God’s Renovation Program: Making New Life for New Living

In the HGTV series, Saving Galveston, home renovators, Ashley and Michael Cordray, purchase condemned homes and recreate them into domestic masterpieces. It is a fascinating thing to see. Most of these houses have little to no sign of life. They are on the verge of being demolished. But the Cordrays, full of creativity and ingenuity, turn these lifeless frames into livable homes that are not just useful—they are invaluable. They really are saving Galveston.

In Ephesians 2:1-10, we discover a kind of soul renovation occurring. Notice how the passage begins and ends with the concept of walking. At the beginning, “you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked” (Eph. 2:1-2). At the end, we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

The idea of walking refers to your daily choices and actions. It is your way of life. Ephesians has a lot to say about it. As Christians, you are called to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1). This means that you are to “no longer walk as Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds” (Eph. 4:17), but “walk in love” (Eph. 5:2) and “walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8). It is a deliberate walk in the steps of Christ, the path of wisdom (Eph. 5:15).

If we, who are “following the course of this world” (Eph. 2:2), are deliberately dawdling in the way of Satan, how can we walk in the way of Christ? We are described as “sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). We are living “in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind” and are “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3). How can we get from walking in sin to walking in light? What happens between Ephesians 2:1 and 2:10?

God happens.

“But God,” it says in Ephesians 2:4. Right there in the middle of the passage. God happens. He comes in before our souls are completely demolished and swept aside. He finds us in our trespasses and sins, condemned and wretched, and purchases us with His hard-earned righteous blood. Then, He goes to work on us. Transforming us. Sanctifying us. Giving us a total soul renovation.

“For we are his workmanship,” according to Ephesians 2:10. God rolls up His sleeves and works diligently and carefully to make a wonderfully liveable home useful for good works and godly living. We are His workmanship, His achievement, His product, His creation, His craftwork.

Ephesians 2:10 summarizes this powerful pericope and unleashes for us seven reasons why we should walk confidently in the footsteps of Christ. In the next few posts, we will walk step-by-step in each one. It will be transformative.

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