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SEPTEMBER 4, 2022
STUDY NOTES
GOD ORDAINED WORK
EPHESIANS 2:10
BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES
INTRODUCTION
This is “Labor Day Weekend,” a very special weekend in many ways
Supposedly the end of summer and the approaching of rain and fall weather (so far so good)
The end of summer vacations and back to school and work (maybe not so good)
Labor Day is a legal holiday in honor of labor and those who labor
In times past, there were those who participated in a spiritual emphasis for Labor Day
Dedicating the Sunday before Labor Day as a day of appreciation and education of work
But many will not use Labor Day as an opportunity to be grateful to God for their job
They will continue to gripe and complain about their job as they normally do
“Work” is a word that many people today do not want in their daily vocabulary
Often those who are young and healthy and able to work, wish they didn’t have to work
When you get old and feeble and your body doesn’t want to work, you wish you could still work
Work is a God-given responsibility which goes back to the time of creation
God planted a garden, He placed the man He had created in the garden, Gen 2:8 And the LORD God
planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
The garden had almost everything that man needed for sustenance and security (almost everything)
God gave Adam the privilege of the garden, Gen 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him
into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
“To dress it,” in the original has the meaning of “to work” and “to serve,” to serve through work
Work is to be a service unto God, that which brings glory unto God
Christians are to work for their livelihood and glorify God as they do
“To keep it,” in the original means “to watch carefully over”
Work is watching over and caring for that which God has given us
Honest work fulfills a person’s life and is a source of satisfaction
Through work there is a sense of accomplishment
There is the satisfaction of an accomplished goal
Work is an honest way of life that leads to a peaceful state of mind
There are many guidelines found in Scripture related to “honest work”
God determined that man needed a help mate as he worked the garden, Gen 2:18 And the LORD God
said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Gen 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of
his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken
from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone
of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Men, did God do a good job when He created “Woman?”
Adam thought so
I think what Adam actually said was “Wow-man,” when he saw the “woman”
God gave man something to work for, a wife and a family, our message last week
The importance of a Godly family in our society today, the blessings that flow from that family
Husband and wife can work together in the greatest work that God has given us to do
There is no greater work for us than to do the work of God, even while we are at our livelihood work
God has provided the way for God’s people to do God’s work, to serve God through work
God bestows blessings upon those who are obedient to His work orders, payday is coming
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Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them.
The word “for” takes us back to the previous verses, showing why those previous verses are true
Our salvation is not of our good works, Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Salvation is not accomplished through our self-efforts, it is God’s gift, Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
“For” in verse 10 says, here is the reason why we have nothing to boast about
“For we are” reveals what God has done and not what we have done
“His” is the main emphasis of those words, the emphasis is placed upon God
It is His work that is presented, “His workmanship,” accomplished through “His Grace”
Our salvation is not what we have made ourselves to be, we are what God has made us to be
Before we received our New Life, we were the results of the work of man
Jesus explained it to Nicodemus, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh,” Joh 3:6 That which is born of
the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Regardless of what man does with himself, he is still himself, “flesh is flesh,” he is still flesh
Man can do nothing within himself to allow him to stand righteous before God, Rom 3:10 As it is
written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
To stand in a right relationship before God requires the work of God in us, Php 3:9 And be found in him,
not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the
righteousness which is of God by faith:
Jesus explained that to Nicodemus also, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit”
And that is why Jesus said to Nicodemus, Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
The spiritual birth is a “must,” Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
The way of New Life is through the New Birth, a spiritual birth from above
Paul describes the New Birth as God’s work, “His workmanship”
Christians are the work of God’s mercy, grace, love, and kindness
Christians are that which God has made, we are the handiwork of God
Our New Life is a work of art, we are a living masterpiece
One day we shall be the finished product of the redeemer’s art, 1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of
God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like
him; for we shall see him as he is.
We know that the material creation is the work of God, Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
We can look at creation and see the work of God and know that it could only be of God
In the creation account we find that God’s work was good, Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he
had made, and, behold, it was very good.
And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
All of creation was good because it was God’s workmanship
Our salvation is good because it is the workmanship of God
In fact, the point might be that the greatest workmanship of God ever is the salvation of lost souls
The masterpiece of creation is the New Life that is in Christ Jesus
And God has a purpose for that “Masterpiece” which is created in Christ Jesus
God did it all, but He did it all “in Christ Jesus”
In Christ we are a new creation, 2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
So, the works of man cannot work into salvation, lost mankind cannot be saved by works
So, is there no place or purpose of works before God?
Are the works of man even important to God?
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