Confession time – I struggle when I read the Bible. Growing up, I always did well in school and most academic subjects came very naturally to me. This meant that I could read through something once and pretty much have it down; I just didn’t have to put much effort into my studies. The Bible is a whole different story. This was a source of frustration for me during my early church years, and still is today. I can read a passage over and over again and still not see something that was obvious to everybody else.
It’s not that the Bible contains hidden messages, or is written in a secret code. But what I have found is that as I mature spiritually I begin to see the truths that have always been there. As I continue to read and study the Word, God begins to reveal to me that which I wasn’t ready to hear before.
Tonight’s passage is one of my favorites, and is one of those that contains a “mature” message just beneath the surface. When I first read through this scripture, it seems pretty obvious what Paul is talking about – and it’s a powerful message for both Christians and non-Christians; something that we can use to get the word out without being labeled crazy or offensive. But as I mature spiritually, I begin to see a much deeper truth at work.
10a For we are God’s workmanship
When I was growing up, this passage was used in Sunday School and in Vacation Bible School – the basic message goes like this - because I am created by God, I am perfect just the way I am (God doesn’t make junk was a common tagline). And while it is a little corny, we see this play out in the creation story in the first chapter of Genesis – God creates something and declares it “good”. He doesn’t declare it “okay” or “close enough”, but good. So if we believe that we are created by God, then we are good; we are made exactly the way he wanted us.
In this section, the Greek word translated here as “workmanship” is also translated as “masterpiece” or “work of art”. Those words imply that there is something special about us, that there is a purpose for why we exist. But if we truly are masterful works of art, then why is there such pressure to change who we are, what we do and what we look like?
Every day we are bombarded by messages from the world about how we aren’t good enough, not perfect enough – but, if we would just buy this beauty product; or wear this brand of clothes; or drive this car; or eat this or drink that. If we do these things, then we will be awesome; then the girls/boys will love us; then we will be successful and rich and powerful. This is the world’s message to us – that we aren’t good enough as we are.
And this is the devil’s message as well. It is the doubt which creeps in and tells me that I am not good enough to deserve God’s love. That I have done too much evil in my life to ever be acceptable to Him – that there is nothing I can to do make it right. The devil twists our doubts and worries and works to drive a wedge between us and our creator.
The hard part is that there is truth in the devil’s whispers, because when sin entered the world, it broke everything. It broke the relationship between man and woman; it brought death into the world as the consequence of sin; and it created a break in the relationship between man and God. Because of my sin, I am not good enough and I cannot do enough good in my lifetime to make amends. But that’s not the good news…the good news is that God loves us in spite of who we are. We are saved not because we have done great things, or because we are holy, but because God loves us and has offered to every one of us a free gift of mercy. A gift made possible by the death of Jesus Christ. It’s that simple – but it’s a message that can be very difficult to accept. If we are caught up in our past and what we have done (or haven’t done) – if we don’t feel worthy of God’s love, then it’s hard for us to accept such a simple declaration. We feel the void in our lives and try to fill it with the things that the world says we need; we try to change ourselves to be who the world says we should be. We buy into what the world says and treat those false messages as wise words for how to lead our lives.
In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul gives us this message about wisdom vs. foolishness.
1 Cor 3:18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise.
Paul reminds us that there is conflict between what God considers wisdom and what mankind considers wisdom. We see this throughout the Bible – God’s commands and the way He desires His children to live is 180° from what the world says is okay. This difference is designed to set us, as God’s children, apart so that we can draw others to the light. In the context of our scripture passage, it can help us reject the lies told to us by the world. We are God’s creation and we are good. Now, let’s take another look at our scripture.
10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do.
Now comes the deeper, more complex part of the passage. Tonight’s scripture isn’t just about the physical – not just about what we look like; more importantly, this passage reflects on who believers in Christ have become and what we can expect. When we receive the gift of mercy, we are transformed from enemies of God into children of God. Each of us was once spiritually dead – slaves of sin and headed towards eternal separation from God. And then God’s grace steps in, and we are saved. Here’s how Paul puts it in his second letter to the church in Corinth:
2 Cor 5:17-20
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
There are two big themes that I pull out of these passages. The first is the reminder that none of us has contributed to our own salvation. If you have been here before, you have heard it said that you cannot be saved by works – salvation is by faith alone. I cannot do enough good deeds to earn my way into heaven – I am a sinner, and the only wages for sin is death. It is only through God’s grace that I am saved.
Everything else is from God – the only thing I have done is believe. And this point is important because it helps keep me humble; I am reminded that I am saved in spite of what I did and who I was. This keeps pride out of the equation (hopefully) and puts our focus on the source of our salvation – God through Christ.
The second big idea speaks to what happens after salvation. Look at the second half Eph 2:10 again and tell me what you see.
Created to do good works….
That God has prepared in advance for us to do…
These words imply action; something more than sitting back on the couch and basking in the glory of our salvation. Instead, God has work for us to do – we are to be Christ’s ambassadors here on earth. I am made to be a representative of Christ and his message; to be obedient to the will of the Father and to bring glory to God. This is to be part of what I do every day that I am still in this world, spreading the message of reconciliation to everyone. And for each of us, this means something different. Paul speaks to this in his first letter to the church at Corinth:
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Every child of God has received gifts and talents from God; talents designed to further God’s kingdom here on earth and bring glory to God. These talents vary widely – some are exciting and are widely valued; things like prophecy, speaking in tongues, healing, and preaching. These are the rock star gifts – the gifts that sit right up front and draw all the attention and praise. But not everyone receives these talents. In fact, most of us will receive much more subtle gifts – gifts that work behind the scenes in support of the kingdom mission. And given that most humans are highly susceptible to pride; this can be difficult to accept.
But as children of God, we are called to accept God’s sovereignty in our lives and embrace the particular gift(s) that He has given us. And this comes, for me at least, with a dose of humility. There are many spiritual gifts that God can bestow on us humans.
As with grace, the gifts we receive are not based on anything we have done. They are simply given to us by God as he sees fit, according to his plans. All of our gifts are meant for a single purpose – to be used in service to the Lord; to do his will and to bring glory to him and help the family of believers.
And whether our gifts are noble or common, they are meant to work together. This is one of the reasons that belonging to a church family is so important; in order that everyone can combine their gifts to help fulfill the kingdom mission. When used together, no one gift is any more, or any less, important than the others when we look at the big picture. And even though this is a long passage, Paul’s first message to the church at Corinth sums it up nicely.
If you are saved, you are in a very special place. You have been transformed by the Living God; from a creature of sin and death into a child of light. And in that transformation God will present you with a spiritual gift to enable you to work together with the rest of the family to further his kingdom here on earth. We are called, in humility and obedience, to accept our gift and to move into the mission field he has prepared for us.
And as Paul points out, no one gift is any more important than the others; the body of Christ needs hands and feet as much as it needs mouths and eyes. A church does its best work when every member is doing different tasks, each to the best of their abilities – things like keeping the books, setting up the equipment, running the sound system, mentoring youth, greeting people as they arrive. Maybe most important of all is the work of the whole body, as each person goes out into the world providing their witness to the power of God in their lives; telling our family, friends and neighbors about the power we have experienced from our relationship with God and inviting them to share in this experience.
If you are in a church family and serving God with your particular gift to the best of your ability, then AMEN! If you are not part of a church family, or haven’t discovered God’s spiritual gift to you, then I would say be in prayer. Take time to be quiet and listen to what he is trying to tell you. There is much work to be done, in this neighborhood, in this town, this county, this state, this country and across the world – plenty of work for every one of us.
It’s time to get to work – let’s pray…
