Thursday, April 19, 2012

Prepared works

"For we are Gods workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)

So I looked up workmanship to get a better picture of the exact meaning and what stood out was this sentence, "the quality imparted in the process of making." Think about that for a moment..... God's qualities have been imparted onto us. Are we walking around in that truth? When you make something you can't help but have some of yourself rub off on it. That's exactly what happened with us. We were created in HIS image to do good works which HE prepped for us to do.

There is so much truth in the first part of that sentence, but the second part gets me even more. "Created in Christ Jesus to do good works, WHICH GOD PREPARED IN ADVANCE FOR US TO DO." I can't get pass this idea. I love it. It amazes me. It challenges me. It encourages me. It motivates me. It humbles me. I am so inclined when I do something to say, "Did you see that God, did you see what I just did?" And He is saying yeah I made all that happen. What an amazing God we serve. Not only is He revealing Himself to us, saving us, supplying us with life, keeping the universe in motion, being everywhere at once, (I could go on), but He is also preparing the works for us to complete through Christ Jesus.

My pastor said the following in regards to God knowing what will happen. He says, "Gods foreknowledge is not causative", simply meaning that just because God knows what is going to happen does not mean He causes it to happen. So if we choose to sit idly by and do nothing then God knew that was going to happen. If we choose to walk boldly into those "works" which He has prepared for us to do, He knew we were going to do that. All that said I believe and put my faith in God and am blown away at how amazing and infinitely unique He is.

Be comfortable being uncomfortable,

Andrew Kown

1 comment:

TEvans said...

Amen brother! So pumped to hear your passion and reverence for the incomprehensible ways of our majestic God.

Regarding Andy's comment about God's foreknowledge not being causative, what are your thoughts about the following verse. This is a tough one for us to completely understand much like Ephesians 2:10.

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. (Romans 9:15-16 ESV)