For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10
God didn’t save us by grace through faith so that we could sit on the sidelines. He saved us so that we could serve him.
The first two verses (8 & 9) of the passage in Ephesians 2:8-10 are among the most quoted in the New Testament, especially when speaking about salvation. I grew up going to a Christian school, and I remember having a memory test over these verses. The fact that our salvation comes ONLY by God’s grace when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, and that our works good or bad have nothing to do with God saving us cannot be overstated. It is an essential truth of the Christian faith! But what about the next verse?
What comes after the part when God saves us? What comes after the part when by the Grace of God the Father, through faith in Jesus Christ his son, based on no merit of our own, God looks down from heaven and says “You are mine! And I love you more than anything in the world.”? I want us to look at the three statements that Paul makes in Ephesians 2:10, and see how they impact every aspect of our lives.
The first thing Paul says in this verse is “we are God’s handiwork...” that word handiwork is translated a few different ways in our english translation, sometimes it’s handiwork, or workmanship,work of art, (Jerusalem Bible) but what it comes down to is We are God’s Masterpiece! I love how the NLT phrases it. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” When God looks at us, he sees a masterpiece. The little word that we translate masterpiece, or handiwork or workmanship is the Greek word poiēma(poi'-ā-mä), and it is only used one other time in the New Testament. In Romans 1:20 Paul uses the same word when he says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature; have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” He uses the word when describing all of creation. He is alluding of course to the creation account in Genesis 1, where God over the period of several days, speaks the entire universe into existence. You might remember from Sunday School, first he creates earth, space, time and light, and then he says it is good. Then he creates the water and the air and atmospheres and then he says it is good. Then the dry land and the plants, and then he says it is good. Then the sun moon stars and planetary bodies, and then he says it is good. Then the fish and the birds, and then he says it is good. Then all of the land animals, and then he says it is good. Then something different happens. He makes man. Instead of speaking mankind into existence like he did everything else, he forms Adam by his own hands, and then by his hands again he forms Eve. He steps back and looks at all he has created, then he looks at Adam and Eve and says. It is VERY good. So when Paul says you are God’s masterpiece, and I am God’s masterpiece, that is not a word he uses flippantly. First he uses is to describe the way God felt about his work on the final day of creation, and then he says that that is how God feels when you and I accept his grace by putting our faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ.
What does that mean for us? That means on our very best day, we are God’s masterpiece. And on our very worst day, we are God’s masterpiece. This has to be a self esteem boost for us! The pride that God has in us is a constant source of encouragement and motivation.
The second statement that Paul makes in this verse is that we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” In other words, We are SAVED so that we can SERVE!
For something to be considered art, it has to accomplish something. If it doesn’t appeal to the senses or make you think or react, it isn’t art. We are God’s masterpiece, but a masterpiece, like any other art has to accomplish something. The Mona Lisa, or the Sistine Chapel would not be masterpieces if no one ever saw them. Handel’s Messiah was a masterpiece because of reaction it invoked in the people who heard it. God didn’t save us by grace through faith so that we could sit on the sidelines. He saved us so that we could serve him. For something to be considered art it must accomplish something, and because we are God’s masterpiece, we must accomplish something.
One commentator I read this week said it this way, “we are not saved BY good works, but we are saved FOR good works.” If we claim to be a follower of Christ, and we are NOT actively serving him, we are as useful as a piece of artwork that sits in a closet and collects dust. We were saved, by grace, through faith TO SERVE.
Paul completes the paragraph by reminding his readers that that God has already PREPARED the way for us to serve him!
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
I say he reminds his readers of this, because this is a theme he is carrying over from the previous chapter. In Ephesians 1:4-5 He writes. “In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.”
I understand that the idea of predestination and the sovereignty of God are very theologically important, but I must admit, I had a hard time understanding why this phrase was emphasized in this passage. I understood why Paul wanted us to know that God considered us a masterpiece, it shows our value to God and the pride he takes in us. I understood why he wanted us to know that we were created to do good works, it shows the only logical response to such a loving God.
That is what happened when God created you, and when God created me. He knew that a day would come, when we would accept his saving grace, through faith, and become his Masterpiece. And he wants as many people to experience it as possible. So he arranged for me to have the same barista a few times a week, he arranged for your friends to see the way you respond in a negative situation, he arranged the opportunities for us to go on mission trips, or volunteer at schools, and tell others what God has done for us. Because he wants as many people as possible to see his masterpiece.
If you’re already thinking “I’m a masterpiece!” thats awesome, and I hope this blog post was an encouragement to you. But if you’re thinking “You know, I don’t really think I’m a masterpiece,” I want to talk to you for a minute. By my estimation there are two reasons you might be thinking that way. The first reason you may not be feeling like you’re a masterpiece is because you aren’t acting like one! If God has saved you by his grace, and you aren’t serving him with your life, you aren’t acting like a masterpiece. And that makes about as much sense as a Van Gogh in the bathroom! You were saved to serve him, start behaving like the masterpiece you are! Give God your time, give him your talent, and you will start to believe that you really are a masterpiece.
The second reason you may not think you’re a masterpiece, is because you aren’t one. You have never surrendered your life to God and accepted Christ as your savior. And if that’s the case, there is nothing you can do, because it has already been done for you! The passage we read at the beginning of the sermon says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.” If that is you today, and you would like to accept this gift from God, I pray that you will come and talk to me, or someone you trust that can show you through God’s word what it means to be saved by grace through faith. Because the moment you make that decision, God looks down from heaven and says “My Masterpiece! You were saved to serve me.”
My prayer for us -
Heavenly Father, Thank you for saving me. Thank you for for seeing me as so much more than I see myself. God I thank you that when you see your people you see a masterpiece. I pray for anyone this morning who may not know you, or may not know how you see them, and I ask that they would have the courage to seek out someone who could lead them to a saving knowledge of you. God above all else, I ask that you would be glorified through our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.
DYM Curriculum for ALIVE Student Ministry
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