Outer Banks Community Church

Worthy Walk Series – Week 7 (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Text: Ephesians 2:8-10 (NKJV)

Intro: It has been no accident that God lead me to have a bible study from the book of Genesis. It is from the first book in the bible that God speaks to Moses and reveals to him: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” In the five translations I looked at when reading this verse other than an “s” all five of these translations were identical. “In the beginning God created.” Our Lord revealed to us the importance of why we were created and for what purpose we were to exist.

Even before God created Adam there was a relational environment going on with the trinity of God. When God saw in creation that everything was good He created Adam, He gave Adam a chance to be perfect, to have dominion over the animals, all was good and God created. God didn’t want Adam to be lonely He made Eve. He made Eve in His divine providence so that they would be “Be fruitful and multiply!” TO BE RELATIONAL! It seemed shortly after that everything changed; sin entered the Garden and man fell. The great fall eventual lead to the Flood. God tried again with a righteous man Noah and with his family he was given “Grace” and another chance to “Be fruitful and multiply.” God reminded Noah as He is still reminding us today we are stewards of this land and we are to “Be fruitful and multiply.” “So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” Genesis 9:1

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

1. CREATED FOR GOOD THINGS: So we can do good things, the good things of God only come with a relationship with God.

There is a Cultural Mandate: God’s earliest command to the first man and woman was that they would assume a stewardship authority over the earth, its living creatures, and all its processes.

“That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:10

“Be fruitful and multiply.”

The root of the matter with being fruitful and multiplying is increasing in knowledge and emulating that, which means you must be a DISCIPLE:

DISCIPLE: a disciple of Jesus Christ is one who is submitted to His Word and His Church, and whose words & actions are being changed by the Holy Spirit into those of Christ so that they may Glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ.

So where are you going with that pastor? What does all this have to do with a Worthy Walk and Ephesians chapter 2 – EVERYTHING!

(Fruitful & Multiply) The Four Spheres of Ephesians

In what areas does a disciple need to grow?

1. In his relationship to God.
2. In his relationship with God’s family, the church.
3. In his home life.
4. In his relationship to the world.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

God’s gift hasn’t changed He gave us life, He created us and even after the fall by Grace He saves us.

Salvation is a free gift of God. It is by grace alone that man is saved. Man can do nothing whatsoever to save himself. He cannot earn, win, or merit salvation. All man can do is accept the fact that God says He will save him. It has been His relational desire all throughout time. Salvation is received by faith. Man must believe just what God says and accept His Word, accept His free offer of salvation. And when he accepts the fact that God says He will save him, God takes him and creates him into a "new man."

The First time Grace was mentioned in the Bible: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Genesis 6:8

God from the beginning offer a way to have a relationship, an environment of grace. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23-24

2. WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP: His masterpiece – He created us for the purpose of continuing the right to be a steward of this earth. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. The believer experiences two creations, both a natural birth and a spiritual birth. The spiritual birth is the point of this verse. When a man believes in Jesus Christ, God creates him in Christ. What does this mean? It means that God quickens the spirit of the believer and makes his spirit alive. Whereas the believer's spirit was dead to God, God creates it anew and makes it alive to God. It means that God causes the believer to be born again spiritually. It means that God actually places His divine nature into the heart of the believer.

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” 2 Peter 1:3-4 (NLT)

It means we become a disciple: DISCIPLE: a disciple of Jesus Christ is one who is submitted to His Word and His Church, and whose words & actions are being changed by the Holy Spirit into those of Christ so that they may Glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ.

“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” Colossians 3:10 (NLT)

• It means that God renews the believer by the Holy Spirit. “Be fruitful & multiply.”

God fashions man and creates a masterpiece. God's workmanship is always a work of art. The believer does not create the beauty, the art that shows in the canvas of his life. The believer just shows that he is God's workmanship by the life he lives and displays. Works are an evidence of salvation. Those who walk in trespasses and sins show that they are not God's workmanship no matter what profession they make. God's people give ample evidence of the power of a new life which operates in them.

God has ordained us to walk in good works. Doing good works is not an option for the believer; it is the very nature of the believer. If a man has been created in Christ—if God has truly worked in him—the man does good works. His very nature dictates it. He cannot do otherwise. He is not perfect, and he fails; but he keeps coming back to God and falling upon his knees, believing and asking forgiveness, and getting back up and going forth once again to do all the good he can. As stated, it is his nature. He is a new creature created to do good works. Therefore, he does them. Just like a tree, he bears the fruit of his nature.

“That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:10

Conclusion: It’s all about a relationship!

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

DISCIPLE: a disciple of Jesus Christ is one who is submitted to His Word and His Church, and whose words & actions are being changed by the Holy Spirit into those of Christ so that they may Glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ.

“Be Fruitful and Multiply!”