I was scrolling through Facebook and spotted a post by a friend. It quoted Ephesians 2:20. “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.” [Ephesians 2:10 NLT]
That stopped me in my tracks! It was that word “masterpiece.” I looked up the verse in my Bible App and found that it is most often rendered workmanship or handiwork in other translations.
The Greek word here is poiēma (Strong’s Greek 4161). We get our English word “poem” from it. It means a product of creative action, such as a workmanship, handiwork, or the thing made. The NT uses it to highlight divine craftsmanship, whether in the material universe or in the redeemed community.
I think I feel more comfortable being labeled God’s workmanship rather than God’s masterpiece! And yet, if I really stop and think about it, everything that God does is perfect. In modern vernacular – God doesn’t make junk!
My life may have been touched by sin, marked by guilt, shame and regret, but as the Scripture says, “[God] has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the things he planned for us long ago.”
I think we should each go face a mirror and remind ourselves that in Christ Jesus, “I AM GOD’S MASTERPIECE!” Amen
