We are His Workmanship
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 2:9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
It is his Work in us
This is why we are not to boast
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Jesus
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The greatest gift of all. Made it all possible.
Because of Him we have access to the rest.
God is working out a plan. Jesus Christ coming and doing what he did was the key to it all being made possible and us having access to the gifts of God.
Let’s go through and acknowledge how it is that God is working in our life and crafting us into His handiwork by and through the gifts that He gives us.
Grace
Ephesians 3:7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
Grace: unmerited favor. It is God showing His love towards a specific person and giving them these undeserved gifts
1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.
.It is not like He is just throwing it out there for everyone, especially at this time and even less so in the Old Testament (Prophets and a few others); now His firstfruits; then later everyone else.
We see this directed nature of grace in these gifts and specifically in the next gift:
Calling
John 6:65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
We cannot do this on our own. God is the one that has to direct our feet down this path. We don’t know Him, nor can we find Him without His help. It takes God to bring us to Him initially through the gift of a calling to His Way of Life
As we go through these gifts, these things that God gives us, let’s continually keep in the forefront of our mind that it is God doing these things and not us.
I say this because sometimes we may think that some of these acts are things that we can and do do our selves.
Repentance
2 Timothy 2:25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,
Repenting is turning from our ungodly ways (thoughts and actions) towards God. That is what the word repent means, to turn. In a similar way to the calling that we receive, we cannot know God’s way on our own, we can’t even escape from the Satan inspired way of life that we have been living TOWARDS God without His help.
God must gift us repentance
2 Timothy 3:7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 2:25 grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,
Some that are learning are never able to learn and know the truth. They learn in vain.
What we see is that these gifts are built one upon another – it often takes one to get to the next and the only way that is done is by God continuing to show us His favor by giving us yet even more gifts.
The next one is predicated upon the gift of repentance and is tied in to our ability to UNDERSTAND the truth.
Holy Spirit
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The holy spirit, God’s essence and power, is something that He has to give to us and as we see in this scripture, it comes in a specific order.
It is not just something that we can get ourselves or work up
World Cannot Know or Have these gifts
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
John 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
Just as we could not before God started working with and in us
But once God has given us His spirit during the laying on of hands after baptism, our mind is then opened to the truth that we could not know before – not only that but wisdom as well
1 Corinthians 2:4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
1 Corinthians 2:5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
Wisdom
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
1 Corinthians 2:8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written: “EYE HAS NOT SEEN, NOR EAR HEARD, NOR HAVE ENTERED INTO THE HEART OF MAN THE THINGS WHICH GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”
1Corinthians 2:10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
Understanding
1 Corinthians 2:11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
1 Corinthians 2:13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:
1 Corinthians 12:2 You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.
1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
1 Corinthians 12:6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
1 Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
1 Corinthians 12:8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
1 Corinthians 12:9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
1 Corinthians 12:10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
1 Corinthians 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
1 Corinthians 12:12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
1 Corinthians 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
Another admonishment to keep gifts in perspective
Faith
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
This is not only the faith in Christ, but more importantly the faith OF Christ.
Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith…. (Hebrews 12:2) We were buried with Him in baptism and we had to be raised with Him through faith (Colossians 2:12 )
We were brought out of the watery grave of baptism through a gift of God and raised in newness of life with all of our sins forgiven – this is another thing that God does for us.
Forgive and Forget
A corollary to this is found in:
Ephesians 4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
But this does not make us righteous, it removes unrighteousness from us. To become righteous or be made righteous is a gift from God!
Righteousness
Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
Romans 5:16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. [justification, means to be “made righteous” Made right; same root words]
Romans 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
Romans 5:18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
Righteousness is being like God and having the same character as God: perfect, holy, and righteous.
God gives us this!
Eternal Life
The final gift that we look at briefly is found in:
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There is not any doubt that this is a gift, something that we cannot earn. Let’s be clear about this!
Highlight or mark or dog ear your notes.
Many saying that’s what we said, that we earn salvation. “Certainly not!”
But just because it is given to us doesn’t mean that we don’t have responsibilities or “works”
We have a part in all of this
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 2:9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
It is clear that there are many things that we cannot do or get ourselves, nonetheless
Fig tree that didn’t bear fruit was cursed
Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
Hebrews 6:5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
Hebrews 6:6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
We Must Ask For Them
Matthew 7:8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Matthew 7:9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
Matthew 7:10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
Matthew 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Still doesn’t meant that we have control over them
Be humble
1 Peter 5:5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “GOD RESISTS THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
1 Peter 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Surely we see why we are to be this way now
We must obey
Acts 5:31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 5:32 And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey Him.”
Good Stewards
1 Peter 4:10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Steward: – someone that manages something that does not belong to him; overseer of responsibilities
Do not Neglect
1 Timothy 4:14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
We must use it
Stir up
2 Timothy 1:6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
How to Use Them
Romans 15:1 We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Romans 15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.
Romans 15:3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED YOU FELL ON ME.”
Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
Romans 15:5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,
Romans 15:6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:7 Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.
Conclusion
What are we? Do we think of ourselves more hightly than we should? WHY? What have we really done?
So, what can we boast in?
2 Corinthians 1:9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,
2 Corinthians 1:10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,
2 Corinthians 1:11 you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.
2 Corinthians 1:12 For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God [and ALL the gifts that He has used to build us up]
Addendum
We Must Do Good Works
Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Colossians 1:10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
2 Timothy 2:21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
John 5:36 But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.
John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
God’s Workmanship
Ephesians 4:24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.