Why God did for us: (2:7): He did it so that He might display us as trophies of His grace. His display will be seen in His redeemed ones. The “riches of His grace” has been mentioned in connection with believers’ redemption which brought them forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7). These “riches of His grace” are expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. The appropriate expression of God’s love to those who are spiritually dead is to give them life. This is “the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness.”
How God did it: (2:8-9;13):
- Through His special favour: (2:8a): It was purely His grace. The grace proceeds out of His love for the human beings. This we do not deserve even an element of it, yet because He was rich in mercy showed His special favour to the unfavoured and unprivileged people and made it possible for us.
- Through faith: (2:8b-9): God’s grace is the source of our salvation. Paul never says on account of faith, for faith is not the cause, only the channel through which our salvation comes. And that not of yourselves. “That salvation not of yourselves.” The gift of God (Rom 6:23). Not of works. The Holy Spirit has been very careful to guard this precious doctrine of salvation by grace against all forms of heresy. Works in the Scripture are the product or fruit of salvation, not the cause of it. Lest any man should boast. There will be no boasting in heaven because there will be no one there who has anything to boast about (1 Cor. 4:7).
- Through His blood: (2:13):The Gentiles who once were far away from both God and the Jews have been brought near through the blood of Christ. They have come near to God and to the Jews by means of Christ’s sacrificial death. Sin separates people from God and only Christ’s atonement can remove that sin barrier.
What we are now: (2:10; 14-22):
- We are God’s workmanship: (2:10): We are God’s workmanship (work of art, masterpiece) created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Our salvation is something only God can do. Further we are created for doing good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Of course our good works will not qualify the Lord to provide us the salvation, but when we are saved, or when we accept the Lord as our personal Saviour, we launch into doing good works for which the entire credit goes to God. All glory and honour belongs to Him. The word ‘workmanship’ is found only 2-times in the entire NT (2:10) and indirectly (Rom.1:20ff) where apostle Paul says: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” God’s workmanship of creation has the translation of one Greek word, “poiema” from which the English word ‘poem’ is arrived. In other words, Creation is God’s poem, witnessing to His eternal power and glory. That’s why David says:
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge” (Ps.19:1-2). So we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.
A poem is a wonderful piece of literature, very much different from the prose. It takes a gifted person to produce such a beautiful note, unless a person has a poetic instinct, he or she cannot utter such poems. Similarly a musician or an organ player can never produce such artistic note unless he has an artistic instinct. God could never have brought this universe and saved great sinners like me and you unless He had planned before the foundations of this world. The great man of God H.A. Ironside has described this way: “Creation is God’s first poem, but redemption is His second poem, and you and I who are saved constitute the syllables in God’s great poem of redemption. Everyone is set in the right place by God Himself.” Therefore we are His workmanship and all the glory, honour, entire credit, goes to Him, for He has done and His name is exalted.