“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Many people think Christianity is about what we do for God. It starts with what God has done in us. Before there is any work, there is a Workmaker.
You are God’s workmanship
The word workmanship points to something crafted with care. Isaiah says, “We are the clay, and thou our potter, and we all are the work of thy hand” (Isaiah 64:8). You’re not an accident or a leftover. You were shaped on purpose, and then re-made in Christ.
Saved by grace, not by works
Paul makes this clear one verse earlier: “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Titus says the same: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5).
No amount of good deeds earns salvation. Good works are never the root. They’re the fruit.
Created unto good works
Now look at verse 10 again. We’re saved without works, but we’re saved for works. Jesus gave Himself “that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).
James puts it plainly: “Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17). A living faith moves. It feeds, forgives, prays, gives, and serves.
Works God planned before you were born
Notice the phrase “before ordained.” God prepared these works ahead of time. Your assignment isn’t something you invent. It’s something you walk into. Paul prays that we would “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10).
Our pattern is Jesus
Peter describes Him this way: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil” (Acts 10:38). The same Spirit empowers us to do the same.
Why it matters
Good works point people to the Father. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). The glory never lands on us. It lands on Him.
Don’t grow tired
Serving can be wearying, so hold on to this promise: “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9). And Paul adds, “Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
This week
Pick one person to bless. Pray, then act. “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).
You were saved by grace. You were made for good works. Go and walk in them.