wise men (Matt. 2:11) and of the gift offered to God (Matt. 5:23,24).  It is

`corban' (Mark 7:11), and so on.  The word corban comes from the Hebrew qarab

`to come near', and in a special sense, to bring an offering to the Lord.  We

learn from Rabbinical sources that there were thirteen Corban chests in the

temple, formed like trumpets, each set apart for its own peculiar use.  It was

into one of the Corban chests that the widow cast her mites.  The LXX uses the

word doron in thirty-eight occurrences of the Hebrew qarab; in Leviticus for

example (Lev. 1:2,3,10,14, etc.).  The fact that Ephesians 2:8 uses a word that

means an `oblation', something `offered', makes it all the more impossible that

the passage should mean that faith is the gift of God.  In what sense can faith

be conceived of as an oblation, an offering made by God?  We already know that

the blessings of the church of the Mystery are peculiarly `all spiritual', that

the sphere of their enjoyment is peculiar `in heavenly places', that the period

of their choice is peculiar `before the overthrow of the world'.  These make

manifest the exceeding grace of God, to which is added the kindness that is in

store in the ages to come.

What can we say however when we learn that in this calling it is God Who

makes the oblation, it is God, not the humble worshipper, Who brings the

offering; it is God Who comes out with both hands full of blessing, and pours

them out at the feet of the worthless and undone.  Salvation by grace through

faith is the gift, the oblation of God.  Let us close our lexicons, let us put

aside for a moment our grammars, let us rather bow our heads in worship as we

say out of full hearts:

`Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift'.

We have learned with wondering adoration that the great plan of salvation

by grace through faith is the oblation (corban) of God, it hardly seems

necessary to continue `not of works', but He Who knows the heart of man, even

redeemed man, knows only too well that he will seize upon any pretext to

`Not of works, lest any man should boast.

For we are His workmanship'

(Eph. 2:9,10).

The word ek `out of' is emphasized here:

`And that not out of (ek) yourselves: it is the gift of God: not out of

(ek) works, lest any man should boast'.

This is the consistent message preached by Paul.

The same use of the

preposition ek is found in Philippians 3:9:

`And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is out of

(ek) the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the

righteousness which is out of (ek) God by faith'.

These passages but echo the basic teaching of the epistle to the Romans

where the word ek is used continually with this meaning.  Here are some of the

passages by way of example:

`From faith', `by faith' (Rom. 1:17).

`By the deeds of the law'; `by faith'; `by works'; `of the law'; `of

the faith' (Rom. 3:20,30; 4:2,16).