Ephesians 2:10

For, &c. The connexion is, "works are not the antecedent, but the consequent, of your acceptance in Christ; forthe true statement of the case is, that you were re-made, re-born, in order towork the will of God."

his Strongly emphatic. "It is He that made us, and not we ourselves" (Psalms 100:3).

workmanship Better, making. The Gr. word (poiêma) is not akin to that rendered "works" (erga) in the passage, so that there is no intended antithesis. "Making:" i.e., He has made us what we are, members of His Son. The noun does not necessarily give the precise idea of a new "creation;" it may mean only an appointment to position. But the two, as a fact, coincide in this matter. In Romans 1:20 (its only other place in N.T.) the word is used of God's handiworks in nature.

created A frequent word, in spiritual connexions, with St Paul. Cp. Ephesians 2:15, Eph 4:24; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15; Colossians 3:10. As in the sphere of nature, so in that of grace, it means essentially the making of a new state of things, whether in a Universe or a personality; implying indeed the omnipotence which originally willed the very material into existence, but not necessarily dwelling on this; rather giving the thought of first, or new, arrangement. In practice, the thought of the sovereignty of the Worker's willlies in the use of the word.

in Christ Jesus The third occurrence of these words within five verses. The Church was "created in" Him, in that its very existence as such depends on vital union with Him.

unto good works Lit., "upon good works," i.e., as interpreted by usage, "with a view to them." The same construction and meaning appear Galatians 5:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:7 (A.V., "untouncleanness); 2 Timothy 2:14 (A.V., "tothe subverting").

hath before ordained Lit., and better, did prepare beforehand; on the ideal occasionof His planning the salvation and the function of His true Church. The phrase does not state, but surely implies, the happy truth that the Divine pre-arrangement so maps out, as it were, the duties and the sufferings of the saint that his truest wisdom and deepest peace is to "do the next thing" in the daily path, in the persuasion that it is part of a consistent plan for him. There are some admirable remarks in this direction in Monod's Adieux à ses amis et à l" Église, no. 14; "Le secret d'une vie sainte, active et paisible[33] ".

[33] The book has been translated, as A. Monod's Farewell.