These words in his letter to the Ephesians are familiar, but perhaps not appreciated as much as they need to be. Our reading of this epistle can be so focused on the benefits that are ours in Christ forensically that we fail to grasp the equally important benefits that flow from him experientially. However, if we catch the drift of what Paul is saying to the churches to which he is writing, his great concern in practical terms is the latter.

Too often the idea of ‘good works’ has been the Cinderella of Reformed discussion. Wanting (quite rightly) to distance ourselves from any kind of meritorious implications attached to them (which lies at the heart of the Roman Catholic view) we have perhaps over-corrected our stance to our own loss. According to St Paul, ‘good works’ lie at the very heart of God’s purpose for his people in redemption. ‘For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them’ (Eph 2.10). They belong to the telos – the great goal – of what it means to be a Christian.

These words in his letter to the Ephesians are familiar, but perhaps not appreciated as much as they need to be. Our reading of this epistle can be so focused on the benefits that are ours in Christ forensically that we fail to grasp the equally important benefits that flow from him experientially. However, if we catch the drift of what Paul is saying to the churches to which he is writing, his great concern in practical terms is the latter.

Paul was saying nothing new to his readers about these great doctrines, but the apostle is clearly concerned about their failure to appreciate the implications that flow from them. Even though the bulk of his formal application is found in the second half of the letter, its seeds are intermingled with the doctrinal instruction that dominates the first half.

When we recognise this, Paul’s statement about ‘good works’ takes on a whole new dimension in the flow of the letter as a whole. His choice of words at this point serve as a category label for all the specific changes of attitude, speech, relationships, behaviour patterns and even the way we fight our spiritual battles that are spelled out in more detail in the rest of what he has to say. Every aspect of how we express our humanity which has been corrupted in Adam has been made new in Christ. Therefore, as we work this out in practice, it should translate into our intentionally seeking to do what is right and pleasing in God’s sight. With heart, mind and will renewed by the Spirit through our union with the Son, God’s word engages, encourages and directs us towards that ‘newness of life’ in which we now live as God’s people.

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