Efesus 2:7-8

2:7 to demonstrate in the coming ages ¹  the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward ²  us in Christ Jesus. 2:8 For by grace you are saved ³  through faith, ⁴  and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Efesus 3:7-8

3:7 I became a servant of this gospel ⁵  according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by ⁶  the exercise of his power. ⁷  3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ⁸  – this grace was given, ⁹  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

[2:7]  ¹ tn Or possibly “to the Aeons who are about to come.”

[2:7]  ² tn Or “upon.”

[2:8]  ³ tn See note on the same expression in v. 5.

[2:8]  ⁴ tc The feminine article is found before πίστεως (pistews, “faith”) in the Byzantine text as well as in A Ψ 1881 pc. Perhaps for some scribes the article was intended to imply creedal fidelity as a necessary condition of salvation (“you are saved through the faith”), although elsewhere in the corpus Paulinum the phrase διὰ τῆς πίστεως (dia th" pistew") is used for the act of believing rather than the content of faith (cf. Rom 3:30, 31; Gal 3:14; Eph 3:17; Col 2:12). On the other side, strong representatives of the Alexandrian and Western texts (א B D* F G P 0278 6 33 1739 al bo) lack the article. Hence, both text-critically and exegetically, the meaning of the text here is most likely “saved through faith” as opposed to “saved through the faith.” Regarding the textual problem, the lack of the article is the preferred reading.

[3:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “of which I was made a minister,” “of which I became a servant.”

[3:7]  ⁶ tn Grk “according to.”

[3:7]  ⁷ sn On the exercise of his power see 1:19-20.

[3:8]  ⁸ sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

[3:8]  ⁹ sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).