How does Galatians 3:3 connect with Ephesians 2:8-9 on salvation by grace?

Galatians 3:3 and Ephesians 2:8-9—Grace from First Breath to Final Breath

“Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3)

“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

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One Gospel, Two Angles

• Galatians 3:3 tackles the Christian who accepts grace to get in but slides back toward self-effort to grow.

• Ephesians 2:8-9 spotlights the very doorway of salvation—grace alone, through faith alone, apart from works.

• Together they shout the same message: we neither enter nor advance in God’s kingdom by human performance.

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Grace: The Unbroken Line

1. Initiation

– “Starting in the Spirit” (Galatians 3:3) = new birth by the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8).

– “Saved … by grace” (Ephesians 2:8) = God acts first (Romans 5:8).

2. Continuation

– We “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25), not upgrade to a flesh-powered plan.

– The same grace that saves “trains us” for godliness (Titus 2:11-12).

3. Completion

– God “who began a good work” will finish it (Philippians 1:6).

– Our future glorification is still “by grace” (1 Peter 1:13).

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Works: The Dead-End Detour

• Galatian believers flirted with law-keeping (circumcision) as spiritual progress; Paul calls it “foolish.”

• Ephesians nails the coffin: “not by works, so that no one can boast.”

• Any shift from Spirit-dependence to self-reliance is, by definition, regression.

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Supporting Passages

• Romans 3:24—“justified freely by His grace.”

• Colossians 2:6—“Therefore, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in Him.”

• 2 Corinthians 3:18—transformation comes “from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

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Living It Out

– Daily posture: receive, don’t achieve.

– Spiritual disciplines: means of grace, never merit badges.

– Boasting: redirect it all to Christ (1 Corinthians 1:31).

Galatians 3:3 and Ephesians 2:8-9 lock arms to assure us that from faith’s first spark to eternity’s blaze, salvation is God’s gift, sustained by His Spirit, grounded in His grace—period.