Eph. 2:4-10; But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for (upon) good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
These remarkable verses gloriously shout to us about the grace of God. At the Cross, in the person of Jesus, humanity was re-created in His death, resurrection, and ascension. The moment a person by faith embraces the finished work of Christ then that person enters into the reality of being the new creation Jesus created at Calvary. Who we are as New Creations is not by our own doing, or a result of our own works and self effort, but is completely because of what Jesus accomplished at the Cross. All we could do was to either by faith receive that free gift, or in unbelief and rebellion refuse it. That verse in Ephesians says that we were created in Christ Jesus. Think about that. It is because of your union with him in his death and resurrection, and your union with his life now that you are a new creation. Truly, Christ is all, and in all. We are His workmanship, that is His masterpiece of grace. In union with his death and resurrection, Notice something really important in that last verse in Ephesians 2. It says that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them; but that little proposition “for” should be translated “upon.” That little Greek preposition is properly translated by the word “upon,” and it significantly changes, and clarifies what the Holy Spirit is trying to say here. We being new creations has nothing to do with our works, but we were re-created “upon” the good works in Christ finished on the Cross. We are born again because of our union with Jesus, and in union with Jesus from our very new birth we were filled with His fullness according to Colossians 2:9 – 10. You heard me say this before, but it is important that you hear it again and again, and that is we are not striving towards fullness; instead, we are believing from fullness. He is saying here in Ephesians that we are God’s “poem,” or “masterpiece,” because of the finished work of Christ, and because we are in union with him we start off complete in Him, and are called is to simply walk in that, manifesting the fullness of Christ in an ever increasing way. Is it peace that you need, yhen you already have it in Christ because of The Cross, so walk in it. is it patience, power, purity, wisdom, holiness, anointing, love, etc., know that as His completed masterpiece you alredy have those things, so walk in it. Again, we start off complete because of His perfect work at Cavary, and as we simply beleive, step by step, we grow in revealing the life of Christ that we are already in full union with. Keep it simple.