Ephesians (W3D5) God's Handiwork

Week 3. Friday: God’s Handiwork

PRAY: Ask God to speak to you from His Word.

READ: Ephesians 2:10

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

UNDERSTAND: get a deeper understanding of the key words

Handiwork (Greek: poiēma): workmanship, masterpiece in the making
Our lives are the result of God’s working in us.
God’s goal with us is the praise of His glory.
To achieve that goal God makes us like Christ.
Created (Greek: ktizō): to make, form, mold (Ephesians 4:24)
Making us like Christ is a process.
While we should see some drastic changes immediately after salvation, some changes take time. Some changes take more time than others.
Good Works (Greek: agathos ergon): acts, deeds
Our good works are for the benefit of others and God’s glory (Matthew 5:16)
We should be devoted to doing good works (Titus 3:8)
Faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26)
Prepared in Advance (Greek: proetoimazō): make ready beforehand (Romans 9:23)
God has a perfect blueprint (plan) for every life He created.
In Christ, every detail of life has a purpose behind it.
For Us to Do (Greek: peripateō): to walk, make progress (Galatians 5:25)
If you’re not growing (making progress), you’re dead.
If we truly belong to Christ we will continually become more like Him.

APPLY: What is this passage calling me to do?

For some people it may be difficult to believe that we are God’s handiwork. But in Christ we are all a work in progress. God uses every moment of our lives to shape and mold us into His perfect design. Because God is a perfect Creator, we can rest assured that He will complete His creation. After all, God prepared all of this in advance. Therefore, we should see a strong level of growth in our lives. We should see more and more good works on display. This is not our doing, but rather God creating good works in and through us. Once again, God gets all the credit and all the glory!

What good works do you see in your life?

What growth have you experienced in your good works?

PRAY: Ask God to help you grow in your service to Him.