10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Any goodness in us, any Christlikeness, is not of ourselves (as stated in verse nine), but is the very workmanship of God Himself. This act was necessary, as there is nothing to be redeemed about our old fleshy natures (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10, Romans 7:18). Our new man was created when we were placed in Christ at the moment of saving faith, and that new man was made with a purpose: unto good works. We were ordained to those works, which people twist into all manner of wrong doctrine. The key, again, lies in the prepositions. This ordination is contingent on being in Christ, and we have already seen how one gets to that position. The word “should” is also important: it flies in the face of the Calvanistic “irresistible grace” and reinforces the doctrine of standing and state previously mentioned. There is a way that we should live after salvation, but that does not necessarily mean that all will choose to do so. Our good works are not at any point a condition for Church age salvation: they do not save us, or keep us saved. Rather, our good works are an act of love, thanks, and devotion toward the One who has already done the saving work on our behalf. How we should walk will become the focus of chapters 4-6 of Ephesians.
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