"On Display "

When was the last time you visited an art gallery? Not too long ago, we went to the Huntington Library in LA. That’s the place where they have Gainsborough’s “Blue Boy” on exhibit. And that’s not the only portrait they have. There are rooms and rooms full of English eighteenth century art, mostly pictures of Lord This or Lady That or their children. The good ones don’t merely capture the physical appearance of the person depicted; they give us a glimpse of the personality behind the image. The very best ones do that, and something else: they reveal the character of the artist as well. We see through their eyes what is important to them and how they see life.

In Ephesians 2:7-10, the apostle Paul uses this same metaphor to describe you and me. God, he says, is going to put us on display. Each one of us will be a vivid demonstration of the grace and the perfection of His heart and His character. The glory of God will be visible in us throughout the coming ages, manifested especially by His kindness toward us.

. . . in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus (v. 7).

Here Paul explores the purpose of God in redeeming mankind. He answers such questions as, "Why did God make the decision to enter our lives? Why has He raised us up with Christ? Why has He exalted us and made us sit together with Him in heavenly places?" Paul's answer is that God made this decision about us so that, in the coming ages, He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. In other words, God's purpose was to make of us a display case to demonstrate the glory of His character and grace.

The kindness of God

God has put us on display in the art gallery of His grace. Each of us is a vivid demonstration of the perfection of God's character. The glory of God is manifested, says Paul, by His kindness toward us. The kindness of God begins with the blessings he showers on all humanity--the sun and rain, the seasons, food to eat, houses to live in, productive work to do and good minds to think with, and natural wonders to enjoy. But His kindness isn't confined to natural blessings--it extends further, to God's redemptive blessings. As Paul says in Titus 3:4-6,

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.

According to the apostle, God has just begun to pour out the blessings of His kindness. Returning to Ephesians 2:7, we read that God has saved us and blessed us "in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." He has not yet poured it out upon us to the full degree by any means. His purpose, Paul says, is to manifest in abundance the riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through the coming ages.

Now, pause with me a moment and ponder what that means: How long is an age? Scripture identifies only two ages so far in the history of humanity. One extended from the creation of Adam to the Flood of Noah. The other is the age from the Flood to the present day. The second age will end at the return of the Lord Jesus, when another age will begin. But according to this passage in Ephesians, God has planned for many ages yet to come. How long will that be? Who can say what is in the heart and mind of God? But it is clear that God has a future in mind for us that is far beyond anything we can possibly imagine.

If you have experienced anything of what it means to be made alive in Christ, to be raised up with Him, you know how rich your life has already become. But that is just the beginning. The richness of the kindness of God will carry you on into the undreamed-of ages to come.

This is true not only of his redemptive kindness, but of his natural kindness as well. There are passages in the Scriptures which hint of the possibilities ahead in the realm of nature, in the world of physical experience references to the new heavens and new earth, to a resurrected body, equipped to meet the demands of the human spirit in ways we have never known before.

In the last decade we have been astounded by the amazing deep-space images from the Hubble Space Telescope. They have shown us a universe of immeasurable vastness and beauty. When I look at them, it is inconceivable to me that God would create this vast universe without a plan for it. And the Scriptures suggest that, in the coming ages, we who know Jesus Christ, and whose lives are bound to His life, will have an entire universe to explore. Paul does not go into detail about what our future adventures in future ages might entail, but we can be assured that in those ages to come, age upon age, there will be tremendous work for us to do.

Our present life might not always be what we'd like it to be, but we can be assured that it is only the beginning. Immeasurable possibilities lie ahead. Ephesians 2:7 gives new meaning to the lines written by Robert Browning:

Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made.

We are learning now, in this age, in order that we might be prepared to display the greatness of God's glory in the coming ages.

By grace through faith

Next, Paul sets forth the basis for our salvation. These are verses we would do well to memorize and teach our children, because these words give us the key to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ:

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 (vs. 8-9).

Notice the tense of the verb: "you have been saved." Just think of it! Our salvation has already been accomplished. This statement is the foundational link to all the other truths previously set forth in Ephesians: We have been made alive in Christ. We have been given a new identity. We are no longer what we once were. We are no longer associated with Adam, but we are in Christ. We are no longer children of wrath but children of God.

These realities make the difference as to how life is lived, what your days are like, and what your tomorrows will be. You don't need to chase after every new theological fad, every new book or program or movement or spiritual guru. You don't need to run after every new spiritual experience. No, you need only grasp the riches of God's grace already provided for you in Jesus Christ.

Paul stresses the fact that you had nothing to do with your salvation. It was God's action and decision alone. You did not originate it or add anything to it. It is not of human works. It is God's grace alone, which we receive directly from the hand of God.

God's grace means we can never boast. Boasting is pretending you are something you are not. Boasting is saying, "I'm my own creator, my own god, my own savior, the captain of my own destiny. I am sufficient in myself." Boasting is a lie. We are not merely insufficient, we are not merely weak, we are (as Paul says in Ephesians 2:1) dead in our transgressions and sins.

When we forget that our salvation is a hundred percent God and zero percent us, when we forget that we are totally dependent on His grace, then we lie to ourselves. God never allows self-deception to stand. He is an utter realist. He deals with life exactly as it is--and he wants us to do the same.

Imagine you are half a million dollars in debt. Someone comes to you and writes out a check for $500,000, saying, "This is all for you, to cancel your debt. You don't have to do anything but reach out and take it, and it’s yours." So you take the money and pay your debt. You are now debt-free and totally in the clear.

Question: What do you have to boast about? Can you go around bragging that you had the power and the skill and the brains to reach out and take that check? Can you talk about what a favor you did for your benefactor, taking all that troublesome money off his hands? Does that make any sense?

Of course not. You received grace, nothing more, nothing less. You were impoverished; you received riches from another person. The fact that you are now debt-free is a hundred percent due to your benefactor, zero percent due to you.

Who, then, deserves the praise and glory for your salvation? Clearly, not you! You have received riches from the resources of God. His grace made it all possible.

God's workmanship, created for good works

So the apostle goes on to show us how God's grace will ultimately be displayed:

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (v. 10).

Notice how Paul places "good works" in the proper perspective. Works are important--but they do not save. God desires our good works--but they are nothing that we can boast about. We don't obtain anything from God by working for it. We can never be deserving of salvation--the only thing we deserve is judgment. Works are important, but salvation is by grace alone.

The Greek word translated "workmanship" in verse 10 is actually the word for "poem." We are God's poetry in motion. We are His masterpiece, expressing the depths of His loving and creative heart. He is working through our lives to produce a tremendous exhibit of His wisdom, power, love, character, and joy. He is teaching us, training us, and shaping us into a marvelous masterpiece for display through the ages. The result will be that our lives will shine forth with the very thing God created us to demonstrate: good works of kindness, love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and service.

Paul says in verse 10 that God has already prepared good works for us to do. What are the good works God has prepared for you? No one but God knows. But imagine the excitement of discovering and carrying out those good works--the works God created you to do! Give thanks to God for what He has done for you in Jesus Christ. Plunge into the adventure He has prepared for you. You are His workmanship, His masterpiece, His poem, and He has created you to display His grace and His greatness in all the ages to come!