His Workmanship
A Sermon on Ephesians 2:10
Originally preached Jan. 15, 1956
Scripture
10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Sermon Description
It is through salvation that Christians instantly join the eternal family of Christ. In this sermon on Ephesians 2:10 titled “His Workmanship,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows how redeemed men and women now live new lives that are marked by the work of Christ in their hearts. This continual work in the life of believers is what is commonly called sanctification. Dr. Lloyd-Jones proclaims that part of salvation is that all who are truly regenerated are continually formed and fashioned in holiness so that they imitate Christ. God uses many means to conform Christians to the image of Christ, but one of the main ones is the chastisements of God. When believers fall into sin, God brings rebuke and correction into their life as a good father would. This is both a great comfort and reassurance of salvation, for all whom are truly saved are sons and daughters of God and treated as such. Those who claim that one can be saved yet not be sanctified grossly misunderstand the Scriptures’ teaching. From start to finish, all of salvation is under the control of God. For this reason, God works so that those whom He saved will be brought to fulfillment through sanctification and glorification.
Sermon Breakdown
- We are God's workmanship, not our own. We do not make ourselves Christians.
- We are God's handiwork, something he is making and fashioning. We are like clay in the hands of the potter.
- We must stop thinking of our Christian life in terms of what we do and instead think of it as what God is doing to and for us.
- God is the worker, the one actively working in our lives. We tend to wrongly think of God as passive, simply responding to what we do. But the Bible shows God as the active one, not us.
- We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. We are a new creation, something brought into being that was not there before. This is what makes us Christian, not anything we do or are.
- God makes us Christians by applying to us what Christ has done for us. We receive the benefits of Christ's death and life. Christ is formed in us.
- God works through the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, circumstances and discipline. The Spirit works in us, the Word gives us new life, circumstances shape us, discipline perfects us.
- God disturbs and convicts us of sin. He enlightens our minds to understand the truth. He gives us a thirst for truth and joy in it. He gives us a new nature and outlook.
- There is a design and purpose to God's work in us. He is shaping us into the image of Christ, to live as Christ did. Ultimately, he is making us perfect, without spot or blemish.
- God will complete the work he has begun in us. He never abandons his work half done. We can be assured he will make us perfect, though the process may involve difficulty.
- We must examine ourselves to see if this work of God is happening in us. Do we feel molded by God? Do we desire holiness? Do we desire to do the good works he has planned for us? This shows his work in us.
Sermon Q&A
Questions and Answers from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Ephesians 2:10
What does "we are His workmanship" mean according to Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, "we are His workmanship" means that we as Christians are God's handiwork or "a thing of His making." It indicates that Christians are something being made and fashioned by God, not something we make of ourselves. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that this is "the most remarkable and the most thrilling thought that we are something that is being made and fashioned by God." He compares God to an artist or potter who is forming and fashioning Christians according to His design in His workshop.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain the difference between human activity and God's activity in salvation?
Lloyd-Jones points out that our common error is thinking of God as "entirely passive" while we are active. We think "I decide for Christ, and therefore I am justified," making salvation dependent on our initiative. This is completely contrary to Scripture, which shows that "Christianity is entirely the result of the activity of God." He emphasizes that the Bible from Genesis ("In the beginning, God") through the New Testament consistently demonstrates God's activity—He made the world, called Abraham, gave the law, sent the prophets, and "in the fullness of the times, sent forth His own Son." Our salvation is not our work but God's work through Christ.
What means does God use to form Christ in believers according to the sermon?
According to Lloyd-Jones, God uses several means to form Christ in believers: 1. The Holy Spirit - who dwells in believers and works in us 2. The Scripture - we are "born again by the word," which has the "seed of life in it" 3. The preaching of the Word - God gave "apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers" for the "perfecting of the saints" 4. Circumstances and chastening - God uses trials and discipline to shape believers, as explained in Hebrews 12 5. Conviction of sin - the Holy Spirit creates disturbance and conviction to begin His work in us
What is the ultimate design or goal of God's workmanship according to Lloyd-Jones?
The ultimate design is for believers to "conform to the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." In this life, we are to live as Christ did, following the ethical instructions of the New Testament. The final result in glory will be that we "attain unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ himself." Lloyd-Jones quotes from Ephesians 5 that the church will be presented "without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." God's purpose is to remove every vestige of evil and make believers "absolutely perfect" in the image of Christ.
Why does Lloyd-Jones say that good works are essential to genuine Christianity?
Lloyd-Jones teaches that good works are essential because we are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." When God makes a Christian, He makes them for the purpose of good works—this is part of His design. Lloyd-Jones states clearly: "There is no such thing as justification without sanctification. If there is no beginning of sanctification in you, you are not justified." He insists that "faith without works is dead" and that "the proof of faith is works." The ultimate test of whether God is working in a person is their desire "to be more and more like Christ, holy and pure, separate from the world and from sin."
How does Lloyd-Jones provide assurance to believers about their final state?
Lloyd-Jones provides assurance by emphasizing that if God has begun the work in a believer, He will complete it. He states, "He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." Lloyd-Jones assures believers that "nothing outside us can ever prevent it" and "nothing inside us will ever prevent it" because "God never starts a work and gives it up half completed." He declares that "there are no rejects out of that factory" and that God's work is "always perfect and it's always complete." This provides believers assurance that despite their "waywardness and sinfulness and imperfection," they are in God's hands and He will "bring to pass His perfect will."
The Book of Ephesians
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.