What Is God’s Masterpiece?
In an amazing swing of events from being dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-3), Paul ends this section by telling us that “we are [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (2:10). We were just told that we were dead and helpless, and now we’re told that we’re God’s workmanship. We get our English word “poem” from the Greek word for workmanship. It literally meant “a work of art.” We went from being dead to being God’s masterpieces!
Beautiful Masterpieces
God created some amazing works of art in Genesis: the earth, the heavens, light, all the waters and the land, all the plants and animals. Our existence is filled with beautiful works of art. But when God created people, he said something unique about them: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them” (Genesis 1). In an amazing display of divine collaboration, the Triune God created us in His own image. Have you ever thought of yourself as God’s masterpiece? You, sitting at your desk, or relaxing at the beach, or reading this in stand-still H-1 traffic, YOU were created as a beautifully unique masterpiece.
Completed Masterpieces
But as we read, we see that it’s possible to be God’s beautiful masterpieces without being completed. It says that we’re his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. That’s another creation; a re-creation. We aren’t God’s completed masterpieces through creation, but through re-creation; being created in Christ. Why would we need to be created twice? We messed up the beauty God created us with by rejecting Him. It made the image of God in us dirty and tarnished. It’s still there, and it’s still beautiful and amazing, it’s just been damaged because of sin. Now we try to paint over the ugliness of sin on our own. We cover it with good works or a trendy lifestyle or portraying an easy-going personality. But we know that there is ugliness, sin, and guilt in our lives. 2 Corinthians 5 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” When you trust Jesus and give your life to him, he paints over your sin, covering it with his beauty, and now you are God’s beautiful, completed masterpiece.
Purposeful Masterpieces
God’s beautiful, completed masterpieces are re-created for a purpose. We were created “for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Your life as immense, specific purpose. God has good works prepared for you to walk in. Since you are His beautiful, completed masterpieces, He cares about everything you do. He cares about how you change diapers, how you build houses, how you balance checkbooks and start your business. He cares about all of those things because what we do flows out of who we are. When we recognize that we are God’s beautiful, completed, purposeful masterpieces, it will change the way we do everything, and it will change some of the things we do. God’s promised that He has real good works planned for you to do. Your life is dripping with purpose!
There are many days when I don’t feel like I’m God’s masterpiece. I don’t feel beautiful; I feel wrecked with sin. I don’t feel complete; I feel lacking in almost every way. I don’t feel like what I’m doing is meaningful at all. Ephesians 2:10 is staggeringly comforting and inspirational to me. I am beautiful; because I was created that way. I am complete; because Jesus has covered my sin with his life and death. The things I’m doing do have a purpose; because I’m representing God in everything that I do.