Ephesians - God's Workmanship

Did you know that before you were saved, God had already prepared what he wanted you to do? Now, that encourages me. All of us are important to God.

And now let's pray together. Oh, Father in heaven, thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, his life, his teaching, his death, his resurrection. Thank you we've been made alive together with Christ, we're seated with Christ. Hallelujah, what a savior. Bless us now as we study the word and make us so excited about it that we'll want to share it with somebody else. I pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10.

In Ephesians 2:1-10, the key idea is work. In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul talks about sin's work against us. Sin has killed us. Sin is a killer. We are dead apart from Jesus. Sin is a master. Lost people are disobedient. Sin is a destroyer. Lost people are doomed. There's the condition of every lost person: dead, disobedient, doomed. And yet we have God's work for us in Ephesians 2:4-9. The work of God in salvation. Then we have God's work in us, Ephesians 2:10, we are his workmanship. He's working in us and on us. For what purpose? For good works. God's work through us, the good works he has prepared for us to fulfill.

I want to focus now on God's work for us, in us, and through us. God's work for us. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Now there are three words that need to be focused on: the word saved, that's what he did; the word grace, that's why he did it; the word faith, that's how he did it. 

What did he do? He saved us. We didn't save ourselves, he saved us. Now what condition were we in? Well, we were dead. Ephesians 2:1, and you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. The hardest thing to do when it comes to evangelism is to convince unsaved people that they aren't just sick or ignorant or handicapped. They're dead. They do not have the life of God down within them. And only God can make us alive. Death means separation from God, and death means decay. I pointed out in our previous study that in the four Gospels we find the record of three resurrections. I'm sure our Lord performed more, and I'm not talking about his own resurrection, I mean those whom he raised from the dead while he was ministering. 

He raised a little girl who was twelve years old, she had just died. He raised the son of the widow of Nain, there in Luke 7, and he'd been dead oh, perhaps twelve hours, maybe a day. The Jews buried usually on the same day. Then he raised Lazarus from the dead, John 11. Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days and his sister said by now he smells. I like to ask people, which of these three was the most dead? The little girl who had just died? The young man who had been dead for twelve, twenty-four hours? Lazarus who had been in the tomb for four days? Which of these three was the most dead? And people smile and say, well they were all dead. Dead is dead. The only difference is the state of decay. All unsaved people are dead. The only difference is the state of decay. 

Some are like the little girl, they don't have too much decay. They look like they're not dead at all. And some are like the young man, they've just been dead a short time perhaps and the decay is just setting in. But be that as it may, if you've never trusted Christ as your savior, you are spiritually dead. You may not be as decayed as the fellow you see in Skid Row or staggering down the street, but you're spiritually dead, separated from God. 

He saved us from spiritual death by raising us up from the dead, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. He saved us when we were dead. He saved us when we were disobedient. He set us free. The world, the flesh, the devil according to Ephesians 2:2-3 were our masters. Sin is not only a killer, but sin is a master. But the Lord Jesus Christ set us free. We have been called out of this present world system. We have experienced a new life within. Where once we were dominated by the world, now we are dominated by the world to come. Where once we lived for the flesh, now we live for the Holy Spirit. Where once the devil was our master, now Jesus Christ is our master. We belong to God, hallelujah! 

And then he saved us from doom. We were doomed. Children of disobedience, children of wrath. By nature children of wrath. Sin is a destroyer. The wages of sin is death. There is going to be a future judgment. Oh, God is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish. God who will have all men to be saved. God patiently endures, but oh, he wants to save us from the wrath to come. What did he do? He saved us. 

Now why did he do it? Because of his grace. Ephesians 2:7, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved. Grace means unmerited, undeserved favor. He did it because of his love. Ephesians 2:4, the great love with which he loved us. For God so loved the world. Don't forget that little word "so" in John 3:16. It doesn't simply say God loved the world, it said God so loved the world that he did what? He gave his son. In his mercy, his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Why did he do it? Not because of our goodness, not because we deserve it, but because he is a loving, gracious, merciful, and kind God. 

Now how did he do it? By faith. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that is not of yourselves. The word "that" there doesn't refer to faith, it refers to the whole experience of salvation. The word faith is feminine, the word that is neuter in the Greek language, so that is referring to the whole matter of salvation. For by grace you have been saved through faith and that salvation is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. You know why? Because we couldn't work for it if we wanted to. How many works must you perform to go to heaven? People say, well I'm going to get to heaven, I'm doing pretty good. Well, how good are we doing? And what about our trespasses and sins? Not of works lest anyone should boast. Romans 3:19, God says that every mouth may be stopped. My friend, if your mouth has never been stopped, you'd better question your salvation. If you're giving God excuses and alibis, if you're bragging to God about your religion, I wonder if you've been born again. Every mouth stopped because the whole world stands guilty before God. We've been caught. God has the record. God has the evidence. We are guilty. 

And yet God in his grace says you can be saved. How? By faith. Not by works. By faith. Not by religion. By faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Trusting him. You see, faith is only as good as the object. You put your faith in medicine, you'll get what medicine can do. You put your faith in money, you'll get what money can do. Put your faith in your muscles, you'll get what your muscles can do. Put your faith in Jesus Christ, you'll get what Jesus can do. All of this comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now if you think you can earn your salvation, you don't know anything about grace. If you think you can work for your salvation, you know nothing about faith. We are saved by grace through faith. God's work for us.

On the cross Jesus said, it is finished. That means the work of redemption has been completed. 'Tis done, the great transaction's done. I am my Lord's and he is mine. Oh, have you trusted him? But don't stop there. Paul didn't. Paul says you can't boast about your works, but Ephesians 2:10 says, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus. The word workmanship is the Greek word "poiema" from which we get our word poem. We are God's poem. It means a manufactured product. We are God's manufactured product. He worked for us on the cross, now he works in us through his Holy Spirit. We are a part of a new creation. Notice the word there: we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has prepared for us. 

You know, when you were saved, it was just like the creation back in the book of Genesis. 2 Corinthians 4:6, For it is God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now what did God do back in Genesis 1:1? Well, the earth was without form and empty, darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light. And there was light. And what does God do from then on? He forms and he fills. He forms the earth, fills it with plants and animals. Forms the water, fills it with the water creatures. Forms the firmament, fills it with birds and then with planets and stars. He formed and then he filled. 

Now this is what God does in salvation. You become a part of a new creation. When you trusted Jesus Christ, God said let there be light. And the creative light of God came shining into your heart and mind and you became a new creature in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now God is forming and filling. I like that. He's been working on me now for a long time. Ever since 1945 he's been working on me. And you know, he still uses the same tools. Now what are the tools that God uses to work in us? Well, the Word of God. 1 Thessalonians 2:13, For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. How does God work in us? Through his word. 

How does God work in us? Through prayer. Look at Ephesians 3:20, Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us. As we pray, the Holy Spirit of God works in us. The Word of God and prayer. The church. Ephesians 4:11-12, he tells us how in the fellowship of the local church we are being equipped. The equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. People say, well I can be a good Christian without the local church. No you cannot. You say, well there are hypocrites down there. Well, there are hypocrites all over. I am a part of a local church fellowship because I need the ministry of the saints. And they need the ministry of the saints as well. 

God works in us through the word and through prayer and through the fellowship of the local church and through the experiences of life. Suffering. 1 Peter 5:10, But may the God of all grace who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. I like that statement. The God of all grace who leads us to glory works in us even through suffering. So God works for us at salvation. God works in us at sanctification. He makes us more of what he wants us to be. 

And then God works through us. That's service. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for what purpose? To sit around and enjoy Christian living? No, it's good to enjoy Christian living but that's not the end he has in mind. That we might become more like the Lord Jesus, that's right. And if we are more like the Lord Jesus, we'll do what he did. He was a servant. He served others. Created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 

Did you know that before ever you were saved, God had already prepared what he wanted you to do? Now that encourages me. There are those who say that God does not have a specific will for our lives. That Warren Wiersbe could be serving the Lord just as effectively doing something else beside teaching the word of God. I don't agree with that. I believe that before ever I heard the gospel, yes before ever the worlds were made, God had ordained certain tasks that I was supposed to accomplish. You know, there are no small Christians. There are no little Christians. We are all important to God. There are no big preachers and there are no small churches. All of us are important to God. And God has certain works he wants us to perform. Matthew 5:16, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify not you, but glorify your Father which is in heaven. 

When I was unsaved, I walked according to the course of this world, Ephesians 2:2. I walked according to the prince of the power of the air. I walked in the lusts of the flesh and the desires of the mind. That's the way I walked because I was under the dominion of sin. But the Lord has saved us and now we are to walk in the good works. And of course this leads us to Ephesians 4 where we're to walk worthy of our calling. We're to walk in love. We're to walk circumspectly. We're to walk in the light. The Christian life speaks of freedom and progress as we walk together with the Lord. 

God has already prepared a fulfilled life for each one of us. What should we do? Let him work in us and through us. In us and through us. This I believe means spending time daily in prayer. How can God work in me and through me if I don't pray? Prayer is the power of the Christian life. If I don't spend time in the Word of God, how do I know what he wants to teach me? How do I know what he wants me to do? The Word of God and prayer and fellowship with God's people. Yes, and suffering. Going through the valley experiences. This is what forms us and fills us and makes us what God wants us to be. 

And therefore we don't have to worry about the future. God has it all prepared for us. I have said so many times and no doubt will say many times more: the future is your friend when Jesus Christ is your Lord. What sin did to us, killed us, made us slaves, bond slaves of sin. Oh, but what God did for us. Those two little words in Ephesians 2:4, but God. But God who is rich in mercy. What did he do? Made us alive together with Christ. He is our life. Raised us up together with Christ. Made us sit together with Christ. And now Jesus Christ in heaven is working in us and working through us. The Lord working with them, says Mark 16:20. This to me is the excitement of the Christian life. My friend, find out what it is God wants you to do and then let him do it in you and then let him do it through you and you will be walking as a new creation in newness of life.

[Interview]

You're listening to a study on the book of Ephesians with Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe. Up next, Warren talks with Arnie Cole, CEO of Back to the Bible International.

Warren, Ephesians 5:15 tells us to walk wisely and make the best use of our time because the days are evil. What are some of the best uses of our time these days? 

Actually, we should have more time because we have more time-saving gadgets than we've ever had. Time is something we have to invest. We can waste it, we can spend it, or we can invest it. And I prefer to invest my time in that which is going to, number one, be obedient to the Lord, number two, bring him glory, and number three, help other people. The best thing I can do in this world is help somebody. Sometimes it seems like a burden, but it isn't, to help somebody. So I don't waste a lot of time in the newspaper. I don't waste a lot of time on television. I'm not saying that these things are wrong. When people phone me, I try not to hang on too long, for their sake, not just mine. Every day I have to start the day with the Lord and give him—Lord, here's my schedule. Now get rid of what you don't want there, add what you do want. And he's done that. I've seen my whole day rearranged, but it was the best way. So I think we need to read the word of God every day, we need to pray every day, we need to ask God to help us to help somebody else today. And most of all, always ask ourselves the question: am I glorifying Jesus? It's amazing how the Christian life doesn't waste time. If we are following the Lord, he's got something for us to do even if it's only to help somebody across the street.