1You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins, 2in 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 children of disobedience. 3We also all once lived among them in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus; 8for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, that no one would boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
11Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “uncircumcision” by that which is called “circumcision” (in the flesh, made by hands), 12that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ. 14For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of separation, 15having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace, 16and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility through it. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. 18For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, 20being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; 21in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
The Potters Wheel
8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, that no one would boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
These are the cornerstone verses of grace. Grace is “getting what you don’t deserve”, and none of us deserve the forgiveness that comes in receiving Jesus Christ as our Savior. We are saved from the eternal destruction and separation of hell by the operation of grace. It is triggered through faith. Trusting in Jesus means relying on Him as your only hope and expressing it through positive volition in your soul. It is choosing Him. It is relying on Him. It is making Him the singular reason and central focal point in your relationship with God. And amazingly, it is a free Gift of God. Paul adds that there is not one single contribution that we can make to obtain His mercy. There’s nothing we can do in our salvation for which we can boast and be proud. We were saved by grace, and we were saved FOR doing good works.
The Greek word for workmanship sounds a lot like poetry. We are a poem that He writes line by line, day by day, as He crafts us into being that which He desires for us to be. He is the potter and we are the clay. Each day is a new day as a lump of earth on the potter’s wheel of the Master. In time, you will be a great work of God. You will be like the most beautiful poem ever written and the most exquisite pottery ever thrown. You, my friend, are His workmanship. So, how are you molded and shaped into what He wants you to be? You were saved to do certain things in your life that are good and are selfless. They were formed for you before the world began. The verse says it right there. You were created in Christ Jesus for good works. And God prepared them sometime before you came into being, intending and desiring for you to walk in them. Right now, like me, you are probably feeling very deficient and wondering if you’re doing all that. You probably aren’t entirely, but you can move more in that direction. Reader, just let go and let God. His grace is sufficient. In your weakness, He is strong. It’s not about you, and it never was. Be a glove and let His hand work in and through you.
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found, twas blind but now I see.” These words were written by a slave trader who had trafficked in human flesh, but who became a new creation in Christ. He, like you and me, was once living in the slave market of sin, destined for hell, and by grace he was saved through faith, and so are we. Be grateful and live out what God planned for you before time began.