God’s Masterpiece!
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
We are God’s masterpiece! A masterpiece is a work of outstanding artistry, skill or workmanship. A painter’s masterpiece is his most exquisite painting. A sculptor’s masterpiece is his most masterful sculpture. A poet’s masterpiece is his finest poem. The Greek word translated masterpiece is actually poiēma. It’s where we get the word poem from.
Ephesians 2:10 TPT
We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One…
We are literally God’s poetry in motion! We are His finest and most exquisite creation. Other translations say that we are His workmanship.
One night I was on a beach on a clear, moonless night. The stars were looking particularly impressive. I was just in absolute awe and wonder. I was praising the Lord with all I had, feeling like I was going to explode with amazement. Suddenly He stopped me. I heard Him speak to my heart. He said: “Peter, those stars are just my works… but you are my workmanship”. Wow!
Psalm 8:3 tells us that the stars are just the works of God’s fingers. And they are pretty spectacular. Yet we are His workmanship. How much more spectacular are we then?
You might look in a mirror and disagree. But I am not talking about your body. Don’t get me wrong; the human body is amazing. God did a great job with it. But the outward man is perishing (2 Corinthians 4:16). I am talking about the inward man which is renewed day by day. I am talking about who you are in the spirit, not who you are in the flesh… Who you in Christ, not who you are in Adam.
Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). God is a Spirit; therefore we must worship Him in spirit (John 4:24). He sees us after the spirit. He sees us in Christ. He deals with us according to the new creation in Christ, not the old creation in Adam.
Notice how it says that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. The part of us that is God’s masterpiece is the part of us that was created in Christ. The new, born-again spirit of the believer.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
The old sinful condition in Adam has passed away. The new righteous condition in Christ has come. We are now part of the new creation. Titus 3:5 says that God has saved us by the washing of regeneration. The word regeneration is translated from a compound Greek word, palingenesia… Palin-Genesis. Palin = anew. A new genesis!
The first creation got messed up. Sin ruined it. But God had a plan all along. His plan was to make a new creation… a new Genesis. The new Genesis took place at the Cross. The old passed away; the new came.
God gave us clues in the old creation, the first Genesis, pointing to the new creation. My favourite clues are found in the story of Adam and Eve. It’s an amazing point in history… His-story. And His story is our story. We find our story in the story of Adam and Eve.
Eve was God’s masterpiece of the old creation, the first genesis. Adam’s body was formed from the dust of the ground. But Eve’s body was carefully sculpted and built.
Genesis 5:1-2 actually reveals that male and female were created on the same day. Eve was placed inside Adam when God breathed the breath (spirit) of life into him. Genesis 2:23 says that woman was taken out of man. You can’t be taken out of somewhere you weren’t in. So, Eve was in Adam from the beginning. She was God’s masterpiece created in Adam.
Then God opened Adam’s side. Took out a rib. And from it, he built the woman. Then God brought her to Adam. Imagine Adam’s response… His eyes gazed upon God’s masterpiece for the first time…
It’s a good job he finished naming the animals by then. Otherwise there would still be animals left without names today…
Genesis 2:23 NLT
“At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”
You can almost hear his excitement! He was beside himself. He was ecstatic! God’s masterpiece had arrived. She was God’s masterpiece created in Adam unto good works.
What good works? Being fruitful and multiplying. Bearing children. What part did she have to play in that? She just had to receive seed from her husband in oneness and intimacy with him. She didn’t have to struggle. It was a joy. It was a pleasure!
Are you getting it? Their story is our story. It’s pointing to Jesus and His Church.
Ephesians 1:4 says that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. We were in Him from the beginning.
On the Cross, Jesus’ side was opened. In Matthew 16:18, He said: “I will build My church”. Imagine Jesus’ reaction when we are brought to Him… We are God’s masterpiece created in Christ unto good works.
What good works? Being fruitful and multiplying. Bearing children called love, joy, peace etc. What part do we have to play in that? We just have to receive seed (the Word) from our husband, Jesus, in oneness and intimacy with Him. It’s not a struggle. It’s a joy. It’s a pleasure!
Imagine what would happen if we truly believed this. What if you truly saw yourself as God’s masterpiece? I dare you to start believing it…
Just what I needed to read. Your blog is such a delight to me
Hi Jenny, thank you for your encouragement and I pray your life explodes with wonder and awe as you behold His face! May you find that place of bliss as you connect with Him. God bless.
Love every word!