Masterpiece: We Are God's Masterpiece
Pastor Rick Henderson
June 3-4, 2023
Occasionally, when I’m messing around online, I come across somebody who posted,
“I was today year’s old when…”
Have you ever seen that? It’s just a fun way to say, this is something that I should have known, but I just learned! Let me give you some examples. [photos]
Sometimes there are really good things hiding in plain sight. And for whatever reason, they escape our notice. With trivial things like juice boxes, that’s no big deal. Is it at least possible that this happens to us sometimes with the gospel?
I grew up in a culture that deeply cherished God’s word and was committed to sharing the gospel. Maybe I was just a bad listener, but whenever someone talked about sharing the gospel, I thought they meant telling someone how they can give their life to Jesus. The way we used to talk about it back then was, “asking Jesus into your heart.”
It wasn’t until I was in my 20s, working as a young pastor, that another pastor told me something that felt like a horse kicked me right in the brain. The gospel is good news for all of life. The gospel is not the doorway into Christianity—it’s the whole world. One pastor said it this way, “The gospel isn’t the ABCs of the Christian life, it’s the A-Z of the Christian life.” The gospel is everything.
It’s good. It’s beautiful. It’s true. From that day, my life was changed. I don’t think I’m the only one who was or who has been confused. I don’t think I’m the only one who was missing out. So, I’m on a lifelong mission to share the truth, goodness, and beauty of Jesus and this amazing gospel. That’s the mission of our entire church.
Welcome to our brand-new series, Masterpiece. Over the course of this series, we are going to behold and embrace the truth, goodness, and beauty that Jesus brings to all of life for those who trust in him. As we do that, there is a passage that will serve as a base camp, a sort of constant touch point. I’d like for us to read it together.
I’ll put the whole thing on the screen later as we break it down. But right now, grab a bible and open it to, EPHESIANS 2:1-10
Open your Bible to the second half, part is called the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians. If you hit Philippians or Colossians, you’ve gone too far.
EPHESIANS 2:1-10 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 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. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
What we just read is a mixture of good news and bad news. Some of us might be so drawn to the good news, that we race past some of the harder statements. And then some of us might be tripped up by some of the harder statements, and we can’t get to the good news. Let’s pause long enough to acknowledge this.
Before we can EMBRACE the good news, we have to FACE the bad news.
This isn’t like a yin and yang sort of deal. We aren’t saying that there must be something bad for there to be something good. It’s not that. Rather, we naturally live in a reality that is full of bad things and bad news. And into that, good news has been shared. And if we really want to see the good news for what it is, if we want to treasure it for what it is, let’s also be willing to face the bad news.
EPHESIANS 2:1-2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
You are smart people. You know right off the bat that death is intended to be understood metaphorically, not literally. We need to know exactly what the metaphor of death means. Let’s be clear about what the question is. The question is not,
What does that metaphor mean to me?
The question is,
- What does that metaphor mean to me?
- What did that metaphor mean to biblical writers?
What the author meant is what this means. The death metaphor is like a recurring thread that runs through and is woven into the expansive, intricate tapestry of all of Scripture. It starts in the second chapter of Genesis and runs into the book of Revelation. This is what the biblical writers mean.
DEATH = CUT OFF:
- Meaning and Purpose
- Value
- Love
- Goodness
- Beauty
- Truth
- The one who made us in his image
It doesn’t mean cease to exist. The consistent anthem of Scripture is that everyone lives forever somewhere. Death, from a biblical perspective, is about being cut off. This is part of the bad news in which the truth, goodness, and beauty of Jesus begin to shine. A pastor friend of mine says this.
Jesus didn’t come to make BAD people GOOD. He came to make DEAD people ALIVE.
Just a few minutes ago, when we were singing, I could tell that some people were singing from this realization. I was dead, but now I’m alive. I was cut off, but I’ve been found and accepted, and loved, and forgiven and delighted in. When you know this, you can’t help but celebrate it and express it.
Let’s remember that we’re deliberately choosing to face the bad news first. Why is there bad news? Why is there death in the first place? Why is it that we start off in life, cut off?
EPHESIANS 2:1-2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
The way of the world means any approach to life other than what God intended and designed for us. If you hear someone in church culture, say that something is worldly, that’s their shorthand way of trying to say that it represents an approach to life that contradicts what God intended.
Notice how the heat is cranked up. This is more than a worldview problem. This is more than bad thinking and a bad approach. “Ruler of the kingdom of the air” was the way of saying, there are evil spiritual forces at work in the world. There are very real, very evil spiritual forces at work, trying to keep us cut off. This is where I need to divide us into 2 groups of people.
If you take Jesus seriously, you must take evil spiritual forces seriously. First, to take Jesus seriously means acknowledging that the natural world is a product of the supernatural world. God created. Second, Jesus taught about Satan and demons. Jesus cast out demons. You can’t base your life on him and take him seriously without taking this seriously.
The second group of people might have trouble taking seriously the idea of spiritual forces at work. Maybe I’m describing you. And a reason that you don’t take that seriously is because you are a reasonable person. I get that. Would you be willing to let me share a perspective with you on that?
Denying the supernatural doesn’t make us more REASONABLE. It makes us less CAPABLE of explaining reality.
There is so much that we take for granted in our lives that can’t be explained, that can’t be accounted for by math, science, or the material world. If this is new, I’m inviting you to think about it and begin to study this for yourself.
DENY THE SUPERNATURAL:
- Can’t account for meaning and purpose
- Can’t account for human value (basis for rejecting racism)
- Can’t account for Laws of Logic
- Can’t account for good or evil
- Can dismiss personal accountability to moral authority (God)
Any view that makes us less responsible or less accountable is always going to be powerfully attractive. What areas of your life improve when you decide to be less responsible? Does government or big business get better without accountability? Why would we think we’re better off without it? What happens if you affirm the supernatural?
AFFIRM THE SUPERNATURAL:
- Can account for meaning and purpose
- Can account for human value (basis for rejecting racism)
- Can account for Laws of Logic
- Can account for good and evil
- Can’t dismiss personal accountability to moral authority (God)
Why is there truth, goodness, and beauty in the world? Because God is good. God created. We are made in his image. He has intentionally designed this world to point to himself, drawing us to himself. That’s why Jesus came. He was fully God, who fully took on humanity, to let us know that God is with us and wants us and loves us.
In addition to very real, evil, spiritual forces—there is sin in us. We keep choosing it. And we’ve got to be honest about it.
EPHESIANS 2:3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
The other day, Pastor Ian told me about a podcast he’s been listening to that’s all about better understanding the Old Testament. The Bible teacher in this podcast said something to the effect of, “Humans are the only creatures who have the ability to say no to their desires.” When Ian told me that, I thought, “That’s brilliant!” It is true. But why does it feel like my desires are the boss of me?
Even if you disagree with me on what’s right and what’s wrong, is there anyone else in the room who intentionally does what you think is wrong? Me too! Is there anyone else who intentionally won’t do what you think is right? Me too! And how many of us have stories of lying to ourselves about our ability to handle it and handle the consequences?
Somebody told me this when I was 12 years old. I’ve never forgotten it. But that doesn’t mean that I always remember it.
Sin takes you FARTHER than you wanted to go, keeps you LONGER than you wanted to stay, and costs you MOREthan you wanted to pay.
This is the bad news, straight from God to us. You have a problem, and I have a problem. Your problem is you. My problem is me. You can’t fix your problem. I can’t fix my problem. It’s bigger than us, and it’s devastating. If we watch the news, if we look around, if we look within—can a serious-minded person seriously deny this?
EPHESIANS 2:4-7 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 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.
I want us to know how beautiful, how exquisite grace is. For any person in here who thinks God doesn’t care about you—you need the good news. For any person in here who is trying to show God how acceptable and good you can be—you need to be set free by the good news of grace.
Back in 2010, a collapse left Chilean miners trapped for 69 straight days. They had no help in rescuing themselves. The entire world watched as rescuers from the outside attempted to rescue the miners who were cut off from the outside world. Rescuers created this capsule, that went into the depths of the cave, the cut-off miners got inside the capsule and were then returned to safety.
What a powerful picture of the gospel. That’s what is being described. Jesus stepped into this broken world. And for all who will trust in him, be in him, we are returned to life—returned to truth, goodness, and beauty in Jesus. Every time you read the Bible, or every time you hear someone talk about being in Christ—think of this.
One of the miners who was rescued was a man named Edison Pena.
While he was in the pit, cut off from the world, he decided to spend those 69 days running. He used a wire cutter to cut his work boots into running shoes. Every day he ran. He trained. He even used rope to create a harness and pull wooden pallets behind him as he ran. Pretty cool. Pretty awesome. And yet, for every step he ran, he was never one inch closer to the surface. The only hope was from the outside in. That’s the good news of the gospel. That’s grace.
No amount of his running or working saved him. The only thing he could do was step into the rescue capsule. All we can do is place ourselves in Jesus, by faith.
EPHESIANS 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
I love this word. In Greek, it sounds like this, poiema. It’s where we get our word poem. When we trust in Jesus, he makes us his works of art. Not based on anything you do. You can’t earn it, and you can’t lose it. Based on the love and grace of Jesus alone—you become his masterpiece.
QUESTION: What if someone doesn’t feel like a masterpiece?
I get it. We don’t always feel that way do we? If there is something in you that doubts this, I want you to hear the words of pastor Tim Keller.
Do you know what it means that you are God’s workmanship? What is art? Art is beautiful, art is valuable, and art is an expression of the inner being of the maker, of the artist. Imagine what that means. You’re beautiful, you’re valuable, and you’re an expression of the very inner being of the Artist, the divine Artist, God Himself. You see, when Jesus gave Himself on the Cross, He didn’t say, “I’m going to die just so you know I love you.” He said, “I’m going to die, I’m going to bleed, for your splendor. I’m going to re-create you into something beautiful. I will turn you into something splendid, magnificent. I’m the Artist; you’re the art. I’m the Painter; you’re the canvas. I’m the Sculptor; you’re the marble. You don’t look like much there in the quarry, but I can see. Oh, I can see!” Jesus is an Artist!” And you beloved are His crowning achievement, His masterpiece! –Tim Keller
I want to encourage you today. I want to inspire you today. I want you to be captivated by the astounding grace of God. This is what you were made for.
GENESIS 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
You have the image of God on you. He doesn’t relate to us like a bored child with a broken toy. He sees every place that we’ve been broken by sin, and he said, “I can fix that.”
ISAIAH 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Are you familiar with Kintsugi?
It’s the Japanese art of taking broken pottery, and fixing it with gold. These are very expensive. As a matter of fact, the pottery piece becomes more valuable after the kintsugi process than before it was broken. Do you know?! Do you understand that when you are in Christ, you are mended and made new with gold from the King of Glory? You are his masterpiece.
Kent Hughes is a pastor and author.
In Christ” we are of untold worth. This great truth may be hard to actually take hold of as we exist in frail human bodies carried along in the rush of modern-day busyness. Some of us have had things happen which make us doubt our worth. But we are his “workmanship” — his work of art. Moreover, we are in process. –Kent Hughes
Ephesians 2 tells us that we are Jesus’ masterpiece. We are his works of art. And we are works of art intended and created to do the art of good works. Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul. If we continue reading, we’ll find that he wrote this.
EPHESIANS 4:1-3 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Now that we are in Jesus, now that we understand who we are in him, that we are his masterpiece—let us live according to that. Let’s live like his masterpieces. This is where sometimes people get confused. We can’t work our way to salvation. We can’t work our way into a better status with God. No. We work from our salvation. We work from our status of masterpiece.
Just a few minutes ago, I told you about Edison Pena. When he was cut off in the mine, he ran. But his running didn’t count for anything. For all the miles he ran, he was never one step closer to being rescued. It could only happen from the outside in.
But did you know, after he was rescued, he was invited to run in the New York City marathon? And when he ran that race—that’s when every step counted for something good. He didn’t run so that he could be saved. He ran because he was saved. He ran because he had been restored to life. That’s a picture of the Christian life.
SERIES THESIS: We are good works of ART created to do the art of good WORKS.
Each week in this series, we are going to talk about the truth, goodness, and beauty of Jesus. And each week, we are going to examine how we live this out, how we are his good works of art created to do the art of good works.
But before focusing on what he’s called us to do, let’s first remember what he’s done for us.
COMMUNION.