The truth is that God is at work within you. He loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you just the way you are. You are His workmanship and God does not make junk!
SCRIPTURE Ephesians 2:10 ‘For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’1. YOU ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP! You are made by God and you are formed and created by Him. You are individually made and created by God. You are HIS creation. As a Christian, you are His new creation! 2 Corinthians 5:17 ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!’ You are a demonstration of God’s art and skill. God’s workmanship is ‘out of this world’! He does not make junk! Every object is a reflection of the work of its creator. We admire good workmanship and bad workmanship inspires no one! God’s workmanship is always good. Just look at the beauty of nature to see this! You are God’s workmanship and God does not make junk. The word workmanship refers also to the standard of the work and normally is used to indicate good and great standard. This is something that makes you special! 2. ASPECTS OF THE CHARACTER & NATURE OF GOD CAN BE SEEN IN HIS WORK.But the word ‘workmanship’ also speaks of the character and nature of God that is imparted to us, as part of our creation. The definition of the word ‘workmanship’ speaks of the quality imparted to a thing in the process of making it. In the process of making us, the qualities of our creator are imparted to us. When an artist creates a work of art, not only does he/she create a work of art, but in the process something of the essence of the artist is imparted through the artwork. The great artist Picasso was an example. As a result of the suicide of one of his friends, he seemed to become depressed. This sad, melancholy came through in the art he produced at this time and we know it today as Picasso’s Blue Period. Work from his Blue Period was not popular and he battled to sell it at the time. Then things began to change and hope seemed to return to him and he began to paint in warmer, redder colours and this period became known as Picasso’s Rose Period. It was not simply artwork; it carried and imparted something of the very nature of the artist and what he was going through at that time. (JUST A SIDE NOTE: Today the artwork from the Blue Period is highly sort after! So don’t underestimate your effectiveness even in times of discouragement.). In the similar way, when God created you and me, something of the very nature and character of God was imparted to you and me. Sometimes when I interact with people I try to see beyond what they are saying and doing to see if I can catch a glimpse of the qualities that God has placed in them. Even in my own life I endeavor to discover what qualities of God He imparted or deposited in me, when He created me. I once heard a story of a man who purchased a large diamond. So that no one would see this treasure and try to steal it, he placed it in an old brown paper bag. One day someone saw this old bag, and convinced it was rubbish, they threw it away. When the man found out, he went and searched through the rubbish, to find the old brown paper bag, because He knew what it contained. Our ‘packaging’ may not look like anything, but it contains something of great value, something imparted by our creator when He created us. This treasure in us and in others needs to be respected, because it is something that comes from God. 3. GOD IS AT WORK IN US.Unlike an artist who produces a work of art and then it is complete, God starts to work in us and He continues to work in us. Philippians 2:13 ‘For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.’God is at work within us! 1 Corinthians 12:6 ‘God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.’What work does God do in us? He regenerates, He sanctifies, He restores, He forgives, He gives us a purpose and a destiny. You and I are an on-going work of art and our creator is continually at work and His workmanship continues day by day! I have discovered that to embrace the working of God in my life is the best way to live my life. It is when we resist His working in our lives and don’t pass the test that we end up going around and around the same mountain. You are God’s workmanship! In a very real sense we never arrive, until that day when we see Him face to face! Let Him work within you and embrace His workings in your life. His work in our lives is always with a purpose! 4. CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS. Ephesians 2:10 ‘For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus!’ 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! We were designed to be ‘in Christ’! What we are and what God does in us is done in Christ Jesus. We are nothing outside of Jesus. In Jesus, the workmanship of God in our lives becomes a reality. What does it mean to be in Christ? It means that we are united with Him. An illustration is the picture of the branch and the vine and how that we are connected to the vine. It means that ALL we need, we get from Him and apart from Him we can do nothing. ALL our support, ALL our nourishment, ALL our sustenance comes from Him and Him alone. This is the true meaning of the word ‘CHRISTIAN’! The word ‘created’ is a verb and the original meaning was to ‘make habitable’! In Christ, and through the work of God in our lives, our lives become habitable for God. 5. YOU WERE DESIGNED TO BE USED BY GOD! Ephesians 2:10 ‘For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works!’ Part of God’s ‘workmanship’ in our lives is to bring us to a place where our lives are used for Him and for His glory. I am not talking here about legalism, the flesh or ‘works’! I am talking about fulfilling your destiny, your purpose and the reason for which God created you and the reason for which He imparted in you something of His very own nature. You were not designed to just do what you want to do. You were designed to be used by God. For this to happen there must first be a willingness to be used by God. Then we must seek opportunity and we must see the needs around us and find a way to meet that need. God will always use us in terms of what He has already placed within us. God does not create a spanner and then expect it to be used like a hammer. He works within us and deposits something and then uses that! 6. THERE IS SOMETHING THAT GOD HAS PRE-PREPARED FOR YOU TO DO! Ephesians 2:10 ‘For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’This is to me one of the most amazing things about God. That He would not only deposit some aspect of His nature and character, but that He would also pre-prepare things for us to do that would align with that deposit of His nature within us. Through God’s kindness, He has already prepared the opportunities for the deposit that you have received to be used. My 8 year old daughter has taken to doing something very special for me and my wife. Each night, when she brushes her teeth she prepares our tooth brushes for us. She takes them and puts toothpaste on them and places them on the basin, ready for us to pick them up and use them. Everything is there. All we need to do is pick up the toothbrush and brush our teeth. In the same way, God has pre-prepared things for us and waits for us to step up to the plate and take hold of what He has placed for us to use. I just have this sense that there are things that God has pre-prepared for you, which you just need to reach forward and take hold of! Let us reach forward today and take hold of what God has prepared for us! By: Andrew W Roebert Email: [email protected] Website: www.alivetogod.com POSTAL ADDRESS: Box 32190 Glenstantia, Pretoria, South Africa, 0010 These notes may be shared with others. Comments are closed.
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