A Series Studies from- Ephesians 2:8-10

We Are His Workmanship . . . 

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).  Those who are saved by grace through their faith are special.  They are God’s workmanship, therefore special people (Titus 2:13-14).  The “we” of this verse is the church Jesus promised to build, the new creation.  On the first Pentecost following Christ’s ascension to the Father, an unusual event in Jerusalem demanded the attention of the whole city.  The church of Christ became a reality.  For the first time, the New Testament speaks of the church as existing.  Prior to Pentecost it was always future.  Jesus had said, “Upon this rock I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).  The church belongs to Christ exclusively.

On Pentecost, the Lord not only empowered His apostles to preach repentance and remission of sins in His lovely name (Acts 24:47), He sent them an infallible guide, the Holy Spirit (John 16:13).  After they preached, those who obeyed the gospel were saved by grace, through their faith, having been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of past sins.  Commensurate with their salvation they were divinely added to the church (Acts 2:47).

When the church was established the Lord began His great work.  It was perfect and complete.  From the divine side the church was flawless.  It became such a marvelous accomplishment that Paul wrote, “To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:10).  The very existence of the church in this world makes known the manifold wisdom of God.

As the master strokes of an artist reflect his talent and artistry, the church reflects the masterful and matchless wisdom of God.  His creation is His masterpiece.  Consider the words of R.C.H. Lenski:

“God’s whole plan, hidden so long, now has the veil withdrawn as Christ’s redemption reaches its consummation in the New Testament ekklesia (church).  In the church as gathered from all over the world, one great spiritual household and body, God’s wisdom shines forth most wondrously.  What God’s wisdom had in mind from creation onward is made plain to the angelic world only as the church now finally rises in its spiritual splendor and is actually realized through Christ and His universal gospel.”

The God of heaven planned the church — the Lord Jesus Christ promised to build it — the Holy Spirit enabled the apostles to preach it into existence.  When that was finished it displayed to the world the great majestic workmanship of the Almighty.  How dare any mere mortal mishandle it!  How can a mere man put his unholy hands on such a masterpiece!  That would be a sacrilege of the order of the unqualified who dared put their hands on the Ark of the Covenant.

People truly saved by grace through faith accept what God gives and never seek to modify or alter it.  A preacher once went to speak in a small western town during a blizzard.  Only a few brave souls came out in such awful weather.  The preacher raised his Bible and began.  “This is the Lord’s word, we are the Lord’s church, and we are experiencing the Lord’s weather — all we can do is accept them all just like the Lord gives them.”  That is the sentiment faithful people must have.  Modifications men make to the church, either in name, doctrine, organization, work and worship corrupt the church.  Man’s work defiles the workmanship of God (I Corinthians 3:16).

Notice how the workmanship of God came into being.  “He made alive” those who had been “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).  Paul says that Christ “abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace” (verse 15).  This creation of the Lord is done “according to God, in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).  This is the “new creation,” the spiritual world God created for man.  The church is formed through preaching the truth; it is the “pillar and support of truth” (I Timothy 3:16).  Thus baptized believers were formed into a body in which they could enjoy the greatest advantages for doing the will of God Almighty.

It is “in Christ” that this workmanship of God is displayed.  And to be in Christ is to be part of the church Jesus Christ claims as His own bride (Ephesians 5:23-25).  The only way to be part of it is by faith that produces unqualified obedience to the commands of Christ.  Penitent believers must be baptized into Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38).  Otherwise no one is promised a place in God’s creation.

It is dangerous to remain outside of what God has wrought.  Jesus warned, “Every plant which :My Father has not planted will be uprooted” (Matthew 15:13).  And the pertinent question right now is: Are you in the church that is the work of God or one that is the work of men?  If you are not in His creation, do something about it now while you still have time.

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