1) Listen to Podcast
2) GG Questions 02/03/2019
No Oars, Only Sails: Masterpieces Ephesians 2:10
1. I Once Was Dead: Why do you think Paul started with the human condition (Eph. 2:1-3) before stating what God has done to make salvation possible (2:4-5)? According to Ephesians 2:5-6, what are three things God does in our salvation? In what way do the last two of these three things mirror what we read in Ephesians 1:20? And how does this speak to our relationship to Jesus?
2. Grace: Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches that salvation is a gift from God that cannot be earned. Why is it important that we understand this? How can misunderstandings of ‘grace’ fundamentally corrupt the way we live our Christian lives (Matt. 23:23-28)? What can you do to keep yourself from believing that salvation is something we can earn?
3. Masterpiece: Ephesians 2:10 begins with the phrase, “For we are his ποίημα ( poi-ay-ma).” This Greek word is the noun form of the verb “to do” or “to make.” It has been translated as ‘workmanship’, ‘handiwork’, ‘creation’, and ‘masterpiece’. While this last translation may be a bit of an embellishment, it captures well the weight of our status as images of God (Gen. 1:26-28; Psa. 8:3-8). Do you think of yourself as a masterpiece? How can aligning the way we think about ourselves with the way God thinks about us (Zeph. 3:17; John 17:23, 26) radically change the way we live?
4. Prepared Beforehand: God states two different reasons why He saved us in Ephesians 2:7 and 2:10. What are they? Titus is a book which strongly emphasizes that Christian’s lives ought to be characterized by fruit, good works (Titus 2:7, 14; 3:1, 8, 14). Are you encouraged that God, the master who made the masterpiece, preordained all our good works that we might simply ‘walk in them’? What good works might God have prepared for you this week?
