Over the last few weeks we’ve learned that the gift of salvation is given to us by God’s free grace and it’s received through the pipeline of faith. We also learned that the gift of salvation results in humility and humility is cultivated by resting in the truth that God’s doing + God’s working + God’s results = God’s glory.

 

Look at Ephesians 2:8 – 10…

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not 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, that we should walk in them.

 

This week we learned that the gift of salvation reveals the master behind the masterpiece of our lives.

 

#1: We are His workmanship…

When God gives someone the gift of salvation he gives that gift because that person is his masterpiece. That person is his work of art, his handiwork, his creation or his design. God takes little lumps of unformed clay and shapes them into priceless wine glasses. God takes wandering sheep and transforms them into a peaceful and loving family. God takes broken people and designs them into some of the most powerful gospel communicators on the planet. God takes selfish people and makes them into generous people. God takes enemies and turns them into family.

 

This is the gift of salvation from God at work. Gifts take our breath away and leave us in awe of the gift giver. When Paul says that, “we are God’s workmanship” it’s suppose to take our breath away as we come face to face with the master of the masterpiece. The gift of salvation reveals the master behind the masterpiece of our lives.

 

#2: We’ve been created in Christ Jesus for good works…

When you receive the gift of salvation you become a new creation in Christ Jesus. Your purpose used to be living for yourself but now you’ve been repurposed to live for Christ. Your old life is gone and your new life has begun. Before receiving the gift of salvation you were a lump of steel laying in the corner getting rusty with sin.

 

But if you’ve received the gift of salvation then the master creator has refashioned you into a sharp sword ready for battle. If you’ve received the gift of salvation then you’ve been created in Christ Jesus for good works. Good works are your purpose and the purpose of your good works is to point to the master of the masterpiece. The gift of salvation reveals the master behind the masterpiece of our lives.

 

#3: God prepared our good works beforehand…

When Paul says that God prepared our good works beforehand in verse 10 and when he says in Colossians 1:15 – 17 that all things were created by Jesus, through Jesus and for Jesus and when John says in John 1:1 – 3 that Jesus is God and that all things were made through him, we get the sense that we are not mistakes.

 

We’re not accidents or afterthoughts. God made us on purpose. We’re not knee jerk reactions to a world gone mad and we’re not leftovers. Everything that has been created has been created for the glory of God. All of creation whether honorable or dishonorable has been designed to point our attention to God. God laid out this plan of salvation and creation like a master architect and he included the good works that we are called to do in the blueprints of his masterpiece.

 

God not only saves us but he also gives us a new work list and he doesn’t just give us a new work list but he also gives us the energy and the ability to do what he’s called us to do in the power of the presence of the gift of his very own Spirit. How’s that for catching a glimpse of the master’s work behind the masterpiece of our lives? The gift of salvation reveals the master behind the masterpiece of our lives.

 

#4: God prepared good works so that we should walk in them…

If we have received the gift of salvation then we are seated in our new identity in Christ and therefore we are called to walk like new people and to stand firm in our new faith. We are called to walk out our salvation in fear and trembling. The gift of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Christ along with the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God compels us and enables us and energizes us to walk in a manner that is worthy of our calling.

 

God calls us to walk with him and when we walk with him we will see a noticeable difference in the direction we are walking. We will sometimes sprint like gazelles and other times we will crawl like caterpillars but the emphasis of our walk isn’t upon the speed of our walk but on the direction of our walk. As we walk in this new direction towards God we bring attention to Jesus through our good works. And this is why the gift of salvation reveals the master behind the masterpiece of our lives.

 

Interact with the questions below and have someone pray for you.

No fixing. Only sharing and praying.

What’s the most encouraging truth from this study?

What’s the most challenging truth?

Why?