Perhaps these comments will help clear up your confusion.
Salvation - the Gift from God Eph_2:8-9 By Dr. William Mounce
For centuries, Bible commentators have differed on the precise reference of the pronoun “that” in Eph_2:8. Does “that” (
touto G5124) refer to faith, as many have stated (e.g., Augustine, Chrysostom, Westcott, Lenski, etc.), or, does “that” refer to salvation from sin? Is faith “the gift of God,” or is this gift
salvation by grace through faith?
Admittedly, from a cursory reading of Eph_2:8, it may appear that the relative pronoun
that has
faith as its grammatical antecedent. Those who believe that faith is a gift (i.e., miraculous imposition) from God, often point out that in this verse “faith” is the nearest antecedent of “that” (“For by grace you have been saved through
faith, and
that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God”). However, when one examines Eph_2:8 in the language in which it was written originally (Greek), he finds that the pronoun
that G5124 (
touto) is neuter in gender, while the word
faith G4102 (
pistis) is feminine. Since the general rule in Greek grammar is for the gender and number of a relative pronoun to be the same as its antecedent {Mounce, 1993, p. 111}, then some extenuating linguistic circumstance, special idiomatic use, or other mitigating factor would need to be demonstrated to justify linking “that” to “faith.” If such reasonable justification cannot be made, then one is compelled to continue studying the passage in order to know assuredly what “that” gift of God is.
https://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=1246
The overall context of the first three chapters of Ephesians is man’s
salvation found in Christ.
- “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph_1:7).
- The heavenly “inheritance” is found in Christ (Eph_1:11).
- After believing in the good news of salvation through Christ, the Ephesians were “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph_1:13).
- Sinners are made “alive with Christ” and saved “by grace” (Eph_2:5).
- Sinners are brought near to God “by the blood of Christ” (Eph_2:13).
- Paul became a servant of Christ “according to the gift of the grace of God…by the effective working of His power” (Eph_3:7).
Not only is the theme of salvation the overall context of the first three chapters of Ephesians, but the immediate context of Eph_2:8-9 is of salvation, not of faith. Paul is talking about HOW A PERSON IS SAVED. The main idea of the sentence is found in the verb phrase "you have been saved" G4982. How is a person saved? Eph_2:8-9 answers this key question.
