By Randy Dillon
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
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Preceding the above passage in verses 8-9 we are told that ‘Christians are saved by grace through faith which is not of our doing but rather is a gift from God’. Too often Christians accept their salvation in faith which results in a tremendous confidence in their eternal security.
However, they miss the fact that salvation is not simply for our eternal nature, but also that we may actually DO something while we live in this fallen world. It is said that our primary purpose for existence is to “glorify God and live with Him forever.” That is a succinct statement which is true. In addition to this eternal purpose we are also called upon to perform the temporal “good works” that God has foreordained that we should do. We may not know exactly what those works are until we are led by the Holy Spirit into them. These works are not works leading TO salvation but rather works that result FROM salvation. They are works of service to others and they are not for our personal benefit. They are meant to serve God’s purpose and to assist in the building up of the body of Christ which is the church.
We are NOT created and saved for our personal satisfaction. We are His “workmanship” which is another way of saying that we are his handiwork or creation and that we exist for His purpose, not our own. This should be at once gratifying as well as humbling. Gratifying that we have been so chosen. Humbling that we serve such a noble purpose which is eternal in its character. This calls upon us to be both joyful and humble in our behavior knowing that our role in God’s scheme of things has been set beforehand and our lives are not to be lived simply for our own satisfaction but that we should “walk in them” as God intended.
Finally, our works are to be good works. At every event in our daily living we look forward to an opportunity to do good works. These are works which place the welfare of others before our own wants and desires. It should lead us AWAY from selfish thoughts and actions. It should lead us TO considering the best for others. It should direct us AWAY from considering ourselves better than others. It should lead us AWAY from taking credit for doing good works and lead us TO giving God the glory for the chance to fulfill His purpose. We should be cautious not to rob God of His glory since He has already decided what our works should be in the grand scheme of eternity.
Thus, we serve both an eternal purpose in our earthly existence and an eternal purpose in the afterlife.