Have you ever wondered what the Lord thought of you? Or about what his word says about you? Or any of us for that matter? I know that I often have to remind myself of what the Lord says about me, and what he thinks of me.

Amongst all the carnal and seen things that we can assume, there is a truth about us that can’t be rewritten. It can’t be made false. It is with us now, before, and always, in Christ Jesus. That truth can only be found within the true word of God. That truth can be held up to every other thing and make it a liar against its trueness.

The truth is that we are, in Christ, sons and daughters of God. Holy. Blameless. Righteous.

There is far more to that truth. Many more encouraging and empowering truths lie within scripture. But one stands out. That is, that we are the workmanship of Christ.

Workmanship Defined

The term workmanship is only found once in scripture, but it can be shown and reflected throughout the entire bible.

If we were to define the term, workmanship, we would say that it is something that is made by someone or something. Take a painting for example. If I were to paint a tree on a canvas, that would be my workmanship. It wouldn’t be a very good workmanship, but it would be mine regardless. I made it, thus it must be mine.

We can see at the very beginning of time, going all the way back to Adam and Eve, that we were created by God. We were made in his image and made by God. In this way, we are God’s workmanship. But it goes even deeper than that.

When we see the word, workmanship, in scripture, it’s in Ephesians 2:10. In this passage, we are referred to as “his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus”. We aren’t just left with the nature that Adam and Eve bore, but we are actually made again, in Christ Jesus. This time, we are made perfect, alive, afresh, whole. We aren’t just made better by God, but we are actually made new, and undefiled by sin.

It’s great to be made by God in the image of God. But Adam and Eve defiled and disfigured us with the introduction to a sin nature. In Christ Jesus, we aren’t just made in the image of God, we are made clean from the stench and stain of sin and made completely 100% brand new.

Our Being

Ephesians 2:5-6 tells us this,

“Even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”

When we accept Jesus into our hearts, we aren’t just given a key to Heaven and escape from Hell. We were made alive with Christ, that while we were still sinners, Christ raised us up with him. We were not only granted eternal life and eternal freedom, but also, a new position in the kingdom of God.

Many Christians live as though they were miserable peasants that fear God, not in reverence, but in terror. They believe that they are on such a thin line with God that one wrong move leaves you forsaken. But that isn’t the take that scripture supports.

The scripture shown above, not only reflects God’s patience and love for us, but also our new position in Christ. We’re not just here on this Earth as wormy sinners, but actually, we are seated with the Lord Jesus in the heavenly places. In our being, we are not just forgiven, but we are actually in Christ Jesus, with God.

Our state of being shouldn’t be based around what we do, but who we are in Christ, and where we are with Christ. That is, with him, and in him.

Made New

To further understand us being the workmanship of Christ, we have to understand one vital thing. That vital thing is that we have been made new.

When Jesus died for our sins, which allowed us to bear his spirit as our own, we were made completely brand new. We aren’t our old selves anymore. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that we are a “new creation”. That doesn’t just mean that our slates have been wiped clean, only to be made dirty once again. To be a new creation means to be created new. It’s as if I were to take a dirty old car and not just clean it and make it look new, but actually made a new car in its place. That is just how different we have been created in our spirit.

As his workmanship, we are made new and perfect in our spirit. We are no longer “sinners saved by grace” but entirely new creations, crafted and sculpted by the Most High himself.

Many of us don’t believe that we can be used by God. Or that we are good enough to be a blessing to the kingdom of God. But I’ll tell you one thing. If God tells you that you are his workmanship, created new, for good works, then surely, you are a new creation, not designed to sin once more, but to do good works, and to bless the kingdom of God.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17). Take off the old man, the old creation. Put on the new life and the new creation.

Made in His Likeness

One of the things that I like to think about when it comes to this verse, is that we were created by God, literally. The one who created the beautiful skies, the mountains, oceans, stars, and more, created you and I. Yet, we are called his workmanship.

Of all the most beautiful sights, we were the ones that were “created after the likeness of God” (Ephesians 4:24). Do you ever wonder why that is? Humans seem to be more problematic than nearly everything else, how were we made in his likeness?

I believe that in the Garden, when we were formed, we were like God. Not all powerful, and all knowing, but yet still good creations. We did good works, did well in the Garden, and were good stewards of our Earthly dominion. But when sin came into the picture, the image of God that we were created in, formed blemishes, and everything about our Godly image was scarred and lost.

However, as followers of Christ, we were once again made in his likeness through Christ Jesus. That doesn’t mean necessarily that we are all-knowing and all-powerful. But it does mean that we once again can have dominion over the Earth. It means that we have the mind of Christ. And very importantly, it means that we can once again do good works in Christ Jesus. As followers of Christ, made in the likeness of God, we can do good, and be a blessing to others, as Christ has been a blessing to us. How powerful is that!

Being His Workmanship

We weren’t created for no reason. We were created with a purpose. While there can be a calling on all of our individual lives, there is undoubtedly a universal purpose that we should all walk in. I believe that one of our primary purposes in life is to be a blessing for the world, and for the Lord. As his workmanship, this is made possible.

Through Christ, we are able to not only live under a new identity, but we also have the ability, in Christ, to do good works and to be a blessing. In fact, this is one of the reasons why Jesus died for our sins, as found in Ephesians 2:10.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God created us to walk in good works, and even prepared those good works for us to do beforehand. He wants us to be a blessing, and to do good things, not only for others, but for his kingdom. As his workmanship, created in his likeness, we are able to do those good works. But don’t get it twisted. Aside from God, we can do nothing, but through Christ, we can do all things.

We are to walk in good works and do good things. But it isn’t our good works that define who we are, but we are that defines our good works. We must live out of what God made us, not live so that God will make us something else. Remember that.

Final Thoughts

God made us. How cool is that! He specifically called us his workmanship and created us in his image. There are a lot of verses that you can lean on, but not many top being the literal workmanship of the creator of the universe.

As his workmanship, we weren’t just made clean and forgiven, but we were made new, in his likeness. That means something. We don’t have to sin, repent, repeat. We can do good works, be a blessing, live in freedom. Don’t live in the old ways, the old sin, the old rags. Put on the new life, the new creation, the new workmanship.

As a new creation, and his workmanship, you can do good works. In fact, that was the purpose of the new creation in the first place. He’s already prepared those good works for you too! All you have to do is walk in them. But we’ll discuss that more next week!

You are his workmanship. Mediate on that, think on it, and live in that.

Have a great week!