We generally have something that we don’t like about ourselves. Many times, we wish for a makeover. In this daily devotional, we discuss how salvation provides the way to remake ourselves.
Nuggets
- The first thing we need to do to remake ourselves by working out our salvation is to make a total commitment.
- The second thing is living as God would have us live.
- Finding God’s Will for our lives is the third thing.
- To accomplish His Plan, God has prepared works for us based on our talents and nature.
Devotions in the The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians series
In Ephesians 2: 9, Paul emphatically told us that works were not necessary for salvation. In verse 10, he told us that we were “… created in Christ Jesus for good works …” (Eph. 2: 10 RSV). Did the boy lose a screw switching from one verse to the next?
We have to look at this a little closer.
Let's Put It into Context #1
Here is a running list of nuggets for the series.
His Workmanship
“ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2: 10 ESV)
Usually, there are things we don’t like about ourselves. We would like to remake ourselves.
Luckily, there is a way we can change.
We are remade when we accept the gift of salvation. When we gain salvation, we are transformed. We become a spiritual as well as a physical being.
Sometimes, after we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we don’t feel like we’ve changed. We don’t feel we are God’s workmanship.
What we do feel is God was having an off day when we were created. There are a couple of reasons for that.
One, we tend to just look at the physical body. The list of the things that we don’t like about ourselves is generally long.
Cutting ourselves down is a consequence of the original sin. The consequences of sin are spiritual death and separation from God.
- Spiritual death is the separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin.
- The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
Glossary
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
However, we are “… fearfully and wonderfully made …” (Ps. 139: 14 NIV).
Two, we forget that we are made a new creation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (II Cor. 5: 17 ESV).
Churchy word alert. That is called regeneration. That is where God instills in us a holiness of heart and life.
Regeneration is being changed from spiritually dead to spiritually alive and the internal new birth and requickening that God brings about through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Glossary
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We can’t see any of these changes since they are spiritual. We see other changes in our character.
Changing our character is going to take a long time. Because of that, we don’t feel totally different — or we can go back to not feeling different.
But let’s go on to the “…created in Christ Jesus for good works …” part (Eph. 2: 10 ESV). We just spent a whole devotion on how it was faith, not works, and here Paul slips in good works.
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I know. I had trouble with that, too, at first. But I think Paul has it right.
Paul makes the argument that, by doing the good works, we become the creation that God has just recreated. He is saying, to me, that this is how we work out our salvation (Phil. 2: 12) and live a Christian life.
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Performing Good Works to Work Out Our Salvation
“… created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2: 10 ESV)
We could say that making the decision to ABC is the fairly easy part. The D part is a little more challenging.
≥God knew that it wouldn’t be easy. He also knew that a lot of us learn by doing.
Another thing God knew was it was probably going to take us a little time to get used to the idea that now we are disciples of Jesus. Remember, what Jesus taught was countercultural — then and today.
The first thing we need to do to remake ourselves by working out our salvation is to make a total commitment. We have to believe that only He can — and will — change us.
This is more than just head knowledge. This is believing it and putting it into action.
The second thing is living as God would have us live. That encompasses faith, love, and obedience. Here are just some of the things for which He is looking.
- Transformation (Rom. 12: 2)
- Avoidance of sinful activities (Col. 3: 5-10)
- Being followers of God’s Word (Jas. 1: 22-27)
- Quick to hear, slow to anger (Jas. 1: 19-20)
- Being kind and forgiving (Eph 4: 32)
- Being content (Heb. 13: 5)
- Being true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable (Phil. 4: 8-9)
We must have a daily, consistent walk with and for God. “Remind the believers to … be obedient, always ready to do what is good” (Ti. 3: 1 NLT). We have to be ready to do His work.
We work out our salvation by being obedient in doing the good works God has for us. By doing those works, we are distinguished as being disciples.
Finding God’s Will for our lives is the third thing. Many times, we struggle with this. Satan tries very hard to distinguish what God has called us to do. We need to remember that God has plans prepared for us.
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But we also have to realize that, ultimately, God has one Will for all of us. We are to submit to follow His laws and commandments.
That goes for everyone. No one gets a pass to consciously continue sinning.
We like to think of God’s Will for us as who He wants us to marry, what job we are going to have, etc. God is interested in that.
That isn’t His #1 priority.
God is more concerned with our spiritual condition than He is for our physical life.
Good Works Prepared for Us — and We for Them
God’s Plan utilizes us to accomplish it. Our responsibility is not to just live out our lives. We are called to expand God’s kingdom.
To accomplish His Plan, God has prepared works for us based on our talents and nature. God knows He is not going to use me for anything math and science related. But He knows I can organize and teach.
God has given each of us spiritual gifts. Yes, we all have them.
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Don’t know what your spiritual gifts are?
Take this Spiritual Gifts Inventory
God has prepared us to perform those tasks. He has given us natural abilities.
We also have the capacity to learn. God knows that these tasks will grow us into the disciples we need to be.
Because it is God’s work that we will be doing, we will be successful at it. Now, we have to be careful that we don’t define success by the worldview. We will be successful in furthering God’s kingdom.
Let’s think of it this way. God knows we will be successful at what He has called us to do, so He expects great things for and from us.
There are also times where God can seem to suddenly take us in a different direction. We have to daily make sure we are following God’s Will.
But read the last sentence of the second-to-last paragraph again. Even though plans have changed, God still expects great things from us. He can and will still use us.
Look at verse 10 again. “… created in Christ Jesus for good works …” (Eph. 2: 10 ESV). Jesus is in heaven. We will continue working once we are called home. Remember, we have said that this life is a practice for our next life.
Making the Connections
I think what Paul means here by the term good works is living a Christian life. Good works means that we give God our best to complete whatever tasks He assigns for us to do.
We think of good works as activities we do. We don’t think of them as the worship and praise.
Growing up, we may have been programmed to watch out for our pride in our accomplishments. Matthew 5: 16 puts a little different spin on that. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 5: 16 ESV).
Luckily, we aren’t on our own. God has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us and instruct us. He also inspires us to perform these works in love. God also uses the Holy Spirit to refresh us.
Don’t you think the good works are tied to the fruits of the spirit? It ties into what we were talking about in the last devotion.
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Jesus said. “You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act …” (Mt. 7: 16 NLT).
We said before that the fruits of the spirit show a pure heart: “… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5: 22-23 HCSB).
Good works are going to come out of love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, and gentleness. We use these to glorify God.
How Do We Apply This?
How do we apply this? We live it.
The Disciple’s Job Description
Complete Job Description
Individual Description
Job Duty #1
Be a Living Sacrifice (Romans 12: 1-2)
Job Duty #2
Work Out Our Salvation (Philippians 2: 12)
Job Duty #3
Bring Him Glory (Matthew 5: 16)
Job Duty #4
Proclaim the Gospel (Mark 16: 15)
Job Duty #5
Love People (John 15: 12)
Job Duty #6
Make Disciples (Matthew 28: 19-20)
Job Duty #7
Other Duties as Assigned
(Ecclesiastes 3: 1)
If you’ve read previous devotions, you know how much I struggled with is this really what God was calling me to do. I wish I would have known/remembered this then.
God has a plan for us. It is the best plan. He has equipped us. Get on board.
Verse 10 has verified what we discussed in the previous devotion. Works aren’t necessary for salvation. They are imperative for living for Christ.
Gracious Heavenly Father. You humble us. That You love us so much You devised a plan to restore our relationship with You is something more than we can understand. But You don’t stop there. You have developed a plan so that we may complete tasks that will further Your kingdom and grow us. You chose these tasks based on the abilities we possess and the interests that we have. You have equipped us to accomplish them given us the Holy Spirit to help us. Lord, we pray that we are successful in these plans so that — whatever he outcome — Your kingdom be expanded. Amen.
What do you think?
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