Grace All the Way
TGC Blog | May 23, 2012
Ephesians 2 frees us from this lie by showing that the Christian life is completely fueled by God's grace. The chapter is filled with the high-octane gospel of grace for both our justification and also our sanctification. It begins with how believers were dead in their sins, then moves to how God loved us and rescued us from this death by his grace, bringing salvation to all in Christ, uniting Jews and Gentiles as one people in whom the Spirit of God dwells. The first half of the chapter focuses on God's rescue operation, which delivered us from our sin and God's wrath, and ends with the verse 10, which centers on how God's deliverance means we are created anew for lives of righteousness. As Peter O'Brien notes, Paul has already described salvation as "a resurrection from the dead, a liberation from slavery, and a rescue from condemnation"; he moves now to the idea of a new creation.
Ephesians 2:4-5
Ephesians 2:4-5 proclaims Gods grace clearly: "God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ---by grace have you been saved." Regeneration takes place when the spiritual dead come alive in Christ. Dead people do not cooperate with grace. Without regeneration, there is no possibility of faith. Paul got this from Jesus, who told Nicodemus: "Unless a man is born again first, he cannot possibly see or enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).
Ephesians 2:8-9
The theme of Ephesians 2:8-9 is clear: grace. This theme was already mentioned in Ephesians 2:5, but as Tet-Lim Yee points out, what was then more of an "undercurrent" now becomes the main point. We are saved by grace, not anything we have done. The passage has often been used to support the idea that justification before God is by grace alone, and not anything we do. And for good reason: the verses strike with great emphasis the note of salvation as a complete "gift of God." We have done nothing to bring it about that could lead us to boast. And yet it is nearly impossible not to boast in the radical love of God when we grasp this reality.
Ephesians 2:10
We now move to Ephesians 2:10 with its focus on "good works." It is tempting at first glance to think that verses 8-9 are about grace and verse 10 is about works. But this would be to miss something very important that we easily neglect: everything is grace. Or, as commentator Andrew Lincoln says, "It is grace all the way." But what does that mean exactly?
Ephesians has focused on the work of God from the very beginning in 1:1. Now it all reaches a crescendo. Notice God at the center of Ephesians 2:10. The first word in the original Greek sentence is "his," an unusual placement that puts the emphasis squarely on God. We are "his workmanship." We "are created [by God] in Christ Jesus" for good works. These good works were those "that God prepared beforehand." Clearly works are important to Paul, but his emphasis here is on God bringing them about within us.
Frank Thielman notes that this verse does three important things. First, it gives the reason why Paul can say in verses 8-9 that salvation is a complete gift of God: because we are his workmanship, re-created in Jesus Christ. Second, it points forward to other places the new creation idea can be found in Ephesians (Eph. 2:14-15; 4:24). Third, it completes the section of Ephesians 2:1-10 in a fitting way by using again the idea of "walking," which contrasts with Ephesians 2:2 where Paul talks about how we used to "walk" in sin, following the "course of the world." Now we "walk" in good works God has set before us.
God's Workmanship
The word for "workmanship" here, poiēma, is used elsewhere in the New Testament only in Romans 1:20, though it connects to other words in the Bible used for the idea of "work" or "something created/made." The word is related to the verb poieō, "I make," and is often found in creation contexts in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (for example, see Ps. 92:4; 143:5), as Thielman points out. In Romans 1:20, God's "eternal power and divine nature" are perceived in creation, in the "things that have been made" (poiēmasin, from poiēma). Both in that passage and also here the context is the creation of God.
The theme of the people of God being God's workmanship runs throughout Scripture. In the beginning, of course, God took some dirt and made a man---a clear image of God as workman. But beyond this we see the idea in reference to God's people Israel, as well the church in the NT:
Is not [the Lord] your father, who created you, who made you and established you?" (Deut 32:6; see also v. 15).
Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you (Isa 44:2).
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb (Isa 44:24).
Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb (Psalm 71:6).
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations (Jer 1:5).
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6).
For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Phil 2:13).
In Scripture we see both the idea of humans as creatures of God, as well as believers redeemed and re-created in Christ as his workmanship.
Ephesians 2:10 continues by saying that we have been created in Christ Jesus "for good works." So we are saved for the purpose of walking in good works. Good works are never the ground or cause of our salvation. They can't be. As O'Brien emphasizes, works are not the cause but the "goal of the new creation." And God has already prepared them for us ahead of time.
How Do We Then Live?
We must always hold Ephesians 2:10 together with 2:8-9. The Bible paints a holistic picture of the believer as one whose lives in grace that continually bears fruit, which is used by God to bless others.
How do we then live? If our works are "prepared beforehand," what do we do? Paul says we "walk in them." We show up. We abide in the vine of Jesus (John 15:4). We walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-25). We do our best not to muck it up. But we will; and when we do, grace picks us up again. It's like the old Rich Mullins lyric: "If I stand, let me stand on the promise that you will see me through, and if I can't, let me fall on the grace that first brought me to you."
The idea that we can or should try to "repay" God for his grace cuts away the source of power that saved us in the first place---God's grace. It's exactly what Paul so vehemently rejected when he cried, "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" (Gal 3:3) It is God who saves, and God who sanctifies---all by grace.
Above all else and before any discussion of what we should do, we must understand deeply in our bones who we are: the workmanship of God. You are his project. So you are invited to be who you are. Your life is not your own; it was bought with a price. Live with the gratitude, humility, joy, and peace that come from knowing it does not all depend on you. You are loved and accepted in Christ, so you don't have to focus on what you do or don't do for God. Now you can focus on what Jesus has done for you, and that will cause you to love God more. Then you can't help but walk in grace, realizing how costly God's grace was.
Comments:
May 29, 2012 at 09:53 AM
[...] Grace all the way [...]
May 29, 2012 at 08:47 AM
For many years I've heard people in the Reformed/Calvinist camp (I guess you are a part of) banging on about salvation by grace as though there are equal but opposite voices proclaiming salvation by works. I think it is either continuing an old battle against imaginary opponents long after the real opponents have passed away (who are they today?), or it is a gross misunderstanding of non-Calvinist, Jesus following Christianity, or it is a theological justification for laziness (no works).
Many times Jesus called people to "follow", which lead to good works in the world NOT out of any attempt to repay God or earn salvation, but out of sincere gratitude for his grace, of being transformed into his likeness by His Spirit, of obedience in following Jesus' commands and example and other things you have noted.
I agree when you say "So we are saved for the purpose of walking in good works. Good works are never the ground or cause of our salvation." I just don't know who you are arguing with!
James 2 (NIV):
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that —and shudder. 20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[e] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
May 29, 2012 at 08:16 AM
Justin, for many years I've heard people in the Reformed/Calvinist camp (I assume you are a part of) banging on about salvation by grace as though there are equal but opposite voices proclaiming salvation by works. I think it is either continuing an old battle against imaginary opponents long after the real opponents have passed away (who are they today?), or it is a gross misunderstanding of non-Calvinist, Jesus following Christianity, or it is a theological justification for laziness.
Many times Jesus called people to "follow", which lead to good works in the world NOT out of any attempt to repay God or earn salvation, but out of sincere gratitude for his salvation by grace, of being transformed into his likeness by the Spirit, of obedience in following Jesus' commands and example, and of a desire to see others experience Gods love, among other things. I hope you don't intend to be a wet blanket on these things.
James 2:
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that —and shudder. 20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[e] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
May 28, 2012 at 10:58 AM
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May 28, 2012 at 10:39 PM
I like what you say about God as the one who forms us. I was reading Romans 9 this morning and Paul seems to make the same point about God's grace in predistination.
May 28, 2012 at 10:16 PM
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May 24, 2012 at 11:51 AM
An always needed reminder. Thanks.
May 24, 2012 at 10:31 AM
[...] entire article via Grace All the Way – The Gospel Coalition Blog. Share this:EmailFacebookSharePrint [...]
May 24, 2012 at 08:52 AM
http://onceforalldelivered.blogspot.com/
What blessed comfort.
To work out what God has worked for. To do good works because of the Good News. To live out what Christ died for. To lose sleep because of our eternal rest. To give because we are bankrupt. To love because He first loved us. The imperatives grounded in the indicatives. To take marching orders from the one who supplies you the courage and energy to march on.
May 24, 2012 at 08:14 AM
Thanks for this brothers. Thank You my Lord.
May 24, 2012 at 05:32 PM
When I became a Christian this was constantly preached at the church I attended,heaping on misery and guilt and then I heard a sermon preached on Eph 2.It totally helped me to understand what the Gospel was really about...
May 24, 2012 at 04:15 PM
I can never get enough of the message of Ephesians. Love God's abundant gospel grace which He calls us to reflect to others
June 2, 2012 at 09:26 AM
[...] Grace All The Way – Justin Holcomb (via Gospel Coalition) Above all else and before any discussion of what we should do, we must understand deeply in our bones who we are: the workmanship of God. You are his project. [...]
June 1, 2012 at 12:08 PM
Can I give an amen to the Rich Mullins shout-out in the post? That guy created some awesome music. :-)
Wednesday Gumbo | Mark Moore
May 31, 2012 at 05:43 AM
[...] 7. Justin Holcomb answers the question, “God saved you…now, what are you going to do for Hi... [...]