Created for Good Works / Ephesians 2:8-10
Paul writes powerful and foundational words in Ephesians chapter two:
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NASB)
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
There is one key thought I want to share with you from these verses tonight: first God works in us, and then God works through us. First God works in us, and then God works through us.
God Works In Us
He works in us through the finished work of Jesus—His sacrifice, His resurrection, and, as the rest of the New Testament tells us, His abiding presence through the Holy Spirit living in our lives.
We are saved very clearly by grace. That means we don’t earn it, and we don’t deserve it, but God freely desires to give it to us. That is what salvation is. God wants to completely forgive you and me of our sins—our past sins, the present sins we still struggle with, and even, amazingly, the future sins we will commit. When we put our faith and trust in Christ, we are completely forgiven. We have redemption, we have hope, and we have eternal life. Earlier in Ephesians, Paul reminds us that we were once dead in our sins, but now we have been made alive in Christ.
Through faith—trusting that Jesus got on that cross, took my place and your place, paid the full penalty for our sin, was buried, and rose from the dead—we are saved. When we trust in the truth of the gospel message, we are saved from the wrath of sin completely through faith. It is by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. There is no good work we can ever do to earn our salvation, nor does God ask for that or require that. We simply trust in Christ.
God’s Workmanship: A Poem of Love
Once we have Christ in us, we are called to let God work through us. And a key way God works through us is through good works. Some have said that we are “saved to serve.” We don’t do good works for salvation, but because we are saved, we are called to a life of good works so that God can work His purposes out through our lives.
That word “workmanship” in verse ten is fascinating. In the original Greek, it’s the word poema, which might sound familiar—it is where we get our English word “poem.” In a very real sense, you and I are God’s poem.
Now, I have written exactly one poem in my entire life. It was back in 1995 when I asked my bride, Chris, to marry me. Let me tell you, that was a true act of love, because I am no poet! But to ask her to marry me, I put the proposal in the form of a poem. I worked hard on that poem, and I prayed over it, because I wanted it to be an authentic expression of my love. I guess it worked, because she started crying—though I’m still not sure if she was crying out of joy or at the thought of having to marry me!
How much more, then, are you and I expressions of God’s love? Think about that: God designed us and crafted us intentionally in love. He created you and me in His image. With Christ in us, we become an expression of God’s love to a world that so desperately needs hope—a world that needs something different from what it gets bombarded with every day in media and culture.
How do we declare the love of God to this world? We certainly declare it with our mouths, but we are also called to declare it with our deeds and our good works. It isn’t just our words; it is our actions, our lives, and our service.
Walking in What God Prepared
We were created in Christ for good works that He prepared beforehand for us to walk in. Think about that: your purpose and destiny are already prepared, waiting for you to step into them.
You start walking in that purpose by taking simple steps of faith. Just like we heard from people sharing earlier tonight, you might say, “Man, I took a step of faith, and I didn’t even know what I was getting into!” But look at the joy and the sense of God’s power and presence they experienced—both in their own lives and in the lives of others. That happens when you say, “I’m just going to start walking. I’m going to start doing. I’m going to serve others in the love of Christ. I don’t even know if I’ll be good at it, but I’m going to step out and serve.”
In Christ, we are made alive. We have been brought from the death of sin into the life of Christ, and a major reason for that transformation is so we can walk in good works. The opportunity to serve others is actually a gift of God’s grace to us.
When Paul says that we should “walk in them,” the idea is a continuous journey. It never really stops. As Hal was saying earlier, even as we get more seasoned in life, we can always find ways to serve. It is an ongoing, lifetime process. Serving isn’t just a one-time event where we say, “When Serve Fresno comes around, I’ll do something.” It is a continuous lifestyle.
Do Not Grow Weary
Living a lifestyle of service can be challenging. It’s a spiritual battle, and honestly, it can get tiring.
Galatians 6:9 (NASB)
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
It is hard enough to get up for a single service project, let alone make service your everyday lifestyle.
My wife Chris and I have three sons. Our oldest just went off for his freshman year of college down at Cal Baptist University in Riverside. Back when he was in junior high and high school, he was a wrestler. I remember one day telling him in the morning that I would be at his match. It was at a school I had never visited before, and I got lost on the way and ended up running late.
When I finally walked into the gym, the first round was already underway. He was in an absolute battle with this other kid—back and forth, back and forth—and my son was looking completely exhausted. I started yelling from the stands, cheering him on and getting into it. All of a sudden, in the third round, he got this incredible surge of energy. He locked the guy in a tight hold, scored the pin, and won the match.
Afterward, I talked to him and said, “Man, right at the end there, you got this huge burst of energy! What happened?”
He looked at me and said, “Well, Dad, first of all, the guy stunk. His armpits stunk, his breath stank, and I got sick of smelling it, so I decided this had to end right now!” We find motivation in all kinds of places, right? But then he said something that really hit my heart. He said, “Dad, when the match started, I didn’t see you, so I didn’t know if you were there. But then I heard your voice, and I knew you were there.”
Hearing the Father’s Voice
When we think about serving, it is not always easy. We are busy. We are tired. We carry real burdens—financial pressures, health concerns, heavy responsibilities—and it feels like we never have enough time. It can feel like a grueling match.
But when we choose not to grow weary in doing good, we remember that our Father is in the room. We have God with us. We can hear His voice through His Word, and we can hear His whisper through the Holy Spirit.
God has also given us each other. We are not in this alone. We get to pray for one another, encourage one another, and serve our God together.
Matthew 5:16 (NASB)
’Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Let’s pray together.
Heavenly Father, thank You for showing us what it means to be a servant through the life and person of Jesus Christ—the One who taught us that the greatest among us will be the servant of all. Lord, we do not boast in ourselves; we boast in our Master. We boast in the Lord Jesus Christ and the one work on the cross that saves us. We are so thankful that we have been redeemed, bought with a price, deeply loved, and given eternal hope.
Lord, share Your heart with us. Thank You for every story of service represented in this room, and for the countless opportunities You have given us in the past, this week, and in the days ahead. Empower us by Your Spirit to walk faithfully in the good works You have prepared in advance for us to do. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.