (Manuscript 36, 1904).
This quote does not specifically address what is the gift of God in this passage, but it does provide some hint at the idea as Ellen White saw it. It certainly directly addresses why there is no cause for boasting. Regardless of whether one concludes that Paul is referring to grace, faith, salvation, or the combination of all of these when he says “it”; mainstream Christian commentators are in agreement that Paul is emphasizing God’s role in our salvation. There is nothing about our salvation that would allow us to brag. For example, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary describes the passage this way:
“Yet again Paul reminds his readers that they owe their salvation entirely to the undeserved favor of God. Grace is at once the objective, operational and instrumental cause. He expands the previous statement by adding the subjective medium (or apprehending cause) of salvation is faith, which is also a necessary condition. Faith, however, is not a quality, a virtue, or a faculty. It is not something that man can produce. It is simply a trustful response that itself is evoked by the Holy Spirit. Lest faith should be in any way misinterpreted as man’s contribution to his own salvation, Paul immediately adds a rider to explain that nothing is of our own doing, but everything is in the gift of God.”
Ellen White’s focus in referencing this passage was entirely about man’s good works that were empowered by God. Christian commentators look at the same passage and see the passage as being entirely about God’s work. This inside-out focus is a good illustration of the fundamental difference between Adventism and Christianity.
Let’s expand this comparison and look not only at Ellen White’s quote but at the full comments from the authors of the SDA Bible Commentary:
It is grace on God’s part and faith on man’s part. Faith accepts the gift of God. It is through the act of entrusting ourselves to Him that we are saved, not that faith is the means of our salvation, but simply the channel.
Notice the strong contrast. In the SDA Bible Commentary, faith is described as man’s contribution to the salvation process. In the Expositor’s commentary, faith is specifically attributed to God in the form of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, lest one dismiss this disparity as simply a Wesley vs Calvin debate, the author of the Ephesians chapter of the Expositor’s Bible Commentary is a Methodist (Wesleyan) scholar.
Adventists routinely try to use the differences between Wesleyan and Calvinist theologians to justify their own positions. Certainly these two schools of thought do vary slightly in how they would interpret this passage, but both schools of thought recognize what the text is plainly stating, that the emphasis of our salvation in this passage is firmly directed towards God, not man.
Let’s return to the SDA Bible Commentary:
Not of yourselves. That is, the salvation is not effected by human effort.
One has to read this statement closely to uncover the Adventist heresy hidden in a very orthodox-sounding statement. I wouldn’t flinch at seeing this same statement from any mainstream Christian commentator. However, seeing the preceding statement in the Adventist commentary, seeing the Ellen White quote in the commentary, and knowing something about Adventist theology, this statement takes on more meaning. Let me explain.
There is a big difference is saying that salvation is not effected by human effort and saying that it is not affected by human effort. Paul’s clear teaching here, and elsewhere (particularly Galatians and Romans) is that salvation is neither effected nor affected by human effort. That understanding, however, is not Adventist theology. Adventists can honestly agree with Christians in saying that salvation is not effected by human effort. The reason lies in the definition of effected. Adventist theology does not claim that human effort is the cause of salvation. However, what is left out of this statement is whether human effort, of lack of sufficient effort, can affect salvation.
In Adventist theology, failure to obey the law sufficiently (and, by the way, I don’t know of a single Adventist who can explain what the criteria for “sufficient” would be) can result in one’s salvation being “revoked”. For those who aren’t aware, in Adventist theology our salvation is probationary. During the probationary time period we need to prove, through our works (that are empowered by God) that we deserve the salvation we have been provisionally granted. If we can’t, at the close of probation, our saved status will be revoked, and we are doomed to the Lake of Fire. The uniquely Adventist doctrine of the Investigative Judgement is what determines whether we “pass” our probation.
The saddest statement that I read from the SDA Bible Commentary was this quote concerning the gift of God:
Gift of God. Salvation is a free gift, without money or price.
These words are very sad. For Paul, a free gift means that there are no human works attached to the gift. For the Adventist theologians writing the commentary, God’s free gift of salvation only means that there is no monetary price. If an Adventist pastor or Bible study is telling you that salvation is free, please refer back to their meaning of free. The Adventist meaning of free is vastly different from a Christian’s understanding of this word.
For those of you who have been following this series, you know that I also like to examine how The Clear Word restates the passages. I know that The Clear Word isn’t an “official” Adventist interpretation of Scripture—even though it is published by an Adventist publishing house and distributed by Adventist Book Centers . In fact, I have found that The Clear Word consistently shows how middle-of-the-road Adventists are likely to understand passages based on Ellen White’s writings and Adventist church teachings.
The Clear Word renders Ephesians 2:8–9 this this way:
It is by grace that we are saved, and not because of anything that we have done. It is a gift from God that we receive by faith. We certainly cannot congratulate ourselves and think that we are saved because of what we have done. We are God’s people, created in Jesus Christ to do good works and to walk the road He did when He was here.
By re-ordering grace, faith and gift, The Clear Word removes any ambiguity that exists in the original languages (and the common translations) and instead substitutes the Adventist conclusion about grace being the gift.
The next statement is even more ambiguous. The idea that “we cannot…think that we are saved because of what we have done” can be understood in several different ways. I attribute an intentionality to this ambiguity; Adventists generally hide their actual beliefs to those outside the denomination.
The Clear Word is not misrepresenting Adventist understanding. In fact, one thing I like about The Clear Word is that I haven’t found any cases where it plainly misrepresents mainstream Adventist thinking on any passage. The truth is that both historical and progressive Adventists could likely agree that “we cannot…think that we are saved because of what we have done”. But what do those words actually mean?
It could mean that our works, or lack of works, has no bearing on our salvation because salvation is a gift from God. If one read The Clear Word and concluded this meaning, it would be consistent with Paul’s writing. However, it would be just as easy to conclude from this paraphrase (although not from any good translations) that the issue is about whether we can ever be confident in our salvation, regardless of what we have done. Seventh-day Adventists are taught that it is wrong ever to think or to say that they are saved. Therefore, with this understanding in the background, Adventists could never think that they are saved because of what they have done, because they can never be certain that they have done enough to be saved. When one realizes this truth about Adventism, the content of The Clear Word looks completely different. It absolutely communicates true Adventism.
In conclusion, the Adventist understanding of this short passage falls well outside mainstream evangelical Christian teaching and provides an insight into how the Adventist doctrine of salvation differs from evangelical Christianity.†
How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #1
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How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #5
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How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #7
How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #8
How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #9
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- 29. The Adventist Millennium - July 20, 2023
Rick, you are making mountains out of mole hills. Instead of quibbling over such fine distinctions which reveal a somewhat unnecessary and legalistic bent you would do better to encourage the growing evangelical movement in Adventism.
Sincerely, Winston McHarg