THE MASTER BUILDER’S MASTERPIECE
In Eph 2 Vs 1-3 we see the state of people in their spiritual rags. “Among whom we ALL . . .” No exceptions; every believer was once in the spiritual-rags stage. In Vs 4-10 we see the change into spiritual riches. Without Christ we are lost and dead, in Christ we are fitted for heaven and clothed in righteousness. Today, we will linger in this passage for a little more before moving on, so that we can understand more about the cause and effect of this miraculous change.
||||WE WILL NOTE THE IDENTITY OF THE MASTER BUILDER: What brought about this amazing change? Who is responsible for the change of the believer from spiritual rags to spiritual riches. The edifice of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is beautiful with amazing workmanship. To be able to take timber, stone, and masonry and turn it into this beautiful building is amazing; we praise the architects and tradesmen. But the greatest masterpiece ever made is found in holy scripture, and it will be admired for all eternity. This is the church of Jesus Christ, the assembly of believers in Christ. So we automatically turn our thoughts and minds to Who was the builder of this masterpiece. ”But[c] God . . . For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. . . . For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared . . .” It is very clear that from beginning to end it is the work of the Triune God. And this was IN CHRIST JESUS. It goes on to say that this came about for good works, for our sanctification. Those who are regenerated will pursue in sanctification, pursuing the good works prepared for them beforehand. It is the work of God. It is God from beginning to end. That is why Christians have to be the most humble people in the world. By the grace of God, I am what I am.
||||WE WILL JOIN THE HOST OF HEAVEN IN ADMIRATION OF HIS MASTERPIECE: St Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey is breath-taking with the pillars and stained-glass windows and the beautiful arches that support the structure, and the dome, where if you whispered, you can hear the reverberation. Everything is stunning and wonderful. Millions come to stare in silence, absolutely mesmerised. But there was a time when all the materials of the structure were rough and uncut on a building site. Eph 2 Vs 5 “even when we were dead in trespasses.” This was how He found every stone. Isa 1: 1-4 shows us the kind of mess we were in: Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; / for the LORD has spoken: / Children have I reared and brought up, / but they have rebelled against me. / The ox knows its owner, / and the donkey its master’s crib, / but Israel does not know, / my people do not understand.” / Ah, sinful nation, / a people laden with iniquity, / offspring of evildoers, / children who deal corruptly! / They have forsaken the LORD, / they have despised the Holy One of Israel, / they are utterly estranged.
God is so proud of His masterpiece with holy pride, and we are in display for His glory. Eph 2:7 says, “so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Eph 5: 25-27 says, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Then in Jude 24-25 we see, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” This masterpiece is going to be displayed for time and eternity, and all of heaven is going to be amazed for ever and ever. We read in Rev 7:9-12, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.””
God has done a work in the hearts of His people that will make them a part of this great masterpiece. Thousands of pieces will go to make this beautiful edifice. All of heaven will never cease to be amazed at the amazing grace of God that picked up for stones—men and women in the filth of their sin, washed them in the blood of the Lamb, gave them a new heart and led them as they walk, falling and rising till they reach home.
Will you be part of this magnificent display in eternity? You will not be part of it if you are not in Christ. How do we know that we are part of it? We know if we are in pursuit of righteousness and holiness, if we are never satisfied till we are perfect, which means that till we meet Christ face to face, we will persevere. The most terrible verses in scripture are Mat 7: 21-23, which record what Jesus said in the Sermon on the mount, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Let us make sure that we are a part of this great masterpiece, about which Jesus says in Matt 16:18, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.