Created

April 22

Created
ktizō

Once again, Eph_2:10 declares, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Even more dramatic than being “God’s product” (workmanship, poiēma, G4161), the Christian has been created in Christ.

Created is ktizō (G2936), another word that means “to create or produce,” but one that goes deeper than poiēma; it’s the word often used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word bara (H1254), “to create from nothing,” as in Gen_1:1.

Think of this creation in light of our text. Lost men today, and tragically even some Christians, speak of “self-improvement,” “self-help,” “self-image,” and many other “selfisms.”

But the principle we see here is that God created the believer from nothing. Think of it! What were we before Christ came into our lives? Nothing. Each of us was a worthless lump of clay, dead in trespasses in sins-no value, no form, no purpose.

But God (March 25) created us!

Do you see? Everything we are and everything we will ever be is because of Jesus Christ. It’s not our experiences, education, training, or talents-it’s Christ. Without Him we are nothing; without Him there is no purpose or meaning to life.

How this thought again opens up 2Co_5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (emphasis added).

The Christians I pastor (and I too) are somewhat biased toward the beauty of the Rocky Mountains on Colorado’s western slope. And who among us has never marveled at the intricacies of the human eye or a newborn baby’s fingers and toes?

But there’s something that is far more beautiful than all those things-a Christian. A child of God is the most beautiful of God’s creation, for each is made in His image.

As Augustine wrote: “Men go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the season, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.”

Scriptures for Study: According to Eph_4:24 and Col_3:10, what did God create? What tragedy does Rom_1:25 describe (“Creator” is ktizō)?

 
 Top of page