Created in Christ Jesus for Good Works.
(Thomas R Dohling)
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).
We are saved by
the grace (goodwill) of God when we trust Him (believe what He says in order
that we may be saved). When we trust
Him, we surrender to His will; do what He says we should do so that He may save
us (cleanse us) from our sins. He has
done what was necessary to take away sin (way of the cross); He laid the sin of
humankind on His Son at the cross of
“And he gave
some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors
and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity
of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto
the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be
no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in
wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all
things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined
together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the
effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto
the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:11-16).
Being a Christian
in name only is not enough. We have to
grow in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature - attaining to the
measure of Christ’s full stature – until we become like our Lord Jesus
Christ. In such maturity there is no
doubt only a quiet assurance and trust in God which compels us to do His will
and be found acceptable to Him. Then,
speaking the truth in love, the people of God (His church, the Body of Christ)
grow up to be like Christ, the Head, in every way. Then the church grows in Christ being compact
with each part supplying the needs of the body as they work effectively
according to their fullest ability and thereby the body increases and builds
itself up in love – love for Jesus and Head and love for one another with the
interest of God uppermost in each one’s mind.
What are the good
works that have been prepared for Christians to do?
(Matthew
25:34-40) : “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye
gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I
was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall
the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungred, and fed thee? or
thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in
prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily
I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me”
We remember from
Scripture how our Lord left many examples of the good that He did. One example that comes readily to mind is the
feeding of the 5000 men, besides women and children…
Then we have the
quality of work done in the church(es)
:
In 1 Corinthians : 3:6-15, Paul says: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused it
to grow. So neither the one who plants counts for anything, nor
the one who waters, but God who causes the growth. The one who plants
and the one who waters are united, but each will receive his reward according
to his work. We are coworkers belonging to God. You are God’s field, God’s building. According
to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master-builder I laid a
foundation, but someone else builds on it. And each one must be careful how he
builds. For
no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus
Christ. If anyone builds on the
foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each
builder’s work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear,
because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what
kind of work each has done. If what someone has built survives, he
will receive a reward. If someone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss.
He himself will be saved, but only
as through fire.”
The apostle Paul
says to Titus the evangelist in Titus 3:14: “And let ours also learn to
maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.” (Here is
another way that our people can learn to engage in good works to
meet pressing needs and so not be unfruitful.)
By engaging in good works, Christians meet the pressing needs of all and
are fruitful for Christ.
Romans 6:22: “But
now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit
unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”
Philippians 1:11:
“Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto
the glory and praise of God.” (1:9-11 – I pray this,
that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of
insight so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless
for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes
through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.)
Finally,
Colossians 1:10: “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing,
being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
(1:9-12 For this reason we also, from the day we heard, have not ceased praying
for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of
his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may live
worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects: bearing
fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, being
strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of
all patience and steadfastness, with joy giving thanks to the Father who has
qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.)
Christians are called to bear fruit in every good work; they need to be
salt and light of the world. Remember,
our Lord said in Matthew 5:16 “let your light shine
before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your
Father in heaven.”
© 1995-2006
Thomas Dohling
Permission is
granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
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