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by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,"
this "not of yourselves" I think is referring to the faith that is not of
yourselves. It, too, is the gift of God.
Secondly, it is true that the demonstrative pronoun "that" or "this" is neuter
and the word for "faith" is feminine. Every Greek scholar in the world knows
that pronouns in Greek don't always correspond in gender with their
antecedent.
Even Robertson in his Greek grammar points out that "It is only in general
that the demonstrative pronoun [and I'm quoting Robertson again] agrees
with its substantive in gender and number." ("Only in general.") So, it
doesn't always have to agree, and if it doesn't in this case, that's all right.
Besides, it's also a general rule that you look for the antecedent of a
pronoun (that is the word back before it that the pronoun refers to) in the
very close vicinity of the pronoun or the adjective that refers to it. In this
case, the word in the closest proximity, the word in the vicinity, is "faith."
"For by grace you have been saved through faith." And even that faith is not
of yourselves, Friend. It is the gift of God.
I believe that not only is the grace by which God saves us His undeserved
gift to us, but the faith by which we believe is also His gift. Our salvation is
from start to finish the work of the Lord and not of our own making. I agree
with Jonah: Salvation is from the Lord.
I said there are power words in this verse. "Grace" is a power word. "Faith"
is a power word. But what about that word "gift"? "For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."
The word "gift"—doron—means a present, something that is offered without
any expectation of payment.
A gift requires a gracious donor. A gift requires an undeserving recipient. But
a gift, in order to be a gift, does not always have to be received. When you
give a gift to someone, assuming the gift is something of value, they may
choose to accept it or not, but it's still a gift from you. You are still a giver,
but they are the worse for not being a receiver.
God gives His gift of salvation, and it's of extreme value, Friends. He's the
Giver, but if you're not the receiver, if you refuse His gift, you're the loser.
God gives you a gift of salvation through His grace. He gives you the gift of
faith to believe in His salvation, and that gift is God's provision for you. If
you don't receive it, don't blame God. He's the Giver. You have to be the
receiver.
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