EPHESIANS 3 overview

The dispensation of the grace of God

The entire chapter is a parenthesis in Paul's teaching, and an important one, in which he expounds the true character of the days in which we are living.   He begins in chapter 3v1 "For this cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles....", then repeats in chapter 4v1, taking up where he left off "I therefore the prisoner of the Lord.....".   Having presented in chapters 1&2 the wonders of our salvation in Christ, creating a new single humanity, destined for holy service to God in His temple, he proceeds to show how we should live in the present, in light of that, but first must establish a clear understanding of what God is doing today.   The chapter is a parenthesis, mirroring the fact that the church is a parenthesis in God's dealings with Israel.   The church, the "ekklesia", the called out people of God today, is a separate entity to Israel, as per "the one new man" of chapter 2v15, but which enjoys the same privileges as the true Israel as per chapter 2v19.  It is distinct from Israel but in fellowship with Israel in Christ.   The truth of this will become clearer as we go on.   The chapter could be divided into three clear portions under the heading "The day of grace"

• verses 1-7          the principles of the day of grace
• verses 8-13        the purpose of the day of grace
• verses 14-21      the power of the day of grace

He begins by speaking of "the dispensation of the grace of God".   The word for dispensation is the Greek "oikonomia" from which we get our word economy.   Economy is a word used to describe how material resources are managed in any society.   It is defined in the dictionaries as "the principle by which a society is governed", or "the sparing, restrained, efficient use of resources to achieve maximum effect from the minimum of effort".   In short it is how a corporate body organises itself, and the biblical usage is the same except it refers to things of the spirit.   Three times in Luke chapter 16 it is used to describe the management of a large household; it could be translated stewardship or administration.   It does not necessarily refer to a given time period, more to what is being done, how things are arranged within the time period.   The late William Trew of Cardiff, one of my old mentors, and a man of deep thought, who chose his words very carefully, put it like this "Ages in scripture speak of specific time periods marked out by epoch-making events; dispensations describe what God is doing within any given time period."   Now there are different dispensations, that is, different ways in which God is dealing with His created world.   In Ephesians 1v10, he speaks of "the dispensation of the fulness of times", that is a future economy in which God will finalise to His own satisfaction everything in the universe in Christ.   That is clearly distinct to the present day which is the dispensation, the economy of grace.   Again the present order of things is different from the previous one when God dealt with one nation on the basis of law.   Paul makes this clear in Romans 6v14 "ye are not under law but under grace".... that is, the ruling principle before was law, but now the ruling principle is grace, the dispensation, God's way of dealing with the world, is different, it is now under grace.   This does not suggest He has changed, it simply reveals His progressive revelation to mankind.   Never has there been a day like this in all of human history, when God dealt on the basis of grace.   Paul defines in Romans chapter 5v21 "Even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord".   Grace reigns today, sin has been deposed, the principle of law introduced to highlight sin has been superseded, this is now the dispensation of the grace of God, in which God is demonstrating a gracious disposition toward all mankind, not at the expense of righteousness, but on the basis of righteousness achieved by Christ.   We are privileged today to live in this greatest of all times, the dispensation of the grace of God.   It is worth noting that this is the longest period of history, in which God has dealt in the same way.   We should not presume that this order of things will last forever.

Paul uses this word in the following scriptures:   1Corinthians 9v17 to do with his personal responsibility to his generation, the deposit of trust God has given him; Ephesians 1v10 to describe the culmination of all things, God, being a God of order will bring all things to a planned conclusion; Ephesians 3v2 to do with the new revelation of God in a way never seen before; Ephesians 3v9 to do with the sharing of this economy of grace with all men in the purposes of God; Colossians 1v25 in connection with the completed written word; 1 Timothy 1v4 in connection with the local church as to how we should conduct ourselves in this Divine administration.   The understanding and practical implications of the dispensation of the grace of God are therefore far reaching.

In this present order of things God has enthroned grace as the ruling principle of spiritual life.   Grace and law are two opposing principles.   We do not experience grace by any human effort, we do not live our lives on the principle of work and reward.   We live by the grace of God receiving from Him His free gift of grace, and learning that this is much more effective and powerful than anything we do by our own efforts.   We also share this grace with all around, knowing that the grace of God working powerfully within me will engender grace in others.   Paul, in the epistle to the Galatians examines the full meaning and implications of grace.   Notably in chapter 2 he uses two phrases "the truth of the gospel".   In the first of these he establishes the doctrine of the gospel (verse 5) by refusing the religious rite of circumcision as necessary for salvation.   In the second he challenges the practice of the gospel of grace when he opposed Peter and Barnabas in verses11-14.   It is one thing to know the doctrine, it is another to walk in accordance with it.   He said in verse 14 " ...but when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel....".   What was the issue that caused Paul to withstand Peter to the face, and ultimately to separate from Barnabas for the rest of his life?   They refused to have fellowship with the Gentiles in the presence of Jews, a matter which, to Paul, was a denial of the grace of God.   They separated from their Gentile brethren on sectarian grounds, in this case racial and ecclesiastical grounds.   This was unacceptable to Paul whose "stewardship" demanded he recognise the work of God in the Gentiles independently of synagogue association.   There are similar divisions today which impinge on the dispensation of grace, we do well to reappraise some of our practices in light of Ephesian truth.   In the event he maintained fellowship with Peter, who, graciously accepted his rebuke, but he separated from Barnabas on what he considered to be a distortion of the grace of God.   Paul elaborates on this in chapter 4, which he opens by appealing for us to walk worthy of our calling, which is that we are part of a global fellowship created by Christ Himself, when at Calvary He broke down the wall, and abolished the enmity.   The church which He purchased with His blood is not divided, and should not be in practice, nor in our thinking.   Are we preaching the gospel of grace, are we walking uprightly in accordance with it?   This is the sacred deposit given to us, "the dispensation of the grace of God."

EPHESIANS 2 V19-22

What we will be corporately

From aliens to citizens, from strangers to members, this is the language of Paul to describe the corporate position of all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.   From no contact with God to full fellowship with God and His people whom He calls "saints".   Far from God now brought near, strangers now friends, having no rights in the things of God, to full citizen and family rights in common with all other believers, no matter our ethnic background.   Let us be clear, that what Paul is describing is the church, the body of Christ, including all believers from the day of Pentecost until the day Christ comes to receive them in accordance with His promise in John 14v3 and many other scriptures.   This includes all Jews who are believers, and all Gentiles from whatever nation on earth, whether alive or dead, and all those who are not yet come to the faith.   In essence it is "...the church of the first born, written in heaven" as stated in Hebrews 12v23.   Therefore we are not looking at any entity which exists on earth in the present day, but at something far grander than has ever been seen, but which will be seen, the greatest single body of people, forged into an unbreakable unit by the blood of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit of God.   It is my understanding that any present day representative of this glorious and perfect church should be in character as this thing of Divine perfection as far as is possible.   Note in verse 21, Paul views this Divine masterpiece as "growing unto an holy temple in the Lord".... it is a work in progress, but when complete, it will be an "habitation of God through the Spirit" (verse 22).   Every believer alive today is part of this, by virtue alone of their faith in the blood of Christ.  

He uses two metaphors to illustrate this......fellow citizens with the saints and fellow members of the household of God.   These terms are very important, and we do well to understand them.

• Fellow citizens with the saints       Cities were first built by Cain and his progeny when he "went out from the presence of the Lord."   Agriculture, engineering, and entertainment flourished, and although these were innocuous in themselves, they became the hallmark of man out of moral step with the Creator.   God had in mind a far greater city than man could build, but one which was in step with Himself.   Hebrews chapter 11verses 10&16 refers to this city as follows "...he (Abraham) looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God"...and "God has prepared for them a city."   This is what is meant by  "fellow citizens with the saints," the saints being the Old testament saints, those who have faith in God from Abel until the time of Christ.   Gentiles are now able to share in this planned city which God also promised the faithful.   The details of this city are recorded in Revelation 21v9 - 27, a vast, beautiful city, such as has never been seen before, comprising the saints of all ages.   One extract from the narrative says  "having the glory of God and her radiance was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal."  
• Fellow members of the household of God     No doubt Paul had in mind the magnificent temple of Artemis at Ephesus which had taken 220 years to build and was one of the wonders of the then known world.   What God is building in Christ is far greater and brings together the faithful of all ages.   He sees the church as a vast building and refers to its foundation, to its cornerstone, and to its individual stones.   He says the foundation is the combined framework of preaching and teaching by the apostles and prophets.   This term  "apostles and prophets" takes in the whole of New Testament revelation, as is made clear in chapter 3v5  "which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit."   The combined teaching of the apostles and prophets of the early church period became acceptable to all with faith in Jesus Christ and is now contained in the New Testament scriptures.   A similar phrase used by the Lord Jesus "the law and the prophets" describe the Old Testament scriptures.   We have now in Old & New Testaments the full revelation of God to man.   The new testament is the foundation upon which the church is built.   He refers also to the cornerstone of the building and says that this is Jesus Christ Himself.   The word used is "the extreme or foundation cornerstone"; the idea is that every individual stone in the building is aligned precisely to the cornerstone.   Without such an alignment, the building would be imperfect.   He then proceeds to the individual stones that make up the building which are the believers in Christ and He speaks of them as being "fitly framed together;" each one being individually crafted to take its place in the great building of God.  All of them crafted by Christ, and fitted in its proper place to become a holy temple in the Lord, which would become the dwelling place of God.   The word used for "temple" is "inner temple," the very holy of holies, the direct presence of God.  

The words of Dr. Constable are a very fitting epilogue to this chapter "I wonder if anything is more urgent today for the honour of Christ that the church should be, and be seen to be, what by God's purpose and Christ's sacrifice it already is........ a single new humanity, a model of human community, a family of reconciled people under God who love their Father and love each other, the evident dwelling place of God through the Spirit.   Only then will God get the glory due to His name."  It is highly unlikely, but not impossible, that any local church will, this side of eternity, reach the standard that is set here,  however we should not opt for a lower standard, considering all the resources at our disposal.   This is the thrust of the rest of the epistle.

 

EPHESIANS 2V13-18

What we now are in Christ corporately

Once again we see the wonderful intervention of God in our situation......"But now in Christ Jesus....."   If in the first section Divine action brought resurrection from the dead, in the second the emphasis is on reconciliation from our distance from God and His people.   The language of these verses is just marvellous...v13 "once far off, now made nigh...."; v14 "He is our peace...."; v14 "...hath made both one"; v15 "..having abolished in His flesh the enmity"; v16 "...reconcile both unto God in one body"; v17 "...preached peace..."; v18 "..we both have access..."   Every verse bristling with the wonder of Divine reconciliation.   We first of all note that the central person in all this is Christ Jesus.   There are three themes running through these verses; firstly our reconciliation to God; then our reconciliation to our fellow man; and last but not least the one and only means of reconciliation to God and man, the mediatorial death of Christ, which is where we will begin.

The world seeks for peace, for reconciliation between man and man, and nation and nation.  There is, however, a huge problem in the way of such a noble attainment.   There was enmity in the heart of man which separated him from God and his fellow man....not right with God, not right with man.   The understanding of this is fundamental to Divine revelation.   If there was to be reconciliation, the offending sin must be dealt with.   This Christ did by His death, the three references to this are clear in the verses....."the blood of Christ"...."having abolished in His flesh the enmity"...."reconcile both to God by the cross"... all of which are speaking of His death.   The principle of holy scripture is that sin brings death and only the death of another (Christ) will save us from a permanent state of separation from God, which is the biblical definition of death.   At the cost of His own blood, in the body of His flesh, and on a shameful cross, He secured our reconciliation.   Consider the results of Calvary:

• The bridging of the gulf between man and God       verse 13 "But now in Christ Jesus ye who once were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."   Far from God in moral degradation, far from God in judicial separation, but now made nigh, freed from our sins, freed from the sins of our fathers.   This was done at infinite cost (the bible says that compared to the precious blood of Christ, silver and gold are corruptible things! 1 Peter 1v18), and God has accepted His sacrifice as a substitutionary payment of our debt.   The unbridgeable gulf has been bridged.   The dilemma of long ages has been solved..... the dilemma of Job "He is not a man as I am... that we should come together in judgment, neither is there any umpire between us that He should lay hands upon us both." Job 9v32-33; the dilemma of Habakkuk... how can a holy God justify sinful man? Habakkuk chapters 1-2.   There are other allusions to this aspect of our condition before God, but the wonder of Calvary is that "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them..." 2 Corinthians 5v19.   All this only in Christ Jesus!  This is not a blanket reconciliation, not a universal salvation, only to those "in Christ Jesus".
• The breaking down of the wall of partition        The distance between man and God, because of sin, resulted in an enmity between human beings, of which the tensions in Jewish and Gentile groups were a prime example.   The truth is expressed like this...."He is our peace"    Peace with God and man is only in Christ.   We are brought close to God in Christ, we are reconciled to our fellow man in Him.   In the body of His flesh, it is  recorded that He broke down the middle wall of partition, and He abolished the enmity.   In the outer court of the temple in Jerusalem there was a wall beyond which Gentiles were not allowed to go on pain of death, no doubt Paul is referring to this as the symbol of world division.   There was, however more than just a physical wall there was a whole raft of divisive issues that built huge, unseen, spiritual walls.   These, he describes as "the law of commandments contained in ordinances."   God gave ten commandments to control the behaviour of His people, but they had added to them to the extent there were 613 commandments laid down in the form of a dogma (which is the meaning of the word "ordinances").   248 of these dogmatic rabbinical commandments were positive(thou shalt) and represented the number of bones and major organs in the human body; 365 were negative(thou shalt not) and represented every day of the year!   Thus what had developed was a dogmatic control of the entire body for every day of our lives!   The resultant barrier became "the commandments of men" or "the traditions of the fathers" as Jesus called them, leading to more and more ideological distance.   At the cross He abolished them all and demolished the wall.   The word abolished means "rendered useless".   God no longer deals with us on the basis of law, He deals only in terms of grace which is in Christ.   In Christ God has removed the barrier between Himself and man and between man and man.
• The bonding  of warring factions by creating a new humanity       A new creation, a new humanity, out of two diametrically opposed units, one new man.   The on looking world with scepticism says "if only."   God says it is true and the universe will see it.   He has created the most powerful, the most unified, the most holy, the most loving, the most privileged entity, the church, the called of God, the saints, the glorified new creation that will dwell in fellowship with God forever!   The principle on which He built it is universal harmony between God and man, and man and man, not on the dogmas of set rules, but in the dynamic power of Jesus Christ.   He calls it peace, made by the prince of peace soon to become the King of peace.   Only God can do this, and only in Christ, and He has done it, and we can all be part of it.....the question is, ARE WE?
• The blessing of all who experience the reconciliation       This goes to how it works, how it becomes practical in our lives, how we can be part of this great blessing?   Verse 16 tells us He did it by means of the cross.   When man's sin plumbed it's lowest depth in the brutal, unlawful, execution of Christ, God answered in the greatest expression of Divine mercy, and reconciled man to Himself and bonded people so close to each other, they can only be described as members of a body, interdependent on each other, having the same loving care of one another.   This He did at the cross, at the cross Jesus Christ made peace.   Next verse 17 says He came preaching peace; this is world evangelism, not only did He accomplish peace, He announced it, and goes on announcing it, and for nearly 2000 years has continued to announce it to the Jew and the Gentile, and through all that time God has been proclaiming peace to the world.   Verse 18 takes us to a new dimension, those who are reconciled now have access to God as Father, through the agency of the Spirit, we have spiritual contact with God!   The word access is very revealing....it literally means "introduction" in the sense of being introduced to royalty in the royal palace.   Such an introduction brings us within reach of sharing in the wealth, and the privilege and the power of the Divine resources.   This is a priceless privilege, now the right of every member of the body of Christ.   This word access occurs only three times in the new testament; Romans 5v2, here, and Ephesians 3v12.   The French use this idea  for the starter of a meal, they call it "entrée" and suggests the introduction to the meal with promise of greater to come.   At the point of salvation we have access in this sense to God, with continuing and greater blessings to follow.   Essentially we are on talking terms with God, and share in all He has.

EPHESIANS2 v11-12

What we were corporately

The bible depicts human history as being in three corporate groups, the Jews, the Gentiles, and the church of God, (1 Corinthians 10v32.)    The term "Gentiles" refers to all nations apart from the Jews.   A consecutive reading of the bible traces the history of each of these corporate groups, and this is how God views history, the only view that is true.

• In Genesis chapters 1-11 we have the nations, that is all nations, and the time span is approximately 2000 years.
• In Genesis 12-Malachi 4 we have the one nation, Israel, whom God raised up to reveal Himself to the world at large; again the timespan is approximately 2000 years.
• In Matthew- Revelation  we have the church of God, and this has almost run 2000 years.   The church includes both Jews and Gentiles, the defining principle being understood in the term "in Christ".

"Gentiles" was a derogatory term applied by Jews to all non-Jews, because of the privileged position God had given them.   Of course spiritual pride is one of the worst exhibits of pride, because anything we have of a spiritual nature is a gift from God.   The Jews went overboard in their one-upmanship and real enmity between the two groups ensued, and in many places that still exists.   Nevertheless it is true that the bible records that God gave favourable disposition to the Jews for a very precise reason (He has a right to do this), and this resulted in an alienation of the nations.   This is the corporate position, therefore, of the Gentiles in relation to God.   The culmination of their history, so far as God is concerned, is recorded in Genesis chapter 11, when they openly rebelled against the Divine command, resulting in confusion and restraint of their progress.   God alienated them and took up dealings with one nation, Israel.   This, however, was only a temporary measure and His long- term strategy always involved the blessing of all nations, but it would come through Israel.   What Paul is describing here is the judicial alienation from God of the masses.... they are described as "far off"; in contrast Israel were considered as being "nigh".   This did not imply that Jews were morally superior, just that they were positionally near to God.   Paul takes up this theme from two different perspectives:

1. The Jewish perspective           "...called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision in the flesh made by hands."   The self-righteous Jews saw circumcision, which God gave them as a distinguishing rite, as making them superior to all who were not so distinguished.   In fact, suggests Paul, this was a position of some hypocrisy, because they were only "called" the Circumcision, they were not in reality such, as he makes clear in Romans 2v 28-29.   The rite of Circumcision was given to Abraham after he was in right relationship with God, not before; rather was it given to symbolise their responsibility to God, being already in relationship to Him.   The Jews used this external rite to promote their spiritual superiority, when in fact it should have humbled them.   The resultant enmity was far reaching and still exists today on both sides.
2. The Divine perspective           God separated Israel from the nations to reveal His ways to the world and in so doing the nations at large were temporarily bypassed.....Psalm 149v19-20 "He sheweth His word unto Jacob, His statutes and His judgments unto Israel.   He hath not done so with any nation; and as for his judgments they have not known them."    The Apostle enumerates five aspects of Gentile distance from God, using the words "without"(apart from); "aliens"; "strangers".   All of us born into non Jewish families were in this positional state of remoteness from God, in addition to the moral turpitude described in verses 1-3.

We were Christ less.... Christ is the term for the Messiah the one who would come to make things right in a world which was sadly broken; the seed of the woman who would bruise the serpent's head.   Ultimately this means separation from God forever.   He uses the term "in Christ" to describe the blessed of humanity, the term "apart from Christ" denotes eternal loss.   The Christ, the anointed of God to fulfil his plans,  would come to the world through Israel, and the Gentiles were outside of that.

We were Stateless....."aliens from the commonwealth of Israel"    It is not understood, and certainly not accepted, that Israel will rule the  world, but it is so recorded in scripture and this is what Paul is referring to here.....the commonwealth of Israel.   Consider the following scriptures: Romans 4v13 Abraham is the heir of the world; Isaiah 60v5 "...the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee.   The forces of the nations shall come unto thee."   Zechariah 14v14 "...the wealth of all the nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver and apparel in great abundance."   Psalm 2v6-9 "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.......Ask of me and I shall give thee the nations for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.   Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."   Apart from Christ the Gentiles had no claim on this.   Not one square inch of territory did we have an interest in.

We were Friendless       "...strangers from the covenants of promise..."     Abraham was called "the friend of God", his descendants described as "the apple of His eye".   He delivered them, He guided them, He nurtured them, He even suffered their manners yet saw them as His people.   The Gentile nations knew nothing of this, they were out in the cold, friendless to make their own way in the world.    The covenants of promise given to Israel were foreign to them.   The great Abrahamic covenant that made them the focus of blessing or cursing in the world that all blessing would come through them( Genesis 12v3 with 13v16, with 15v5.)   The great Palestinian covenant securing the land as the centre of future world operations (Genesis 15v18-21, Psalm 105v7-12.)   The New covenant which would ensure their spiritual revival (Jeremiah 31v31, Psalm 89v34-37, Isaiah 55v3.)  

All these are covenants of promise, that is, they depend alone on God who never fails.   The covenants of the seed, the land and the spiritual renewal will take place, but the Gentiles are strangers to this.   There were indications of old that many Gentiles would be blessed, but they were strangers to this being out of touch with God.   All they knew was a lifelong struggle on their own.
We were Hopeless ...... that is we had nothing beyond this life.   Nothing to inspire us for the future, all we knew was a slow degradation with no horizon after death.   Our entire existence is the short lifespan with the primary occupation being to secure a good pension for ourselves and if possible a legacy for our children, or some achievement by which we will be remembered.
We were Godless........."without God in the world"....atheists, to put the official term to it.   Since God is the supreme object of worship, it means we have no one to look up to, no one to guide, no one to comfort , in the ultimate sense.   Trapped in a universe that threatens to spiral out of control, with only death and taxes the certainty, at the mercy of greedy bullying people who hold the purse strings.   In the language of the Humanists "we are on our own, there is no one out there".   Note the expression, "without God in the world", the world described as evil by the bible.   To be alone in this world without the restraining and bountiful hand of God is indeed a solemn prospect.
This was the plight of the Gentiles before God intervened.

EPHESIANS 2v7-10

What we will be individually

Paul's message is clear "...that in the ages to come He might shew unto us the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus....."   there's more, much more to follow!   More in this life, more, much more, in the one to come.   Indeed he says that the grace of God will continue to be dispensed throughout the eternal ages.

• "In the ages to come"        To people whose life expectancy is 70-90 years, this expression should immediately arouse our attention.   No less than 13 times in the book of Revelation, this truth is used, indeed it defines the book.   It appears in the Greek text as "eis tous aionas ton aionon" and translates as "unto the ages of the ages."   It means forever, the unfolding, endless, eternity. The details are immense and demand attention:    The God who lives forever( Revelation ( 4v9/10, 5v14, 10v6, 15v7. ); Glory to God forever ( Revelation 1v6, 7v12. ); Worship to the Lamb forever ( Revelation 5v13. ); Christ shall reign forever ( Revelation 11v15 ); The saints will reign forever ( Revelation 22v5. ); All rebels against God will perish forever ( Revelation 14v11 with 20v14-15 ); All followers of false religion under the blanket term "Babylon" will perish forever ( Revelation 19v3.); Satan and his demonic hosts will perish forever ( Revelation 20v10. )   The issues are serious; human beings, created by God have within them a spirit of life which will last forever.   Before us all is a never ending existence in heaven or hell, in blessing or cursing, in pleasure or in torment.   For the believer it is "pleasures forevermore at the right hand of God" (Psalm 16v11).
• "He will shew unto us the exceeding riches of His grace"      The Lord God our Father has an infinite treasure trove of good things, both material and spiritual, which He will share with His beloved people for all eternity.   The word for exceeding is huperballo which translates as "way beyond" that is of any measurement known to man.   This is in the form of kindness to us.....goodness, gentleness, moral excellence, and all in Christ Jesus.   He would give anything to Christ(Psalm2v8), and in Christ He will give anything to us.   The picture of our future is just wonderful......infinite treasures for a timeless eternity!!   Writing to the Corinthians Paul spoke of "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."   Nearing the time of his death he wrote to Timothy "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also which love His appearing."
• "For by grace are ye saved, through faith"     Paul now garnishes this section with two wonderful conclusions by the use of the word "for".   The first in verses 8-9 is that salvation is all of grace; the second in verse 10 is that God saved us to create us anew and this also is all of Him....... in short all of God from beginning to end, from the moment of salvation and all the way through, and on into eternity.   The verses 8-9 could not be more clear, and are an expansion on the end of verse 5 "...by grace ye are saved."   God is the prime mover in our salvation.   It was God who initiated our conversion as is made clear by the teaching of the apostle John "We love Him because He first loved us." 1 John 4v19.   We received it by faith, we accepted the grace of God toward us.   Some have said "faith is the hand of the heart", a truly lovely idea.   We gratefully grasped by the hand of faith the overtures of a gracious God toward us .   It is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not of works, so no one can boast.   There is not one iota of my salvation that is attributable to me, it is all of God and His gracious disposition toward me.  Paul expands on this in 2 Timothy 1v9 "..who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."   How could we have any part in it that was given to us before we were born!  
• "For we are His workmanship"           We are saved by grace and we are changed by grace.   God is at work, He is changing us from the self serving individuals that we were into the image of His Son.   In the words of Philippians 1v6 "He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."    The word for workmanship is poiema and it means craftsmanship.   It refers to a finished work, and could be applied to an artist completing a masterpiece, or a writer completing a book, or a poet finishing a literary work.  The root word poieo occurs 571 times in the new testament and can refer to any work or action, like a tree bearing fruit, or some one performing miracles; but the form used here is only used once in Romans 1v20 to describe the perfection of God's creation, the phrase "the things that are made" is the same word used here.   Now creation is a work of perfection so it is conveying the idea of the finished article.   What a wonder then is this word describing what we are in Christ.   God sees us as the finished article, He sees us in the eternal glory of the image of Christ.   We may not feel we are there yet, but we will be there because we are God's workmanship and He will craft us in perfection.   Later in the chapter in verse 21 we are said to be "fitly framed together, growing unto a holy temple in the Lord."   We are a work in progress but each living stone will fit perfectly in the temple of God made by the master craftsman.   All of us will need adjustment on the other side, some more than others, but we will all be the finished article and that is how He views us now.   Salvation is not of works as to it's origin, but it is unto good works as to it's objective.   He ordained for us a life of good works.   Instead of walking in the ways of this world, under the control of Satan, and living lives dominated by selfish interests, He ordained that we walk in good works to His glory.   We are His workmanship and the more we walk in His way while here, the more everyone will see the hand of God in our lives.   How do you see yourself?...as a weak failure of a Christian, or as one who can do better.   Alternatively we can see ourselves as God sees us, and this is the essence of the Ephesian epistle, the view from the heavens, the Divine perspective.   The best formula for Christian living is this........BE WHAT YOU ARE.....demonstrate to all around God's handiwork in your life.