"we are God's masterpiece"

so, here's another "explosion of truth"...

Remember that Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians while he was in prison, which was not a Club Med experience back then.

He talks here about how sins & sinning made us dead to a connection with Him.

Paul says he, himself, used to be dead to a relationship with God because of his sins & sinning...

     hardly a picture we have of him as a saint with a halo around his head!

He then talks about how God provided a way to Himself, a way maid possible by Jesus.

And then he talks about who we are in this relationship with Him...

     especially about the part at the very end where he says God has a plan for us that He thought up a long time ago.

iow, God had already made a plan for each of us before we were even born.



Paul call us "God's masterpiece".

Sometimes it's hard for me to feel like a masterpiece.

     In the house we lived in from April of 1996 to May of 2004 there was a LARGE master bath.

     Right across from the shower was a sink which had a 4 foot tall, 8 foot wide mirror.

     So when you stepped out of the shower... TA DA!

     Who puts a 4' x 8' mirror right across from a shower?!

     Ya know, there are just some things a person shouldn't have to see that early in the morning!!!

     Like I said, sometimes it's hard for me to feel like a masterpiece...



Please don't breeze through these 10 verses.

They hold so much pivotal truth to our identity.

Read them through more than once, until you begin to absorb the enormity of truth of what Paul shares.

Ephesians 2

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.

2 You used to live in sin,

     just like the rest of the world,

     obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.

He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.

3 All of us used to live that way,

     following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature.

By our very nature we were subject to God's anger,

     just like everyone else.


4 But God is so rich in mercy,

     and he loved us so much,

     5 that even though we were dead because of our sins,

     he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.

(It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!)

6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms

     because we are united with Christ Jesus.

7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us,

     as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.


8 God saved you by his grace when you believed.

And you can't take credit for this;

     it is a gift from God.

9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done,

     so none of us can boast about it.

10 For we are God's masterpiece.

He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,

     so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.