“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them<\/em>” (Ephesians 2:10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n When one is baptized he becomes a new creation, but he is not the creation of any man. He is the workmanship of God.<\/p>\n He is not the workmanship of the person who coverted him — not primarily, anyway. Man can teach, influence, persuade, and baptize; but only God can cleanse, and give him new life. He is God’s creation — God’s workmanship. Just as surely as no man could create an “Adam,” just that surely no man can create a new creature in Christ.<\/p>\n He is the workmanship of God because his salvation is “by grace…through faith,<\/em>” “the gift of<\/em>” God (Ephesians 2:8,9). If one’s salvation were of meritorious works, he would not be the workmanship of God. this is the primary thrust of the passage.<\/p>\n The workmanship of God exists as a monument to the greatness of the Potter; as a beautiful painting is a monument to an artist, so a mature and perfected Christian is a monument to the marvelous power of God. Such a person is a product of God’s grace and exists for “the praise of His glory<\/em>” (Ephesians 1:6,12,14; 3:14-19). That God could take a Peter, a John, a Saul of Tarsus, an Aquila, a Priscilla, a John Mark, and mold him or her into the lovely vessel each became is a manifestation of His greatness. That He could do the same for people this writer has known and observed equally manifests His greatness. That He can and will do the same for me if I will but submit myself to His care in humble obedience, trust, and prayer is the greatest marvel of all.<\/p>\n The workmanship of God must be handled with care. Such a person is special, precious, and priceless to God. As one is cautious in handling a family heirloom or rare piece of pottery fashioned by the hands of a master, so we must be cautious in our treatment of that creation which is the work of God. “Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food<\/em>,” Paul warned the Romans (Romans 14:20). That person toward whose tender conscience you are showing little regard or whose soul you are placing in jeopardy is the work of God. Love that person. Appreciate him. Be tender toward him. Recognize his value. Handle with care!<\/p>\n The workmanship of God must never be content until it is brought to perfection. “Finish then Thy new creation,” Charles Wesley wrote in his familiar hymn, “Love Divine.” In keeping with this, Paul could express his confidence in the Philippian Christians, “That He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ<\/em>” (Philippians 1:6-7). Only those who remain in the Potter’s hands until brought to completion and perfection become vessels of honor. All others become marred and fit only for destruction (II Timothy 2:19-21).<\/p>\n Let not man, then, boast of himself. Self-righteousness has no place in the heart of a Christian. If any man boasts, “let him glory in the Lord<\/em>” (I Corinthians 1:31) and “in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ<\/em>” (Galatians 6:14). We are His workmanship.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bill Hall via Gospel Power, Vol. 13, No. 33, Aug. 13, 2006 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). When one is baptized he becomes a new creation, but he is not the creation of any man. He…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[55],"class_list":["post-58361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-works"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10044,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-does-a-person-become-a-new-creation\/","url_meta":{"origin":58361,"position":0},"title":"How does a person become a new creation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 30, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In his letters the apostle Paul said that the person who receives the gift of faith becomes a new \"creation\" ( a new person). How does he understand this change or transformation? How exactly does the person become this \"new creation\"? Answer: The Bible doesn't discuss people receiving a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43274,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/commandment-keeping-and-boasting\/","url_meta":{"origin":58361,"position":1},"title":"Commandment Keeping and Boasting","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edward Bragwell, Sr. via\u00a0Biblical Insights, June 2014 Jesus declares that hypothetically if we were to keep all his commands, we would still have no right to boast. \"So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19527,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/arent-there-passages-that-say-we-are-saved-by-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":58361,"position":2},"title":"Aren’t there passages that say we are saved by faith?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You say\u00a0that \"You will never find where the Bible says that baptism is a symbol, or that one is saved at the point of faith.\" What about Luke 7:50? Jesus said to the woman, \"Your faith has saved you; go in peace.\" Ephesians 2:8\u00a0\"For it is by\u00a0grace you have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15058,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-believe-that-the-only-way-to-heaven-is-by-accepting-jesus-as-your-savior-and-not-by-good-deeds-or-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":58361,"position":3},"title":"Do you believe that the only way to heaven is by accepting Jesus as your Savior and not by good deeds or grace?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 4, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does the church of Christ believe that the only way to heaven is through the Lord Jesus Christ, by accepting Him as your Savior and not by good deeds or grace? Thanks. Answer: \"If you love Me, keep My commandments\" (John 14:15). You cannot claim to accept the Lord\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10806,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-initiates-grace-god-or-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":58361,"position":4},"title":"Who initiates grace, God or man?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I do a lot of reading on theology and it seems like there are all kinds of versions on certain topics. I pray for God to shake up Christianity one day so that all these different interpretations of the His Word are eliminated and the Truth is illuminated. It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":761,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-water-baptism-a-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":58361,"position":5},"title":"Is water baptism a work?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 5, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is water baptism a work? Answer: I have always been amazed at the dread shown by people toward the word \"work.\" You would think that it was a dreaded disease or something equivalent to sin. The word \"work\" by itself is neither good nor bad. 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Neither is one self-made. In Christ, one does not lift himself “by his own bootstraps.” Christianity is not a “do-it-yourself religion” — not in the fullest sense. One does not affect his own salvation through his own merit. Rather, in obedience to the gospel and faithfulness as a Christian, he places himself as clay in God’s hand, to become the work of the divine Potter, who molds, shapes, and perfects him so that he might be fashioned in the image of His Son.<\/p>\n