Ephesians 2:7-10

7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

But there is one more declaration – and this is an interactive declaration.

3. I am part of a greater picture – vs. 10

Verse 10 states “For we are God’s workmanship…” The fact is that we are God’s specially crafted piece of work. Now this is not the phrase , “you’re a real piece of work, but rather you are a masterpiece. The Greek word here is the word “poinma” which is where we get the word “poem” and which is also translated “masterpiece.” Paul tells us that the creator of the universe considers us to be His masterpieces, the crown of His creation. As you look at verse 10, you will notice that Paul writes “WE are His masterpiece.” Many of us miss this change but it is here that he switches from saying “you” to saying “we,” from individual worth to corporate worth. While I do believe this has personal application, I believe that the reference here to “we” is referring to the church, His workmanship. In Ephesians 5:25-27 it says that: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” God so loved the church that He gave Himself for her. He desires to present the church corporately as spotless and unblemished. While this refers to the church as the Bride of Christ, it is important to know that the church is God’s masterpiece as well. That means that it matters what we say about other churches. They are not just churches they are congregations called by God and cleansed by God. Sadly today many churches spend their time criticizing and competing with each other instead of complimenting one another? The truth is that if you are a believer in Jesus Christ then you are part of this great picture, this great poem, this great masterpiece called “the church.” It is together corporately as the church that God through His Word and His Spirit is teaching us and training us. I believe that as we gather together each week, like an artist applying the paint to His canvas the church, God is making us more and more what we are to become. He paints his truth in our lives through our worship, through our time in the word and our time of fellowship with one another. We live in a selfish society and it’s easy for us to fall into a shallow self-focused Christianity where it’s just me and God. The truth is we need each other, we were never called to be Lone Ranger Christians. The early church understood the concept of community; they came together and supported one another. One of the blessings of community is that together we can do more than we can on our own. Another blessing is that community provides protection, Scripture tells us in 1 Perter 5:8 to: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” Predators like to separate their prey from the herd and then take them down. There are many who end up being devoured and destroyed because they try to go it alone. We are not just here taking up space we have a purpose, verse 10 says that “we were…created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God intends for us to good, there are good works that God has already set aside for you to do, you just need to be paying attention for them. Someone will need you to minister to them, God will put you in the right place at the right time all you have to do is be obedient to His call. When you act, the church acts because you are part of a bigger picture. Some of these good works that God has set aside for you to do will arise out of adversity and hardship. Someone may mistreat you or talk trash about you, they may respond to you in a wrong way, and it’s here that God puts you in that place at that time so that you can do the right thing. Instead of whining about the circumstances you can be a witness to God’s goodness and glory. Our tendency is to miss these opportunities for good work because we get mad and angry at the adversity that comes our way and start to see it as a burden and a bother instead of seeing it as a blessing. God uses adversity in His church to mold us and make us more and more into His masterpiece. Often it is more in the groaning times than the good times that we grow. God is calling us to come together as the church to reveal His masterpiece to the world. What about you are you committed to a local church, are you teaming together or going it alone?  Have you receive the truth that you are a timeless, priceless masterpiece, an example of God’s grace and kindness? Are you willing to not only receive these truths but respond to them and recommit to a greater picture than just self and the Savior? Are you willing to see others the way God sees them and not only value others but act towards others the way you would want others to act toward you? Are you willing to not only receive God’s love but to share it with others as you tell them about what He has done in your life? God created and called you to live as His masterpiece, not as a major mess. No matter where you are today God loves you and longs for you to grow in grace.

Ephesians 2:7-10

7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

It’s here in verses 7 through 10 that we discover several declarations of truth that will help us to live as God’s masterpiece, even when life feels more like a major mess. The first declaration of truth concerning you is this:

1. I am timeless – vs. 7.

God has created us to live forever. He is the only Being that has always existed and always will exist. As He told Moses at the burning bush “I AM” meaning the One who has always existed. We are created beings, which means that we had a beginning. Yet God created us to live forever but Adams disobedience brought death to our physical bodies. But even after we die physically, our spirits will continue to exist for eternity. Paul writes here in Ephesians 2:7 that God has extended a wonderful invitation to all of us, to live “in the future ages” as examples and trophies of the Almighty Artist forever. God wants us to be His forever examples of what He did for us, as He extended to us the gift of grace. What is grace, it is undeserved kindness extended to us, it is God’s response to our guilt. God didn’t have to extend His grace to us, but He did. The question is have you responded to His gift of grace? When we embrace His grace and kindness we will continue to live forever with Him in heaven. But there is another side to this coin, you can choose to live your life as a major mess and deny God’s gift of grace. The truth is whether masterpiece or major-mess, you will still live after death. Either you will receive Him or you will reject Him. Based on that decision you will either live with Him forever in heaven or you will live without Him forever in hell. If you are living as a major mess, denying God’s grace you need to understand that God created you for a greater purpose. You see God’s grace, regardless of your sin, is still available to you. 2000 years ago Christ came at Christmas to save us from our sin. He led a perfect life and then willingly took our pain and punishment on the cross of Calvary. Through His sacrifice He conquered sin and death pardoning us and providing a way back to paradise. Even now He is pursuing you, begging you to turn from a life of misery and mess to a masterpiece. Will you respond to His gift of grace and turn your life over to Him? He created you to be a timeless example of His grace, not a timeless example of His judgment. The second declaration of truth is this:

2. I am priceless – vs. 8-9.

This is a simple yet profound statement, you see verses 8-9 remind us of this truth, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.” Salvation is God’s gift, you can’t possibly purchase it because it is priceless. No matter how hard you work you can’t earn grace, but the good news is that you don’t have to try, all you have to do is trust. You see this is a gift that is reflective of God’s love for us, it is a priceless gift to His priceless creation. Today many are basing worth on condition instead of on Christ. Let me try to explain, if I were to offer you a nice new crisp $100 bill I am sure you would want it. But what if I took that bill and crumpled it up into a ball so that it was no longer nice and crisp and new, would you still want it? What if I threw it on the ground and stomped on it or drag it through the dirt, so that it was beat up and dirty, would you still want it? Would it still have value? There’s a valuable lesson here, regardless of what I did to the $100 bill you would still want it because it did not decrease in value. All the creases and dirt did not diminish its value, it was still worth $100. Many times in our lives, we are stepped on and crumpled, ground into the dirt by the decisions we make, and the crushing circumstances that come our way. In this beat up and dirty condition, many of us feel worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, God still desires you and loves you. Your value is not based on a worldly condition it is based on the words of Christ. Grace means that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more, or make God love us less. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to God. In God’s eyes, our worth comes from what He says about us. You are so valuable to Him that He gave His greatest treasure for you His Son Jesus Christ. There was no amount of money or good works that we could do that would have changed our hopeless and helpless state. As Ephesians 2:1 states: “you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.” But then Jesus came and died for our sins so that we could have an eternal relationship with God. He paid the price we could not because He considers us PRICELESS. What are you going to do with these two declarations of truth? What will you do with the time He has given you, will you serve Him and others or will you selfishly squander it? What about the truth of your worth, will you find your value in the words of His voice or in the values of this world? Are you going to be thankful and content with who he has made or are you going to criticize and complain about His creation?