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.