October 10 2025

Friday October 10

Created For Good Works

Ephesians 2:8-10

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Welcome to Pastor's Chat. Today we're continuing in Ephesians chapter 2:8-10. From the first verses in this chapter we have learned that sin works against us. It condemns us. It sends us into an eternity separated from God. “ But God” in verses 4-9, we find that God though works for us. He has provided for us a great salvation through Jesus Christ. We have redemption and forgiveness of sins, and God has exalted us to sit at the right hand of the Father along with Jesus Christ. Oh, how blessed we are. God works for us.

But not only that, God works in us. That's what we're looking at in these verses. We first are told we're not saved by our works. We're saved by His grace (vv. 8-9). Now, we sometimes then set works aside and forget that not only are we saved to live for eternity with Jesus Christ, but we’re also saved to live for God now on earth. So the next verse, verse 10, says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." I wish we had time today to do a study in the New Testament on the phrase “good works”. Starting in Matthew 5:16 where Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven”.

God raised us from the dead in Christ. Not so that we would continue to sleep and live in our grave clothes, but to live a new life and live out the good works of God. It's not that we do so much for God. It's what God is able to do in us. But until we accept His work for us, we'll never know what it is for God to work in us and through us to do His will for His glory. Oh, what a blessing when we begin to learn that lesson. It's God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

After Lazarus was resurrected from the dead the people standing by were told to take off his grave clothes and set him free, let him go and be an example, a testimony. When people saw Lazarus later, it says they believed in Jesus (John 12:1-11). My friend, that's what we want the lost world around us to do. Not for them to see our good works and glorify us and give us a pat on the back, but to glorify our Father which is in heaven and believe in His Son Jesus Christ!

The same resurrection power that saves us and took us out of the grave clothes will make us and mold us and give us strength and wisdom and grace to live a life daily for the glory of God. Please take the time to meditate on Romans 6 and 8 and learn about the resurrected life we have in Christ, and the Holy Spirit and His work in us.

The Bible gives us many examples in the lives of people who experience God’s working in them. As we let the Word of God live in us, as we begin to meditate on His truth, and we begin to spend time with God in prayer daily we too can experience His awesome working in our lives. But is also means we will face suffering and it's through these means, the Word of God, through prayer, and through suffering that God begins to do that mighty work through us that He has “prepared before and ordained that we should walk in them”.

It is important to know that we could only “walk in them” when we're walking hand in hand with Jesus, abiding in Him, His word is abiding in us, and we're walking in prayer (John 15:1-5).  Then if we ask anything in prayer, He will answer those prayers and He will be glorified in our lives as we are one with Him and one with the Father. Remember that was Jesus’ prayer for us in John 17.

We then to begin to live a life where we are not doing what we want to do, but what He wants us to do. We're walking in His will day by day and enjoying all the blessings of eternity right now on earth. It's a blessed life and that's why He gives us the Beatitudes to live by (Matthew 5:1-11). Remember the examples in the Scriptures it was only after suffering like Moses, like Joseph, like David, and so many others in scripture, that it is when God exalted them and He used them for His glory in a wonderful and mighty way.

May God give us grace today to let His Word and His Holy Spirit work in us so that He can work through us.

God bless!