For by grace are ye saved through faith

 

For by grace are ye saved through faith

(Ephesians 2:8-10)For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We should not read verses 8-9 separately from verse 10. We should read verses 8-10 together. 『We are his workmanship』 This word does not refer to the body inherited from parents, but to the spirit body that God makes to be born again. Why do saints have to be born again? created in Christ Jesus for good works. The saints are born again for good works. In the Old Testament, being born again is the event of the Exodus from Egypt and the faith that goes through the wilderness and enters Canaan. The Bible says that Canaan represents Christ.

Most churches think that salvation is to be painted with the blood of the Lamb and to be freed from Egypt. I think of the wilderness as living in this world and cultivating the strength to fight against Satan. He is saved, but sometimes falls, so I think he should be well trained. However, without faith to enter Canaan, no matter how much you leave Egypt and live in God's grace in the wilderness, you will not be able to receive salvation. Because unless you enter into Christ, you cannot be saved.

Even today, people seek God when the world is difficult. Like the Hebrew people who cried out in the oppression of King Pharaoh, we seek God. They had the faith to paint the blood of the lamb, ate the word of God as if they ate the meat of the lamb, and are diligently practicing their worship life as if they followed it with a pillar of cloud and fire every day. However, just because they worked so hard, it does not automatically lead to the faith to enter Canaan. That is the story of the twelve spies.

The representatives of the twelve tribes were chosen by selecting one of the most trustworthy people out of about 50,000 for each tribe. They came to see Canaan. Other than Joshua and Caleb, the ten others said, “If you enter, you will die,” and said, “If you enter there, the descendants of Anak, the descendants of the Nephilim, live.” “The walls are high and there are iron chariots. After 40 days of spying, it turned out that they were people who did not believe in God's promises.

Caleb said, "This is the land that the Lord promised, a land flowing with milk and honey. They are our food. Let's go in and take Canaan." The Bible says, “Joshua and Caleb were completely obedient to the word of God.”

This belief is the only way to heaven. However, they cannot defeat the offspring by force. When we believe and obey the promises of Jehovah God, we win. God makes them overcome.

In Numbers 14:10, “And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.” All the people believed the zealot's words, so they were going to stone Moses and Joshua. So, in verse 11, 『Thus shall it be done for one bullock, or for one ram, or for a lamb, or a kid.』

Only the faith that enters Canaan is the faith that God accepts. Today, most church people say with their mouths, “I believe that all my sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus.” But that means it came from Egypt. Most people will still love the world. It is the same as the Hebrew people longed for Egypt in the wilderness. Although physically exodus, their hearts are in Egypt.

Today, those who have painted the blood of the Lamb in the church but still love the world are like this. Everyone who speaks and hears this is like a blind man leading a blind man and falling into a pit.

The faith that enters Canaan is like “By grace you have been saved through faith.” The word grace is His grace. In Ephesians 2:5, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)” speaks of being saved by grace. We are not saved by faith, but by grace through faith. Without grace, it is unbelievable.

This grace is “who made us, who were dead in trespasses, made alive together with Christ”

It means the faith of those who have been born again. This faith is to die with Christ and live with Christ. If you are not born again, there is no washing. To be born again is to die in water and be born again by the Spirit. To die in the water is the act of believing that the baptized is also dead, as in Noah's flood.

The life we receive from heaven, not the physical life in humans, is a gift from God to those who are born again. The life of a born-again person, only this is the faith that goes out without fear of the iron chariot, just like entering Canaan and destroying the descendants of Anak, believing the promises of the Lord. The person who is the owner becomes anxious in front of Canaan. Those whose Master is the Lord of hosts have no reason to be anxious.