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.

The Bible points to God as the Artist, Creator, and Master Craftsman, which is clearly reflected in the first 5 words of the Bible, “In the beginning, God created!” From the beginning of Genesis, we see that He produces boundless beauty, of which man is the crowning jewel of His creation. As David stated in Psalm 139:14, as he writes about God’s workmanship and attention to detail “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous–and how well I know it.” Paul also brings home this idea in Ephesians 2:10, “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.” Scripture shouts to the world about our worth, we are living, breathing pieces of art, created by God to live productive, meaning-filled lives. God wants to paint on the canvas of our lives and produce a painting of exquisite beauty. We hold the brushes but if we give them to Him, if we give Him control of our lives, He has the power to transform us into masterpieces. In His hands, we can become priceless pieces of art. Even if your life is a major mess in the hand of the Almighty Artist, common, everyday materials become masterpieces, because God has the power to transform us from common to cherished. One of the things that has always fascinated me about America is a common occurrence, garage or yard sales. One of the things that amazes me is not only what people will sell but the fact that people will buy anything. There are things I see that make me wonder, “Who would buy that?” But the thing that really intrigues me is that regardless of what people say an object is worth it is actually only worth as much as someone is will to pay for it. Throughout my life, there have been times when I have felt like an item in a garage sale. Maybe there have been seasons in your life where you felt like you didn’t really matter, or that you were not very insignificant. Times where you questioned your worth, but regardless of what other people say you are not insignificant to God and throughout His word He goes to great lengths to prove that. You are priceless you are His masterpiece. So let me ask you how much are you worth? If an item is worth the amount someone is willing to pay for it, then take a look at how much God was willing to paid for you, Romans 5:8 says, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us…” The sad reality is that some of you are thinking well there is no way that He could have died for me because I have too much sin in my life. But look at the last part of the verse, it says “…while we were still sinners.” The price God paid was for all of us, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Even in our sin, He valued us. Not only are we a priceless, timeless, work of God but the fourth declaration is:

4. I am an original.

You are a one of a kind, a unique original.  An original is not some cookie cutter photocopy or mass produced print of the original. Lately, there have been several fakes show up in the art world, paintings that looked like an original priceless painting but turned out to be a fake. You are an original masterpiece, the real deal. Someday we will stand before our Creator and He is not going to look at you and say, “I sure wish that you would have been more like Charles Spurgeon or Billy Graham. Instead, God is going to say, “I wish you had lived out who I created you to be.” In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul writes about us being “original.” He wrote that we make a mockery of God’s brilliance and His creativity when we don’t understand how original we are, by comparing and contrasting ourselves with others. 2 Corinthians 10:12 says, “I wouldn’t dare say that I am as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, and measuring themselves by themselves. What foolishness!” We are immersed in a culture that is not only driven but comparisons but thrives on them. We compare everything, paychecks, physiques, bank accounts, houses, cars, clothes, sadly we even compare kids. We may pretend that we don’t, but we do, and we do it to try and gain a sense of worth based on being better than others. Not only is it a false sense of worth but it comes at a high price. Part of that price we pay as we have to constantly work to feel worth, because it’s steeped in human effort instead of His effort. The other part of the price is paid by those we put down, who are made to feel worthless so we can feel worth. Instead of creating worth we rob worth. When we compare ourselves with others we end up cheapening God’s masterpiece. It’s unfair to compare because we are originals. It’s time to stop comparing yourself to others, you are an original created by God Himself, His signature is all over you. Not only did He create you but you are made in His image, Genesis 1:27 “So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.” We are original pieces of work, with the fingerprints of our creator all over us. We have not been called to copycat and duplicate each other, but rather to live as original pieces of art that give glory to God. Sadly there are many who instead of living out who God created them to be are trying to copy others and be like them. We see actors or famous sports stars or we watch others at church or at work and wish we lived their lives or had their successes. But the truth is you were not made to be someone else, you were made to be you. You are an original and its time you started living as one. Are you living out who God created and called you to be?

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.