Text: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
What do we know about workmanship?
Workmanship is an art, skill, or special technique of a workman. Workmanship indicates the good or bad quality of something created, produced, or made.
Furniture on the showroom floor might look very nice, but when checked out very closely turns out to be poorly put together. Many times dressers and cabinets are made of particle board that does not hold up with time and use. Bathroom cabinets made of particle board will fall apart if they become damp. Once a screw comes out of a drawer or shelf made of particle board, it will not hold when reinserted.
The Amish people are very proud of their workmanship. They use real wood, take great care in the construction process of the project, and exercise great effort in making the finished project beautiful and lasting. At the present time, any of us can buy one of their cabinets, cherry wood or maple wood, containing an electric heating unit on wheels so that it can be moved from room to room.
These people are proud of everything they build or make. Their barns are better constructed than most of our houses. Their horse-drawn buggies are constructed of the highest quality material and assembled with the greatest care.
I’m sure that some of you have a skill that others do not have. Many men are good at carpentry, bricklaying, cement work, auto mechanics, or electrical work. Many women take pride in sewing, knitting, crocheting, cooking, or gardening.
Years ago, my mother used to sit and cut rags so that her friend who had a loom could make throw-rugs. When my mother received the rugs, she would sit by the hour and tie the ends so the rugs would not unravel. The rugs were beautiful and mother shared them with her friends.
There are people, perhaps some of you, who like to paint pictures. Painting is an art that requires special talent. People pride themselves, and rightly so, when they paint a portrait or picture demonstrating superb skill, technique, or workmanship.
Leonardo da Vinci was one with excellent workmanship in a number of areas. He was a mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, architect, botanist, musician, and writer. He was famous for his painting of the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. His workmanship is excellent and can be viewed by people of this day.
There are many people who possess a skill or art that demonstrates great workmanship. These people know that anything worth doing is worth doing well. We teach our children that education is important and they should learn as much as they can.
When a child likes to read and write, we encourage them. When children are interested in music or any of the other arts we stand behind them showing our interest and approval. It is through these actions that we help people develop their skills that will bring about good workmanship.
There is One who possesses a workmanship like no one else. That person is our God. He created everything that is. He created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). God created light and He really like it. “God saw the light that it was good….” (Genesis 1:4). His workmanship was perfect.
God didn’t stop here, but instead, He went on to divide the waters of the firmament. “God called the firmament Heaven” (Genesis 1:8). Then God did another wonderful peace of work. He took the waters under the heavens and placed them in strategic areas, thus, exposing dry areas called land. God called the dry land earth and He called the waters seas. He was very pleased with His workmanship and Scripture says, “And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:10).
God knew what He was doing and He was proud of His work and brought forth vegetation upon the land. As God looked out over the land with the vegetation, He said, “…it is good” (Gen. 1:12).
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth” (Gen. 1:14, 15). The greater light, the sun, would be for day and the lesser light, the moon, would be for night. This wasn’t enough, so God placed stars within the heavens.
God possessed workmanship beyond what we can possible imagine. Everything He made was perfect. There were no flaws, mistakes, or slip-ups. There was no need for margin of error because there was no error.
Again, God liked what He created and said that it was good. Did He stop here? No! He went on to populate the waters and the land with animal life. All of these animals were able to reproduce, so life was to continue. Reproduction in itself is beyond the comprehension of man. Man has somewhat of an idea, but he does not have all the intricacies or ins and outs of the reproductive processes of life.
After this part of the creation process God observed the wonders of His perfect workmanship and said that it was good. Although everything was in order and everything was created with perfect workmanship, God went one step farther.
He needed someone with whom He could communicate. He wanted someone who could show forth His characteristics and His personality traits. It was then that God decided to create man.
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. The God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply…..” (Gen. 27, 28).
God stepped back and took a look at all He had created. Everything was perfect; faultless, complete, and precise. God liked what He saw and said it was good. God’s workmanship is the ultimate and never to be surpassed.
God created man a perfect being. He then created woman from man and woman was a perfect being. God’s workmanship resulted in two righteous individuals who had a perfect relationship with their Maker.
God chose to give Adam and Eve the opportunity to make choices. He did not want puppets that He could manipulate, but He wanted someone with whom He could communicate with and who could communicate with Him.
Satan was already in the world before man was created. He was the chief of the fallen angels and he is the number one adversary of God and man this day. As an angel, his name was Lucifer, son of the morning or “Light Bearer”.
John’s account of Satan’s character is: “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).
When God gave His perfect creation the opportunity to choose, He knew the character of the Satan and He knew Satan would take advantage of man. Since God knows all, He knew man would fall and when this happened there would be a separation between Him and man. God had a backup plan He would implement at the right time.
Man fell for Satan’s lie, sin entered the world through disobedience, and the righteous relationship between God and man was severed. Every since that time, every person born is born with a sinful nature. God’s plan was to redeem His perfect workmanship through His Son Jesus Christ.
Paul told the people at Ephesus, “And you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were nature children of wrath, just as the others” (Ephesians 2:1-3).
There were people in Paul’s day who were dead in their trespasses and sins. There are people today who fall into this category. Many people today are living worldly thinking their way of living is acceptable because everyone else is living the same way.
Adultery is acceptable because people are committing the act and seem to be getting away with it. It is permissible to have a sexual relationship with a married man or woman because no one seems to care or others are doing it.
There is nothing wrong with fornication because people are doing it every day. Shacking up or living together and having an intimate relationship must be a good thing because it is very common in our day.
Try out a relationship before marriage and if you don’t like it you can pick up your toys and move on. This is worldly thinking and these people are dead in trespasses and sins.
As Paul states, “The prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” has taken control of the minds of many people. Satan is working in the hearts of people to steer them in the wrong direction. He did the same to Adam and Eve. He convinced them disobedience was acceptable.
God used His workmanship and created a masterpiece when He created man and woman. Satan uses his workmanship to enter the heart of man and woman and like a termite erodes the mind, body, and soul in an effort to cause man to spend eternity in hell. Satan is miserable and he wants to share that misery with as many people as he can persuade.
Paul say, “….we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others” (Ephesians 2:3). We have all sinned by yielding to the temptations set before us by Satan. We have all had desires contrary to the Word of God. We have all made mistakes for which we are sorry.
Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Anytime we place some worldly item between us and God, we are placing more importance on the item than on our relationship with the Father.
When we are jealous of someone or something, we are placing that between us and God. Anytime we want something that brings envy into the picture, we are placing emphasis on that item instead of God. Hatred of a brother or sister is hatred toward God because that person is God’s creation.
A career or vocation is important in earning a living, but God should not be left out of our thoughts and decisions. Money is a necessary commodity, but when it is considered most important, it becomes a god and as we know there is only one God.
Worldly possessions cannot be taken out of this world. We brought nothing worldly with us when we entered this world and we are leaving with nothing worldly.
Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
Your earthly treasures are nothing compared to your heavenly treasures. Your heavenly treasures are what will accompany you to your eternal destiny. Storing up heavenly treasures is achieved by following God’s word through the act of obedience. When we walk with God on a daily basis, talk to Him regularly, listen to what He has to say to us, read His Word for insight and wisdom, and listen as He speaks to us, we are storing up heavenly treasures.
Although all of us have sinned and we do have a sinful nature, God is rich in mercy. Mercy is not something we are entitled to or deserve, but God loved mankind so much that He was willing to follow through with His plan of redemption that would enable man to have a right relationship with Him.
God knew His workmanship was perfect when He created mankind, but He also knew that giving man the ability to make a choice would be disastrous. God’s love for man was so strong that He was willing to extend his love and mercy to give man the opportunity to spend eternity in His Kingdom.
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 4-7).
God had a right to be angry with man, but His great love overpowered His anger. Each act of disobedience we commit should bring us under the condemnation of God. This is justifiable because each one of us knows the boundaries of our spiritual and moral duty.
God has shown man everything necessary to maintain a right relationship with Him. His Words says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart were darkened” (Romans 1:20, 21).
The Word of God is clear, but man chooses to follow the ways of the world. Most people know and agree that God is real, but for some reason choose to glorify worldly things instead of heavenly things. Their thoughts lead them in the wrong direction and their heart becomes silent.
Two thousand plus years ago, God put His backup plan into play. He sent His Son Jesus into the world to make right the wrong brought about by the disobedience of man. Adam caused the separation of God and man and Jesus came to bridge that gap of separation. Man was spiritually lost and did not realize the consequences. God knew the consequences and wanted to use His workmanship to save man.
God sent His Son to pay the price for all past, present, and future sins of man. Jesus was misunderstood by many people. He claimed to be the Messiah, but people were looking for a military person to free them of Roman control. Jesus wasn’t that man. He was not worldly, but He was heavenly. His thoughts were centered upon man’s destiny.
Jesus took the beating we should have received. He withstood the thorns pushed into His head on our behalf. He carried the heavy cross to Calvary. The nails driven into His hands and feet were for our benefit. The agony, the pain, the mocking, and the spear thrust into His side demonstrated His great love for each of us.
Man was given the opportunity to repent of his sins and accept Jesus as his own personal Lord and Savior and thereby receive the right to spend eternity in His Kingdom. You and I cannot save ourselves. If we are to spend eternity in the mansion over the hilltop, we need to accept the Cross.
We need to receive by faith the message of the Cross which is salvation. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9).
God extends His kindness to us and calls it grace. This is something we do not deserve, but is a gift offered out of love. We do not have to pay for this because the price has already been paid. We need not feel obligated to do something because this is a gift with no strings attached.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
Conclusion:
God’s workmanship was demonstrated when He created a perfect man and woman. Since all mankind has a sinful nature, God uses His workmanship to remake or renovate the nature of those who accept His grace by faith. Redeemed man has the opportunity to bring good works to reality.
God’s plan was set in place before man was ever created. As the Scripture says, “....God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
Every person, regardless of what sins they have committed can come to Jesus. Some people have the idea they are too bad to be redeemed. This is not true. God did not make anything that did not have value. Everything He made was valuable and man is the pinnacle of His workmanship. He stands knocking on the door of each person’s heart waiting to see if the door will open and He will be invited to come in.
Story: “O Let Him In!”
A picture of the Lord Jesus knocking at the door of a heart was taken one day by a parish visitor to a house where a father and mother lived with their small son.
Some impulse made the mother pin the picture up in their little kitchen and when the small boy came in from school, he was very interested in it. His mother was too busy with the dinner to answer his questions, but presently Father came in from work.
“Who is the Man, Daddy, and why is He knocking at the door?” the little fellow asked again and again. The father tried to ignore the question, but it was asked again and again with great persistence, and at last he replied that it was the Lord Jesus Christ knocking at a door. “Then why don’t they let Him in?” asked the little boy, wonderingly.
Dinner came just then, and the father managed to change the subject, but again and again during the days which the little lad asked the same question: “Why don’t they let Him in?” The question began ringing in the father’s ears, until at last one day he fell on his knees and cried: “Lord Jesus, it’s the door of my heart at which You are knocking. Please forgive me for keeping You waiting so many years. The door is open – oh, come right in and take possession!”
-----Gospel Herald
It is never too soon to invite Jesus into your heart and make Him your personal Lord and Savior. You are His workmanship.
Amen.
