” It turns Ephesians into “For by grace you have been saved through faith” into “For by grace you have been saved through predestination”.”
Or, we eeevil Calvinists could just read the whole thing, where it concludes: “and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” So is your “faith” of yourself, or is it the gift of God?
“Or, we eeevil Calvinists could just read the whole thing, where it concludes: “and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” So is your “faith” of yourself, or is it the gift of God?”
Sorry, but the text does not support you. In the Greek, the gift is linked to salvation, not faith:
“That is, salvation does not proceed from yourselves. The word rendered “that” - touto- is in the neuter gender, and the word “faith” - pistis- is in the feminine. The word “that,” therefore, does not refer particularly to faith, as being the gift of God, but to “the salvation by grace” of which he had been speaking.”
God’s salvation is His gift. Saving faith is never called a gift in the Bible. Saving faith is something we do, or do not do:
“For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.”
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”