NO REASON TO BRAG, BIG REASONS TO REJOICE
EPHESIANS 2:8-10
EPHESIANS 2:8-10 NKJ
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
This letter to the Ephesians is considered one of Paul's finest. The content is full of the wonderful reality of what God has done for us through Jesus. Also, this letter does not address any major problems taking place in the church as the Galatians letter did.
In this passage is the evangelical church's go to verse, "for by grace you have been saved through faith . . ." verse eight. We go to this verse as the confirmation that we did not earn our salvation; we merely received salvation by faith. And because grace provided salvation and we received it by believing, we have no reason to brag. If someone hands you a gift and you reach out and take it, it would be foolish for you to brag. Oh, you may be so pleased with your gift, but you sure did not earn it. And you can't brag about how you just reached out and took that gift.
So we can't brag about our salvation; but we can sure rejoice in what we have received, and God's grace made it all possible.
I often wonder why we have not adopted verse ten as a go-to verse. This is an awesome revelation that now we are God's workmanship. His handiwork. His masterpiece. This is a strong answer for poor self-esteem. We are His creation in Christ, and God doesn't make inferior anything. And we have a purpose. There are good works we have been created to walk in. In other words, God recreated us in Christ with a plan for us to do good things. We were not a mistake or an afterthought. As this reality dawns on our hearts, we can't help but rejoice. We were made right to do right, and it's all by His grace. Our part is simply to believe it, receive or embrace it and rejoice in it.
APPLICATION
Have you ever referred to yourself as being saved by God's grace? It's an appropriate and well used Christian phrase. But don't stop there. We can also say we are His handiwork, and we've been created in Christ for good things. Both phrases apply to our new life in Christ. We are not bragging, but we have great reasons for rejoicing.
PRAYER
Thank you, Father, for Your grace, Your favor, and power on my behalf. I will purpose in my heart to embrace all you've done for me in Christ and rejoice.