1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
– Ephesians 2:1-10 (ESV)
Workmanship (Noun) – That which has been created or brought into existence.
The word "workmanship" in this text has always captivated my attention. The idea that we are are God’s creation is an amazing thought. But what’s even more remarkable is that the context of this verse implies that we’ve been created a second time. In other words, we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). In addition to being created and physically born, we were also “born again” and created new in Christ (John 3:7) when we were saved.
To be clear, when God knit you in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139), He did so with the utmost purpose and care. Being created in His image means you possess dignity and worth. As a matter of fact, the Bible teaches that every life is precious and valuable. The issue, however, is that our first birth was also marked by sin passed down through the generations from Adam.
At first glance, one might be tempted to think that being born in sin would devalue our worth. However, as we’ll see in this week’s passage, nothing could be further from the truth. Ephesians 2 teaches that "even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins [God] made us alive in Christ Jesus.” Verse 4 tells us that our God did this “because of the great love with which He loved us.” In other words, God’s love for us in the midst of our first created state is the very reason He sent His Son to die for our sins that we might be born again! BOOM! WOW! Please read that sentence again!
And in our rebirth, Ephesians 2 says that we are his “workmanship.” The Greek word for workmanship is where we get the word for “poem.” It’s a word that can be used for varied types of art. Catch this… another way to say you are God’s workmanship is to say you are His masterpiece. This makes sense because, in our recreation, we are created in Christ Jesus. And this week we’ll see in these 10 verses that this is all by God’s grace! I cannot wait to walk through this familiar passage with you. My mind has been blown once again at the depth of the truths that are here for us to cherish. Speaking of cherishing, this week’s message is entitled, Called to Cherish God Grace.
Here is the worship set to help you prepare your heart.
Love you Church,
Jerry Lingenfelter
Senior Pastor