A Bible Contradiction?
God's Workmanship, His Masterpiece - Listen online.
Recently, an online commenter posed a question, “Isn’t Ephesians 2:10 a contradiction of the two previous verses?"
The verses in question read: "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in
them" Ephesians 2:8-10 (BSB).
The commenter seemed to be hung up on the words “workmanship” and “works.” Let’s explore these words from the original Greek context to make sense of their meaning. The Greek word for “workmanship” is
poiéma (poy'-ay-mah), which translates to “a thing made, a work, workmanship.” Some translations say we are
God’s masterpiece, God’s handiwork, or God’s creation.
On the other hand, the word “works” is translated from the Greek word, érgon (er'-gon), meaning a work or worker who accomplishes something. It signifies
a work or an action that carries out or completes an inner desire, intension,
or purpose.
With this understanding, it becomes clear that verse 10 is not a contradiction at all; in fact it explains the unique role we play in God’s salvation process. We are saved by grace, kept by grace, and even our inner desire to do good works is a result of
God's grace working in and through our lives. We are his creation, his workmanship, his masterpiece
to carry out his divine purpose!
Interestingly, our English word, poem, is derived from the Greek word, poiéma. As God authors our life story, may we submit to his will and ways, and trust that he is working all things for our good! Amen?
Copyright 2024 S.A. Keith
Photograph by: Los Muertos Crew
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