All men will not be saved (Matt. 7:13,14). Those who will be saved are those who have obtained the grace of God. Such language should not convey the idea that man can be saved by his own merit or goodness. Jesus taught that those who are poor in spirit will have the kingdom of God (Matt. 5:3). The verse teaches that man is not “rich” enough to develop a system to save himself. Man must depend on God to reveal what needs to be done in order to receive His grace. God chose to place the knowledge in written form so all men could read and understand what God wanted them to do (I Cor. 2:13; I Cor. 13:10).
God is not the author of confusion (I Cor. 14:33). The Word of God was placed in written form so all men could read and understand what God wanted them to do. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit sent a letter to the brethren in Ephesus. When he did, he wrote that when they read his letter they would know what Paul knew (Ephesians 3:3,4). Would not Paul have to be there in Ephesus to give them the correct meaning? Would the Holy Spirit have to give them the correct meaning of what Paul had written?
Once more the religious world tries to convey that unless there is a direct operation of the Holy Spirit on the heart of a man, man cannot understand what is written. Does this agree with Paul saying, “…when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:4). The religious world goes back to Eph. 2:1 to say that the person who is dead in sins must have the Holy Spirit do something to help them understand the truth. Let us go back to chapter one of the same book and speak about salvation.
The brethren at Ephesus, before they became Christians, trusted in Christ (Eph. 1:13). What was the origin of that trust? That trust arose when they heard the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation. What, under normal circumstances, would come before trust and hearing? These people heard, then believed, then trusted. If the Holy Spirit works on the heart of the sinner then all those who would be saved would be saved as a direct operation of the Spirit of God What follows then is all those who are lost is because the Spirit of God chose to allow them to be lost. This verse in Ephesians teaches just the opposite.
Someone preached to them in order for them to hear about Jesus. You cannot be saved without faith (Heb. 11:6). Faith has as its origin, the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). Once they heard they had to evaluate, personal judgment on their part, if what they had heard was right or not (Acts 17:11). If they came to believe, it would mean they trusted what they had heard and, hence, learned to trust Christ for their salvation. Every step of the way required them to use their minds and come to conclusions about what God wanted them to do. The work of the Holy Spirit was to get them the truth through teaching. Once people heard the truth, the Spirit of God would not open their minds or force their hearts to accept something that they did not believe.
By way of example, consider the house of Cornelius. The response by some in the religious world is that the Holy Spirit came on those and then they were baptized. The idea they wish to pass on is that one can be saved without being baptized. Why not invest time to find the complete context of Acts 10. Let me pose this question. Can one be saved without being purified? Purification is absolutely necessary (Matt. 5:8). Based on Matthew’s statement, those who are purified will see God. How is a man purified? He is purified by obeying the truth (I Peter 1:22).
How were Cornelius and those at his house saved? Here is an inspired record of the man who was present on that very day. Peter says about them, “…purifying their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:9). How is one purified? They are purified by obeying the truth. How were Cornelius and others purified? Peter says by faith. Faith then is connected by definition to obeying the truth.
Obedience is an overt act on the part of man to respond to what God tells him to do by means of the written Word. How then does one obtain grace? Grace is obtained by obeying the truth.