What Good Works Has God Prepared for You?

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.

Ephesians 2:8-10

According to Ephesians 2:10, you have been “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for [you] to do.” This raises an obvious question: What good works has God prepared for you?

Many of us would be inclined to answer this question by pointing to specific things Christians tend to do as expressions of our faith. Good works would include: attending worship services, praying regularly, studying Scripture, giving money generously, joining a small group, going on mission trips, caring for the poor, working for justice for the oppressed, loving our neighbors, and so forth. These are surely among the good works God has prepared for us. We rightly engage in these activities as people who have been transformed by God’s grace through Christ.

But, if we think of good works only in these terms, we miss the expansive breadth and depth of God’s plan for our good works. Our translation explains that we are created for good works, “which God prepared in advance for us to do.” The Greek original reads more literally, “which God prepared in advance, so that we might walk in them.” The language of walking was used by teachers in the time of Paul in the way we might talk of living a certain lifestyle. In other words, the good works of verse 10 are not only religious activities scattered throughout an otherwise secular life. Rather, these good works encompass the whole of our life, all that we do by God’s grace for God’s purposes.

Ephesians 2:10 is similar to other passages of the Pauline letters that envision all of life as lived through and for God. Romans 12:1, for example, says, “I urge you… to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” This offering takes place not in identified temples but in everyday life. Similarly, Colossians 3:17 proclaims, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Therefore, though it’s certainly right for you to invest yourself in the life of your church and to engage in works of justice for the sake of the poor and the oppressed, Ephesians 2:10 would encourage you to see your whole life as an interconnected series of good works offered to God. This means that your good works can include that which you do at work, in the classroom, on the soccer field, in your neighborhood, and in your community associations. If you’re a boss, part of your good works involves the way you manage your employees. If you’re a parent, your good works include making dinner for your children as well as praying with them as you tuck them into bed. The more we grow in our faith, the more we will see ourselves as God’s masterpieces, and therefore the more we will do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, by his strength, under his authority, and for his purposes.

Something to Think About:

Do you tend to think of your whole life as an offering of good works to God? Or do you tend to think of your good works mainly as activities that are obviously religious?

How would your life be different if you began to see your whole life as an offering to God?

Something to Do:

As you do your work today, be conscious of doing whatever you do for God’s purposes and glory. Work for God!

Prayer:

Gracious God, I find the perspective of this passage exciting, compelling, and counter-intuitive. My culture and even much of my Christian experience have taught me to divide my life into the “stuff for you” and “all the other stuff.” I am learning to think more truly and inclusively, to see my whole life as an offering to you.

Help me, Lord, to walk in the good works you have in store for me. Help me to be open to all that you would have me do. Teach me to see my whole life as you see it. By your Spirit, may I come to see every moment of every day as an occasion to do good works—including good work—for you. Amen.

Explore more at the Theology of Work Project online commentary:
Do Good Work (1 Corinthians 3:10–17)