“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬ ‭NIV

I love this verse. When I read it, I think about- no surprise- myself. I am encouraged that despite my many flaws and rough edges I have the daily attention of my Creator as He continues to mold and shape and carve me into the handiwork (other versions say workmanship or masterpiece) in which I’ll finally be in whatever grand completed state that will bring God the most glory and I’ll be most effective in my Christian walk.

But as I study Ephesians I notice the big context. Before this verse in chapter 1, Paul describes our identity in Christ, ending with the fact of Christ being head of the church. Then Ephesians 2 reminds us of how we were dead, lost, doomed (verses 1-3) but because of His great love for us He made us alive in Christ. In fact, the verse immediately before the one about us being God’s handiwork says it’s by grace- not be anything we have done so none of us can boast. God is the builder, the Creator, the Craftsman.

Paul then spends a lot of time talking about the lengths Christ went through to break down the two most prominent divisions of that day- Jew and Gentile.

Do you know how this same chapter ends?

Read these verses and notice the continuation of the “building/craftsmanship” theme:

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:19-22‬ ‭NIV‬‬ (Emphasis mine)

Verse 22 – Built together. The past few days I can’t seem to think of me being God’s workmanship apart from the context “built together.”

After all, have you ever gone to an art gallery that featured only one piece? Maybe one or two pieces were prominent in the advertising, but they weren’t the unifying focus of the many works of art-

The unifying focus is the artist.

When Daniel works on his many woodworking creations, I’ve never seen just one project at a time nor does he have a separate woodshop for each individual project. No, there are some completed projects, some going through final sanding, some still on the lathe needing to be shaped, some still in various boxes to be assembled in the right season.

And God does not build us into His handiwork in isolation, as much as we would sometimes prefer it. In fact, it’s often the “bumping shoulders” with others along the way that God uses most in our own growth.

Lord help me to be gracious with those around me remembering that You are building both them and me together, Breaking down the dividing walls, not for our glory but Yours and not by anything good we can boast about in ourselves.