A Poetic Masterpiece

Ephesians 2:10 - For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

Over the course of my life, I have seen the word “workmanship” as it relates to the above verse show up in different translations as “masterpiece,” “handiwork,” or “creation,” all very picturesque words that help us see we are an amazing, unique design of our Creator God. I don’t know about you, but my mind goes to a make-shift art gallery as these words bring to mind paintings or drawings, ones that can be defined or abstract, plain or colorful, muted or enthusiastic. 

The other day as I was preparing for a Sunday School lesson, this verse came up again and so I decided to dig a little deeper and see exactly how this verse appeared in the original Greek. My discovery changed the trajectory of how I have ever and will ever view this verse. The Greek word Paul used for workmanship was “poiema,” which is, you guessed it, where we get our word poem! Thayers Greek Lexicon says that this word means “that which has been made; a word: of the works of God as creator.”

When I stopped to think about the word “poiema” and how it equates to what we view this word as today, a few, literary, things jump out at me. (And before you go crazy, I am not an English major or anything of the sort so this is really going to be basic…heck, my senior English teacher told me I’d never be a writer so no telling what she’d say about my literary commentary here...heehee.)

1. A story within a story – Every poem is crafted to tell a story based on something important or meaningful to its writer (whether it makes sense to the reader or not…speaking from personal experience!). Think about the Bible. It God’s literal, literary work filled with multiple stories about His creation (beginning in Genesis) – narratives, lists, letters, and, yes, even poetry – that ultimately tells a larger story about His plan for His creation (ending in Revelation). It’s like that for us, as God’s creation, we are an individual story that is part of His ultimate, larger story! He created us for a good reason and that reason is to bring glory to Him – we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared ahead of time for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
   
   
2. Not one is alike – There are so many different kinds of poems – sonnets, free verse, haiku, epic, ode, limerick, just to name a very few. (And yes, I Googled these; remember I am no English major!) Because there are so many different kinds and forms of poems, not one poem is alike, they are all unique and different. Same for us – each and every one of us are God’s unique creation! The psalmist praises God for this in Psalm 139:14, “I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made,” with the word “wonderfully” in Hebrew meaning “distinct, marked out, separated, distinguished,” i.e. unique and different.
   
   
3. There are happy and hard parts – Because poems are written for various reasons, they can be sad, happy, or just plain silly (looking at you, limerick!). Sometimes they can be a combination of emotions. We see that in the stories and poems that make up God’s Word. There are writings of amazing miracles, incredible loss, deep lament, and inexpressible joy and some that include all of that at one time! So it is for us. Our life has happy and hard parts, some of which shape who we are and what we do. But our hope as a Christ follower is knowing that “all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
   
   
4. Every word matters – Words matter in poetry because they can have deeper meanings than what is seen on the surface – think similes and metaphors. This is why many of us can have a hard time analyzing poetry because we have to think critically. In God’s story, every word, story, and moment matters – see Deuteronomy 8:3/Matthew 4:4 where God/Jesus say that man lives on every word (the Bible is God’s Word) that comes from the mouth of God. And just as every word in God’s Word matters to Him, so does every one of His creations, most especially us as His “very good” creation (Genesis 1:31). People matter so much to God, meaning He loves us so much, that He provided a way for all to have eternal life with Him, even though all would be born and live as sinners. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

God is the master Author and His story/poem that is our life is not yet finished – it will not be finished until we are with Him in eternity. It can be a little (or a lot) unnerving not knowing how the story will flow or where the happy and hard moments that will happen will fall. But our Author has already promised us that no matter what happens, His plans are for our “well-being, not for disaster, to give [us] a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

But what we can trust and know is that as a believer in Christ, we are God’s workmanship, handiwork, creation – His poiema – and we are a treasured, valued, and priceless part of His greater story.  

I end with this song that a friend introduced to me a few months ago. It has meant a lot to me and now, in light of what I discovered in Ephesians 2:10, it means a whole lot more.