Since we’ve been in this passage for some time now, it’s possible that you’re like me and have need for some review of where we’ve been. Or maybe you have a mind like a steel trap unlike me…we’re going to review anyway. Summary and review is an excellent way to keep ourselves grounded in the context.
Remember this list?
- Observation
- Interpretation
- Application
As we summarize and review, I will be using they and them as my pronouns. Still in the step of interpretation, this is a process of learning what the text means. If we do not carefully understand what the text means, there is no way we should be making application with it which is the process of learning what the text means to me.
Allowing ourselves to hear the message as Paul intended it for his original audience is interpretation. Application comes in once we have interpreted and we see how to appropriately personalize it. If we muddle the two processes, we can come up with goofiness.
At the beginning of our passage, the recipients were spiritually dead, following demon rulers and their fleshly passions, being spiritual hoodlums like everyone else. Because of his character and nature, God made them alive, raised them, and seated them with Christ. Saving the recipients demonstrates to the future who he is–that he saves because of who he is, not who they are or what they’ve done.
Which brings us to the last verse of the passage, although we will read a few verses earlier as well.
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:7–10 (ESV)
Analyzing the context, at the beginning of verse 7, Paul says so that which is dependent on what came before (the recipients were made alive, raised, and seated). Then in verse 8 is a for and again in verse 10, also indicating dependency on what came before. The recipients had these actions done so that God would be known, for they’ve been saved in a way that prevents boasting, for the plan and purpose God has planned ahead of time.
In this verse, we get to see another reason for salvation. Previously Paul told his audience they were saved for the demonstration of God’s character and nature, now he tells them that they were also made, created in order to do some work.
To simplify it even more, the recipients were created in order to walk. My original plan was to discuss both of these words in this Bite, but then I realized that we were biting off more than we could chew. To keep the length under control, we will tackle created now and save the walk for the next Bite.
Created
We’ve been studying together now for a while, and my beloved was suggesting that I could start saying to you, “Here is something I found. See what you can find here, here, and here.” And let you look at the other cross references that I found. Jeremy is usually right; it is wisdom to heartily consider what he says.
But in the consideration of his words, I had the realization that I haven’t been great at telling you how I’m finding my cross references. It doesn’t do much good to say, “Go to these places” because then that is no different than the pre-digested book studies we usually find under the guise of “Bible study.”
As students of the word, our goal is to be free from needing someone telling us where to go in order to interpret the word. When we spend most of our time answering someone else’s questions about the word, we are mostly trying to guess what the questioner wants us to see as opposed to letting God show us what we are supposed to see.
Consequently, I want to do a better job of explaining my process of gathering cross references. When we explore the cross references that are associated with our section of scripture, we get to see different ways the author explains the same topic. Allow me to explain.
Looking at our passage in Ephesians, we’ve seen that Paul explains the progression of ‘this is what you were, this is what God has done, therefore do this.’ When I look for cross references, often I’m looking for the same word used elsewhere (this is called a word study) or I’m looking for the same progression explained elsewhere.
For right now, we are going to look at two closely related references where I see this progression of ‘what you were, what was done, therefore do this.’ I will lay it out for us so we know where we are going.
| Reference | Associated Words |
| Eph 2:10 (our passage) | Workmanship Created |
| Eph 4:23-24 | Renewed Put on Created |
| Col 3:9-10 | Put on Renewed |
There are others, Romans for example, is an extended discourse expounding on this topic. But Bites. We are going to try to only chew on what will fit in our mouths here.
(I just wrote Basics 11: Determining Pertinent Cross References because explaining the process doesn’t fit into this Bite. Please go here to find more nuts and bolts of my process. Since my goal is to do a better job of walking alongside you to find the cross references, we will refer to Basics 11 again in the future.)
Why are we looking at created more than workmanship from Ephesians 2:10? Excellent question. The Greek word behind workmanship is only in the NT twice, translated once here and once in Romans 1:20 as made. From the construction of the sentence in Ephesians 2, we can see that created is a word Paul used to clarify or define his meaning. The Greek behind the word created is used 15 times so we have more material to explore with this equivalent word.
In case you’re curious, here is an entry in a dictionary for this word behind workmanship:
42.30 ποίημα, τος n: (derivative of ποιέωe ‘to make,’ 42.29) that which is made—‘product, what is made.’ αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν ποίημα ‘we are what he has made’ Eph 2:10. 1
The context surrounding Ephesians 4 is Paul describing what the life of a Gentile is like. In the vernacular of Paul’s day, Gentiles are anyone who does not love Jesus. Reminding his audience again what they once were, he uses descriptors like futility of their minds, darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God, callous, greedy. In these phrases I see Paul repeating (which means it’s important!) what he told them in chapter 2: you’re following the wrong team’s leaders and living in fleshly passions.
Contrasting the patterns associated with the old life, Paul wants them to live in correlation with who they are now positionally, with who they are now that they have learned Christ. Paul calls the recipients to put off the old self in Ephesians 4:22. Even though this word isn’t in our particular verse in chapter 2, the word is closely related. One lexicon defines put off as ‘stop living the way you did formerly’ 2
Opposite to the old patterns of life is this:
23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:23–24 (ESV)
Moving to the companion letter of Colossians, we find a similar pattern. Speaking of the audience’s patterns of life, Paul tells them to not just to casually knock it off but to put to death the unrighteousness they still have lurking in their lives. Sin like sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness. These are believers! They still have these things to put to death. As a side note, this is information shows us again that God moves before the soul has been cleaned up. Thank goodness!
In repentance of these life patterns that are opposed to the gift God has given, Paul encourages them to this:
10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Colossians 3:10 (ESV)
Here is the NET for the Colossians verse so we can see how the translators handled our word over there.
and have been clothed with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it.
Colossians 3:10 (NET)
So we can see these three sections are related by virtue of the progression Paul uses each time. The recipients were this way, they’ve had God move in their lives, because of that action life should be becoming different.
Now that we’ve established that these verses do in fact relate, let’s look at how the word behind created is used in relation to salvation in our cross references. Per our norm, let’s make a list! Since it is a synonym, we will include what we learned about workmanship here as well.
- Created in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:10)
- Created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:24)
- Created according to the image of the creator (Col 3:9)
- Workmanship: ‘we are what he has made’ (Eph 2:10)
This word is the same word that the biblical authors use to describe aspects of creation in the NT. The dictionary we’ve been using in this Bite (it’s been convenient because I just discovered it’s keyed to the reverse interlinear I’ve been using) defines this Greek word like this:
42.35 κτίζω; κτίσιςa, εως f: to make or create something which has not existed before—‘to create, creation’ (in the NT, used exclusively of God’s activity in creation). 1
In the table at the beginning of our discussion about this word create, there are associated words I saw and included so we would be aware. Those are also important concepts, but they are not part of our study of Ephesians 2. Renewed and put on are for further study, but not here and now. Paul tells his audience for now that they are workmanship and created. We will be content to mull over this much for now, eagerly anticipating further study when we get to Ephesians 4.
While my objective is that we would become more equipped to study on our own, please do not allow my objective to obscure what we learn. Take a moment to inhale what it means to have been created. Muse over the list we made.
Jumping out at me is the similar thoughts between being created after the likeness of God and according to the image of the creator. This is truth about every believer and it is not contingent on whether or not they are still walking like Gentiles or not. Paul right now is simply telling the recipients that this is a fact: the new creation that God made is in appearance like himself. And God created them for a reason, to walk. Which we will explore as we take another Bite next time.
Wrap Up
I realize we’ve been talking a lot about cross references and how to decide what is pertinent. However, of more importance and of a more basic nature is the idea we chatted about at the beginning of this Bite. There is a frequent muddle between interpretation and application. This is the Bible Study Bite I would particularly like to consider as we wrap up our time together.
Let’s make sure we keep the two steps separate. Without having a good handle on what the passage means, it is impossible to have an accurate application. That distinction between what does the passage mean and what does the passage mean to me is one to have emphasized in our minds.
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- Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 513). New York: United Bible Societies.
- Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 659). New York: United Bible Societies.