Islam clearly teaches that people will be judged according to their deeds: “The scales on that day will be just. Those whose weights are heavy (with good works), it is they who are winners. But as for those whose weights are light it is they who have lost their souls.”1 Elsewhere the Quran says, “Those whose scales are heavy (with good works) it is they who are successful. But those whose scales are light, those are they who have lost their souls; in Hell they will dwell forever.”2 Surah 2:81-82 says: “Indeed, whoever commits misdeeds and becomes besieged by his iniquities – these are the inmates of the Fire, wherein they will dwell forever. And for those who believe and do righteous deeds – these are the inhabitants of Paradise, wherein they will dwell forever.” In Islam one is judged by their deeds and, in the Mercy of Allah, if one’s good deeds have a heavy enough weight Paradise awaits otherwise it is the fires of Hell. Thus, salvation is through Allah’s mercy3 and good works.4 Chapman writes, “Islam is a complete way of life. It tells man about the purpose of his creation and existence, his ultimate destiny . . . and most importantly, it provides him with guidance to lead a balanced and purposeful life which will enable him to avoid the Hellfire and be rewarded with a place in Paradise in the life after death.”5
Therefore, the good news of the gospel of Jesus can seem scandalous to those who turn to Christ from an Islamic background. For whilst the bible is clear, all of humanity (both Christian and non-Christian) will be judged for their works,6 it is not good works that save someone. Galatians 2:16 says, “Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”
Ephesians 2:8-10 wonderfully declares:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Salvation from hell’s fire which the Bible is clear all mankind deserve (see Romans 3:9-20 and Ephesians 2:1-3) is not the product of man’s work but God’s grace. In fact, Jesus once summed up all the works God requires as, “That you believe in him whom God has sent.”7 Just to make the point crystal clear at the end of the Bible in the book of Revelation it tells of the great day of judgement when the living and the dead will be judged “according to what they have done,” (everyone’s good and bad works examined by the almighty); but those thrown into the lake of fire were not those whose life was not good enough, but those whose “name was not found written in the book of life.”8
In truth the Bible is clear mankind is born dead in their trespasses and sin, under the power of the devil and by nature children of God’s wrath (see Ephesians 2:1-3). With “every intention of the thoughts of man’s heart only evil continually.”9 This does not mean that humanity is as bad as it can be, but it does mean that everything about mankind has been corrupted and stained by sin. The Apostle Paul says, “that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh,”10 and, “That those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”11 The Prophet Isaiah laments, “we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.”12 So before God there is no way that humanity on their own merit could ever be anything other than rightly condemned as guilty, as even our best deeds are stained by sin.
However what man could not do for God (make themselves acceptable), God did for man, through the man Christ Jesus. “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.”13 Jesus the only person to be sinless (see Surah 19:19, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15 and 1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5), who freely in love chose to die on the cross (see John 10:11-18), to save all who believe in him and put their hope not in their own deeds, but in the Lord Jesus’ life, death and resurrection (see Romans 10:9-13). Through putting one’s faith in Jesus that person’s sins get placed on Christ and he bears God’s punishment for them on the cross (see 1 Peter 2:24); they then receive the free gift of Christ’s righteous life being accredited to them before God (see Romans 3:21-26, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 3:9).
Thus, the Bible is very clear good works cannot save anyone from hell as they will never be good enough, they are always tainted by sin. The only way for anyone to be saved is through putting one’s hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. This act of faith in the Gospel of Jesus is what makes a person right with God (see Romans 1:16-17), justified before the throne of heaven (see Romans 4:22-5:1), wonderfully adopted into the family of God (see Galatians 4:4-7), and secures the believer’s place with God in the age to come (see Ephesians 1:13-14). That is the glorious truth that is encapsulated in those words, “By grace you have been saved through faith.” Theologian J.I. Packer says, “The word grace thus comes to express the thought of God acting in spontaneous goodness to save sinners: God loving the unlovely.”14
So generous, so amazing, so gracious is the gospel of Jesus it always leads the sinful nature within to cause a person to think, “well if that is true why don’t I just believe in Jesus and then live how I want, committing all the sins I want as I will be saved by God’s grace.” Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones notes, “The true preaching of the gospel of salvation by grace alone always leads to the possibility of this charge being brought against it. There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel of salvation than this, that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it to mean that it really amounts to this, that because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at all what you do; you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will rebound all the more to the glory of grace.”15 However, the Apostle Paul who himself was accused of this (see Romans 3:8) answers this emphatically, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it.”16 The book of Jude warns, “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert that grace of God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”17 The Apostle John explains, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.”18 So the gospel of grace means that a Christian will be forgiven if they were to indulge their sinful nature and keep on sinning, however through that same grace they receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who engenders the desire to please God and empowers them to put the sinful nature to death (see Romans 8:13-15). As Terry Virgo notes, “Grace does a thorough job. The grace of God gets you out of sin; it does not encourage you to remain in it.”19
No wonder the most well-known Christian song is ‘Amazing Grace’ by the ex-slave trader John Newton, which beautifully declares:
“Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.
Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieve, how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; tis grace hath brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home.”
Amazing Grace – John Newton
Declaring the wonderful truth that it is the grace of God released through the gospel that leads us to salvation, saves us and leads us through this life into life eternal. Famous 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon writes, “Faith is the channel of salvation . . grace is the fountain and source of even faith itself. Faith is the work of God’s grace in us. . . we are saved through faith, but salvation is by grace.”20 Later he writes, “The saints shall persevere in holiness, because God perseveres in grace. . . From the effectual call of his grace the Lord never turns.”21 Oswald Sanders would add, “The perseverance of the saints is possible only because of the perseverance of God.”22
God’s grace bestowed through the gospel of Jesus brings the hopelessly condemned sinner out from under God’s righteous judgement, into fellowship with God, not just as saved sinners, but as sons and daughters (see John 1:12-13, John 11:52, Romans 8:15, Galatians 3:25-26, Ephesians 1:5) co-heirs with Christ (see Romans 8:17, Galatians 3:29, Ephesians 2:6). No wonder clever people have produced the acronym for ‘Grace’ as:
Ephesians 1:3 reveals that through the work of Christ, the Father has, “blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” The believer gets every spiritual blessing not through any good works or righteous deeds done by them, but by them coming to Christ. That is how amazing God’s grace is which he has lavished upon us.23
So having outlined the amazing truth of how God’s grace, dispensed through the gospel of Jesus, freely bestows God’s favour on those who turn to Christ as their Lord and Saviour; I now want to look at the word grace in more detail, before moving on to show how it flows out of who God is himself, before closing with how God’s grace is supposed to define who the disciple of Jesus is.
Grace?
Outside the Bible the use of the word ‘Grace’ in the English language is rare apart from as a women’s name or as a title of respect for various dignitaries (“Your Grace”). Theologian Wayne Grudem defines grace as, “God’s favour freely given to those who don’t deserve this favour.”24 The late J.I Packer aptly says, “Grace is God’s undeserved favour, His unmerited love.”25 William Hendriksen wonderfully declares, “God’s grace is his active favour bestowing the greatest gift upon those who deserved the greatest punishment.”26
Harper Bible Dictionary defines grace as, “The English Translation of a Greek word ‘Charis’ meaning, ‘That which brings delight, joy, happiness, or good fortune.’ The Septuagint (LXX) employs this word to translate the Hebrew root meaning favour.”27 Charis comes from the “Greek root word ‘Char’ that indicates things which produce wellbeing.”28 “The LXX uses the word charis 190 times.”29 The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology notes, “The New Testament employs the term charis 155 times, mostly in the Pauline letters (100 times).”30 J.I. Packer highlights, “All of Paul’s letters open and close with a prayer of grace, and grace is prominent in most of the other New Testament letters.31” J.I. Packer goes on to say, “In the New Testament, ‘grace’ is a word of central importance – the key word . . of Christianity. . . This one word ‘grace’ contains within itself the whole New Testament theology.32” “The thought of grace is the key that unlocks the New Testament.”33 Grace is that important!
However, grace is not just limited to the New Testament, Walter Elwell says, “Grace is one of the distinctive features of the religion of the Bible. No other system of religious thought, past or present, contains an emphasis on divine grace comparable to that of the Bible. . .Grace is the dimension of divine activity that enables God to confront human indifference and rebellion with an inexhaustible capacity to forgive and to bless. God is gracious in action.”34 New Bible dictionary states, “Grace involves such subjects as forgiveness, salvation, regeneration, repentance, and the love of God. These are the grace words which do not contain the word grace.”35 The New Bible dictionary goes on to explain how the Greek word ‘Charis’ carries the meaning of forgiveness, steadfast love (Hebrew – Hesed) and mercy.36 No wonder Elwell notes, “The doctrine of divine grace underlies the thought of both Old Testament and New Testament.37”
What a colossal amount of truth that is encapsulated in that little five letter word ‘Grace’. This truth led the writer Philip Yancy to famously declare, “Grace means there is nothing I can do to make God love me more, and nothing I can do to make God love me less.”38 Hallelujah.
Grace flows out of who God is
It is important to realise that the Bible is crystal clear that whilst God does choose to be gracious in action;39 this is not an alien attitude that he begrudgingly adopts to appear benevolent! Grace flows out of who God is.
When God reveals himself to Moses he declares his name,
“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will be no means clear the guilty, . .”40
God does not try to be gracious, he is full of grace, and it naturally flows out from him into all he does. Douglas Stuart in his insightful book on Exodus writes on God proclaiming his name that he is declaring “His character and essence. . . What he is like and what he expects his people to be like.41” Ross Blackburn notes, “It is difficult to overestimate the importance of these verses. They are the longest and most complete description of the Lord’s character to be found in Scripture, and canonically later Scriptures frequently return to them.42” In the previous chapter of Exodus God tells Moses what he will do and chooses to reveal a little about himself before the famous Exodus 34:6-7 declaration. What God discloses in Exodus 33 is his grace and mercy; “I will make my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and show mercy on whom I will show mercy.43”
As one would expect, God’s character is perfectly displayed through his Son Jesus Christ, as he “is the radiance of the glory of God the exact imprint of his nature.44” No wonder then that the first thing the Apostle John wants people to understand about Jesus is that he was full of grace and truth:
“And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth . . . And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses: grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.45“
Ramsey Michaels’ commenting on John 1:14-18 notes how John by linking being full of grace and truth to Moses is echoing the Sinai encounter with God. Yet at Sinai Moses was not allowed to see the face of God for it was too glorious, yet Jesus reveals this glory.46 Grace flows out who Jesus is as he is himself full of grace. William Hendriksen comments, “The limitless supply… indicated by the words ‘his fullness’ would seem to suggest a limitless outflow: grace upon grace.”47 Randolph Tasker noted, “Grace and truth cannot be separated from him in whom they are embodied.”48 On this Elwell would add, “Divine grace becomes embodied in the person of Jesus Christ who demonstrates visibly the dynamic nature of God’s grace. . . God’s grace manifested in Jesus Christ makes it possible for God to forgive sinners.”49 As the Apostle Paul writes in Titus 2:11, “The grace of God has appeared.” The theologian John Stott is quick to note that by using the Greek word ‘Epephane’ for the appearing of grace Paul is very much linking grace with incarnation of Christ. “God’s saving grace given us before the beginning of time, has now been revealed through the appearing of our saviour.”50
It is worth briefly noting that God is so gracious in nature that the entire world enjoys what the theologians call his ‘Common Grace’. Sam Storms explains that, “Common grace includes all undeserved blessings that natural man receives from the hand of God: rain, sun, prosperity, health, happiness, natural capacities and gifts, and sin being restrained from complete dominion.”51 Common grace includes God’s restraining of evil (see Genesis 20:6, Romans 13:1-7, 2 Thessalonians 2:7), delaying the day of judgement (see Acts 17:30-31, 2 Peter 3:9-10), blessing and sustaining of the earth (see Genesis 8:21-22, Matthew 5:44-48, Acts 14:16-17), and the good gifts, emotions and actions he graciously grants humanity at large (see James 1:17, Luke 6:33-36, Romans 2:14; Ecclesiastes 3:10-13). So, all people experience God’s common grace because of the height, width, and depth of his glorious grace.
God however is so good, so gracious, loving and kind that his common grace to all overflows into ‘Saving Grace’ to all who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is what this paper is focusing on. The Gospel Coalition defines, “God’s saving grace as the unmerited favour of God that reconciles sinners through Jesus Christ.”52
Thus, grace flows out of who God is, he is gracious in action because he is gracious in his nature. Yancy notes, “Grace teaches us that God loves because of who God is, not because of who we are.”53 God’s grace pours out through his Son Jesus Christ into the lives of all who put their faith in him.
God’s grace defines who we are
God’s grace that has been poured out into the lives of every Christian begins to define who they are. The Apostle Paul beautifully describes this work of grace in Titus 2:11-14:
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”
Wow, that is the work of the grace of God in the lives of all who turn to Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Due to Paul’s use of the present participle ‘training us’ Philip Towner notes, “The past appearance of God’s grace is seen to be presently effective.”54 Hendriksen writes, “Grace Trains. The verb used in the original is from the same stem as is the noun ‘pedagogue.’ A pedagogue leads children step by step. Thus, grace too, gently leads and guides us . . The grace of God trains us in order that we may live consecrated lives, while we are waiting for the blessed hope.”55 Jerry Bridges beautifully states, “Salvation is by grace and sanctification is by grace.”56 God’s grace that saves, forgives, and justifies the believer, also sanctifies them too. This is all part of his amazing eternal plan as the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Timothy 1:9 God has “saved us and called us to a holy calling not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.” Salvation and sanctification are all thanks to God’s grace.
Far from encouraging the disciple of Jesus to feel free to sin, William Barclay notes on Titus 2:11-14, that the passage’s “whole stress is the miracle of moral change which Jesus Christ can work.”57 John Calvin writes, “The revelation of God’s grace necessarily brings with it exhortation to a godly life.”58 Elsewhere Calvin would add, “For it is most certain, that where the grace of God reigns, there is also this readiness to obey.”59 For grace goes further than just exhorting us to live for God, it “includes the idea of divine power which equips a man to live a moral life.60” Bridges aptly says, “God’s grace does not make our effort unnecessary, but rather makes it effective.”61 By the grace of God the Holy Spirit is working on us to conform us to the image of Christ (see Romans 8:29), transforming us from one degree of glory to another (see 2 Corinthians 3:17-18). Bridges says, “Spiritual transformation is primarily the work of the Holy Spirit, He is the Master Sculptor.”62 Michaels’ notes when commenting on John 1:14-18 that the believer draws upon Jesus grace and truth and this includes the gift of the Holy Spirit as a grace gift; the Spirit has the power to put to death the sinful nature and transform the believer into the image of Christ.63
Like a tadpole that has now turned into a frog can no longer breathe water it needs air, Christians are called to live a life that pleases God, no longer breathing in the murky water of sin. However, there is a very brief time where the tadpole can still breathe in the water and breathe air, but the former method of breathing becomes increasingly difficult until it is impossible. Likewise, for those who are in Christ, this life is that very brief time where we still can live in sin or live for God, but where there is genuine work of grace the former should become increasingly difficult because of the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work. In the sovereignty of God, the disciple of Jesus must take an active part in partnering with the Holy Spirit to put to death (mortify) the sinful nature and live for God. That is why the Apostle Paul can write in Romans 6:11-14:
“So you also must consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
Douglas Moo on his excellent commentary on Romans notes “What we were ‘in Adam’ is no more; but, until heaven, the temptation to live in Adam always remains.”64 “In union with Christ we have been made dead to sin and alive to God; it remains for us to appropriate (v11) and apply (v12-13) what God has done for us.”65 “Paul argues that the law could never curb sinning; and the reign of grace, far from encouraging sin, is the only means by which sin can truly be defeated.”66 It is not justification by faith and sanctification by struggle, “Paul asserts in this passage the inseparability of justification and sanctification as provided for equally in Christ.”67 Terry Virgo writes, “Grace does not drop the standard and fudge issues. Grace does not tell us to forget about righteousness because God has changed the rules and accommodated our weakness, turning a blind eye and making do with compromising Christians. In stark contrast, grace liberates, grace instructs, grace calls us higher and enables us to live an altogether different life flooded with gratitude and revelation and enjoyment of the presence of the Holy Spirit.”68
A true understanding of God’s grace far from ever leading people into the two common errors of thinking one is free to engage in any sin they want (antinomianism), or that God has saved them by grace but now they have to maintain their own righteousness by their own works (legalism);69 “God’s grace sets us free to respond to God, fills our hearts with gratitude, replaces our fears with confidence, thrills us with motivation to see God’s habitation built.70” Charles Swindoll notes that, “’Cheap grace’ justifies the sin not the sinner. True grace on the other hand justifies the sinner not the sin.”71 By ‘Cheap grace’ he means a wrong teaching or understanding of grace. God’s grace enables the believer to defeat sin and live as one set free from its power. Tasker notes that God gives Christ’s followers, “Grace to meet every need that arises.”72
More than just enabling the believer to live holy lives defeating sin and be forgiven when they fall into it (see 1 John 1:8-9), the grace that has flowed out from God into their lives should also flow through the Christian into the life of the church73 and world around them (see Acts 20:24, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 4:5-6, 1 Peter 3:7). True children of their heavenly Father called to represent what he is like to the world around (see Ephesians 5:1-2, 2 Corinthians 5:20, 1 John 3:10). The disciple of Jesus having received grace in Christ should themselves be gracious, freely forgiving others sins as they themselves have been forgiven (see Matthew 6:12). Elwell writes, “Finally God’s grace manifested in Jesus Christ makes it possible for God to cause believers to reflect his grace in their character and relationships.”74 Paul Barnett commenting on the teaching in 2 Corinthians 8 says, “The grace of God is his attitude of unconditional kindness shown toward us. . . God’s invisible ‘grace’ however, is also made visible and concrete in the ‘grace’ God gives to members of churches, specifically their ‘faith,’ ‘speech,’ ‘knowledge,’ and ‘love’. . and in sacrificial, freely given, generosity.”75 Terry Virgo adds, “Generosity is one of the key characteristics of a grace filled person.”76
Conclusion
So the amazing grace of God, made available through the gospel of Jesus Christ to all who call on his name as their Lord and Saviour, freely bestows: forgiveness from sins (see Ephesians 1:7), acceptance and access into the throne room of heaven (see Ephesians 3:12), the righteousness of Christ (see Romans 3:21-22), justification before the judgement seat of God (see Romans 4:25), salvation from the wrath to come i.e. hell (see 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10,), the sealing of God’s Holy Spirit within them (see Ephesians 1:13), a guarantee of their place in the age to come (see Ephesians 1:14), and adoption into God’s family (see Ephesians 1:5).
God’s grace goes further still, beyond all these amazing one-off exchanges; it perseveres with believer throughout this life mortifying their sinful nature and sanctifying them to live for God (see Titus 2:12). Transforming them into the glorious image of Christ from one degree of glory to another (see 2 Corinthians 3:18, until they die and go to be with Jesus or Christ returns bring the good work God started in them to completion (see Romans 8:28-30, Philippians 1:6).
If this were not beyond what mortal man could ask or imagine, God in his grace is still not done because in the age to come the Almighty intends to spend eternity showing “the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”77 Hallelujah.
Why? How? Because God is full of grace in his essence and action. Thus, grace cannot but flow out of who he is into all he has made. For those he has called, for all who bow the knee to Jesus in saving faith, God’s grace should increasingly define them in their essence and action too.
Oh, the wonder the magnitude of the truth, that is too deep for our tiny minds and hearts to ever plumb the depths of what is revealed in the statement:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”78 The only truly appropriate response to truth of the fact we have been saved by grace is for us to worship God and praise his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in Christ.79
[1] Surah 7:8-9
[2] Surah 23:102-103
[3] Surah3:129
[4] Surah 98:6-8
[5] Chapman 2003:77
[6] Romans 2:5-8, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Hebrews 9:27, John 5:29
[7] John 6:29
[8] Revelation 20:11-15
[9] Genesis 6:5
[10] Romans 7:18
[11] Romans 8:8
[12] Isaiah 64:6
[13] 1 Timothy 2:5-6
[14] Packer 2007:94
[15] Virgo 2004:40
[16] Romans 6:1-2
[17] Jude 4
[18] 1 John 3:9
[19] Virgo 2004:51
[20] Spurgeon 2014:31
[21] Spurgeon 2014:85
[22] Sanders 1994:33
[23] Ephesians 1:7-8
[24] Grudem 1994:200
[25] Packer 2007:93
[26] Hendriksen 1957:370
[27] Achtemeier 1985:357
[28] Brown 1982:115
[29] Brown 1982:116
[30] Brown 1982:118
[31] Packer 2007:91
[32] Packer 2007:91
[33] Packer 2007:92
[34] Elwell 1988:898
[35] Marshall 1996:433
[36] Marshall 1996:433
[37] Elwell 1988:898
[38] Yancy 1997:71
[39] Elwell 1988:898
[40] Exodus 34:6-7
[41] Stuart 2006:705
[42] Blackburn 2012:153
[43] Exodus 33:19
[44] Hebrews 1:3
[45] John 1:14-17
[46] Michael’s 2010:82-90
[47] Hendrickson 1976:89
[48] Tasker 1983:49
[49] Elwell 1988:899
[50] Stott 1996:192-193
[51] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/goodness-god-common-grace/
[52] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/saving-grace/
[53] Yancy 1997:280
[54] Towner 2006:747
[55] Hendriksen 1957:371-372
[56] Bridges 1994:73
[57] Barclays 2000:256
[58] Calvin 1964:373
[59] Calvin 1997:262
[60] Marshall 1996:433
[61] Bridges 1994:133
[62] Bridges 1994:11
[63] Michael’s 2010:89
[64] Moo 1996:375
[65] Moo 1996:380
[66] Moo 1996:356
[67] Moo 1996:359
[68] Virgo 2004:117
[69] Packer 2007:99
[70] Virgo 2021:92
[71] Swindoll 1996:46
[72] Tasker 1983:48
[73] Elwell 1988:899
[74] Elwell 1988:900
[75] Barnett 1997:391
[76] Virgo 2004:144
[77] Ephesians 2:7
[78] Ephesians 2:8-10
[79] Ephesians 1:6