God's Masterpiece—Workmanship—Poiema, His Poetry—saved by grace and created new in Christ Jesus to do the good works that He planned in advance for us to do. He set paths ahead of time for us to take. Saved from sin, for service. Think of Mary Magdalene, after she met Jesus, do you think she did good works and followed His lead because she had to, or because she got to?
Like Mary, Jesus saved me from the illusion that I ruled my own life. Most of us live in this disillusionment until something out of our control happens, like the death of a loved one, a natural disaster, a bad report from the doctor, or maybe, I don't know, a pandemic that throws the world into a downward spiral.
See my last post, The Power of Grace, on Ephesians 2:8-10
As Paul continues his letter, he's transitioning to build on what was just said—we are saved by grace through faith; a gift from God to His beloved.
But don’t take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God’s ways had no idea of any of this, didn’t know the first thing about the way God works, hadn’t the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God’s covenants and promises in Israel, hadn’t a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. (Ephesians 2:11-12 MSG)
Paul indicates that there were two groups of people in Ephesus. The first, Israel, God's covenant people. Through this line, God would bring His promised Son into the world to save the world through Him. God walked with them, training them how to walk with Him; opening their eyes to their need for Him, revealing Himself that they would proclaim Him to the rest of the world.
“Israel, you are my servant;
because of you, people will praise me.” (Isa 49:3 GNT)
The second group were Gentiles (the rest of the world), who knew nothing of this covenant. They had no knowledge of the one true God. This is who Paul is addressing here, reminding them that they were hopeless and without God in the world—but God, in His mercy, opened their eyes, drawing them near.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13 NIV)
These two groups did not like each other, each of them believing they were superior to the other, creating a wall between them as they followed their own customs and traditions that took the place of God in their lives. The people of Ephesus were a divided people.
A divided people—seems like a headline from today's news doesn't it?
Superior ideologies, created walls, customs, traditions—all divisive and unfortunately blinding many to God.
God's saving Grace is revealed in Christ.
For he [Jesus] himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. (Ephesians 2:14-18 NIV)
Jesus reconciles us to God in one body through the cross. It's not about tradition, or custom, or a work of the flesh. Jesus did the work. He suffered what righteousness demanded. He's the superior One. God's choice was to do what He knew we could not do. And in doing so He brought to Himself the most unlikely of people, like: Jacob the deceiver, Saul the murderer, Peter the fisherman, Rahab the prostitute, Ruth the immigrant, Jena the controller, and you, what about you? Are you ready? Are you willing? Your chariot awaits—or wait, maybe it's a U-Haul—oh well, whichever it is, let God have His way. He created you, His masterpiece, to join Him in the reconciliation process!
That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home. (Ephesians 2:19-22 MSG)
If you are in Christ, we have work to do, work that He planned for us to do long ago!
This is a trustworthy saying:
If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him.If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.
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