EPHESIANS: Work is Poetry

EPHESIANS Number 24:
Work is Poetry

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.”

The word “poem” comes from the Greek word “ποίημα” (poema) meaning “work, creation.” Later it came to refer to “written work.” Poetry was defined for the first time specifically as the production of verse in Aristotle’s Poetics.

I point this out because (poema) is the Greek word behind “workmanship” in our passage. We are God’s “poema” in the earliest sense of that word. We are the work of His hands. We are His creation, the result of His craftsmanship.

God created all things. Psalm 19:1 tells us that, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork.” In Genesis we read that God spoke all things into existence. For example, He said, “let there be light, and there was light.”

Then in Genesis 2:7 we learn that the creation of humankind was a bit different. Here’s the account, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (KJV 1900)

Do you see that? God spoke into existence everything that exists; except you. You, he “formed”. You, He fashioned. You, He crafted as one works to craft a poem. You are His workmanship, His poem. As amazing as that is, the verse doesn’t stop there. The Craftsman created us; and the venue or context in which this creation took place is “in Christ Jesus.”

Do you see it? The creation to which He is referring here is found in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (KJV 1900) Just like He fashioned or formed humankind physically from the dust, so He re-created us in Christ with a new heart, a new spirit, and His Spirit within us. This workmanship, this poetry, is the fulfillment of the Great Promise in Ezekiel 36:25–27.

In that prophecy we read, “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (KJV 1900)

Once again, we find ourselves with a question. Why did He fashion us thus? Our text goes on saying that He created us in Christ for “good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Isn’t this amazing? Now we know our purpose!
We were created in Christ for good works.

Well, that opens up a whole new can of worms, doesn’t it? I mean, if we are created for good works what are they? How will we know if we’ve done enough of them? What if we are disabled or old and frail and cannot do much of anything? I mean, is this hard labor, or awkward street witnessing? Are we talking about observing religious rules, rites, and rituals? Is it praying longer or praying “harder” (whatever that means) or could it be giving all we have to the poor, thus becoming poor ourselves? So many questions. The flesh tempts us to focus on things like this, but Father will have none of it. The Kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, according to Romans 14:17.

Verse 10 continues by saying that God “before ordained” these good works. That simply means that He prepared or planned in advance that good works should characterize our lives. That’s what “that we should walk in them” means. If we “walk in” good works, good works become our lifestyle. Good works are characteristic of us. Good works are what we were designed, fashioned, hand-crafted, to do.

These works are not born of some obligation, duty, or servitude as though by them we could pay back a debt, earn meritorious honor, or escape punishment. Just like our salvation, we cannot brag about our good works because they come from God. Here’s what I mean. Philippians 2:13 says, “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (KJV 1900) The impetus (the desire) and the motivation to do godly things comes from God. We do not work up a head of steam so that we can plow through God’s to-do list and earn Brownie points. We depend on Him to energize our desire and our doing.

Father has not left us helpless. It is His Spirit within us that energizes us by supplying everything we need for life and godliness to the point where it overflows from us like a living waterfall. These good works to which we are called come from His abundant supply. We lack nothing, so we can freely live and freely love.

God’s Spirit within us brings with Him the fruit characteristic of God. Galatians 5:22-23 lists aspects of that fruit. Things like Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, for example. The fruit He produces within us is not something we must work to produce. It springs from the living Spirit with whom we are united as one. This fruit is characteristic of the One who Lives within us and within Whom we Live and move and exist. Just as we inherited traits from our earthly fathers, so we inherit traits like these from our heavenly Father.

We do not work to merit anything from God.
We do not work to ensure our inheritance remains intact.
We do not work out of fear of loss or missing out.
We work out of the overflow of Father’s abundant supply.
We work because deep in our hearts we want to do godly things.
We work because the love of God overwhelms us with the desire to express love to others.
We work because godly attitudes and actions now characterize our lives just as Father graciously planned that they should.