good works

God wants us to work; we’re saved to serve! It’s not the only reason, but it’s an important one we shouldn’t neglect. In last week’s blog post, I tried to show that the letter to the Ephesians promotes this idea.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10

But what are the actions God has in mind for us?

As we’ve seen, the first half of Ephesians (chapters 1-3) lays out our spiritual status in Christ. The second half (chapters 4-6) teaches us how to express in practical ways who we are in the Lord.

In this post, we’re going to look at our works from the perspective of our spiritual station in life. According to Paul, we’re God’s temple:

“In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²²And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.” – Ephesians 2:21-22

Since temples are where priests offer sacrifices, this suggests that the good works God intends are sacrificial in nature.

This view isn’t unique to the book of Ephesians. The New Testament affirms it elsewhere.

The Nations

For example, here’s how Paul describes his apostolic ministry:

“He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:16b

According to the Old Testament, Paul couldn’t serve as a priest; he was from the tribe of Benjamin (see Philippians 3:5), not Levi. But in Christ, he could offer to God, not animal sacrifices, but Gentiles who believed the gospel he preached. Every soul the apostle won to Jesus was a sacrifice to the Lord. Each one was his gift to God.

Ministry Sacrifice

Paul did more than offer the nations to Christ; he offered himself, too. Twice he refers to himself as a drink offering.

“But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.” – Philippians 2:17

“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.” – 2 Timothy 4:6

When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he was under house arrest by the Roman government. When he wrote his second letter to Timothy, he was doomed to die by the hands of Rome. In both situations, the apostle considered himself a drink offering. He poured out his soul in service to God and His people. Paul paid whatever price was necessary to glorify Jesus by teaching people the gospel.

Praise

Praise is a third way by which Christians can offer spiritual sacrifices.

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.” – Hebrews 13:15

The structure of this verse provides clues to its meaning. It’s written in a chiastic pattern: ABCCBA. This means that it begins and ends with a certain thought (A). The second idea gets repeated right before the last one (B), and then there are twin concepts in the middle (C).

The initial focus is on Jesus. His is the great name by which we Christians are saved (see Acts 4:12).

The next one attends to our response to the name of Jesus. Out of gratitude, we give something to God. “Continually offer” is synonymous with “openly profess.” These verbs describe our behavior, but what are we delivering to the Lord?

The middle set of terms tells us. Our lips praise God; what we say constitutes a sacrifice He welcomes and accepts.

Furthermore, our declaration is public. The priests of the Old Testament didn’t conduct their rituals in secret; they worked together with other priests to benefit the entire community. In the same way, the praise we offer to God is a public announcement of the majesty of Jesus. The church’s testimony about Christ is a sacrifice that pleases God and fosters allegiance to Him.

Witness

There’s one more verse in the New Testament about spiritual sacrifices. This one uses that exact phrase:

“As you come to Him, the living Stone–rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him–⁵you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 2:4-5

Peter echoes Paul’s assertion that the church is a temple. Like Jesus, we’re not static. We’re living stones; we can function and serve and act. We’re not limited by natural constraints; the Holy Spirit authorizes us to sacrifice to the Lord.

Verse 9 reinforces Peter’s understanding of Christians as spiritual priests:

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” – 1 Peter 2:9

We’re people who praise! Reminiscent of Hebrews 13:15, our confession of faith in Christ honors God. And Peter relates this ministry to witness. Every time we win someone to Jesus, we add a spiritual stone to God’s spiritual house. We may not know where everyone fits in the church, but as we disciple people, God puts them in the right place so they can contribute to the work of His house.

Application

The apostles didn’t invent the notion of spiritual sacrifice. Jesus had already identified it as the central purpose of the temple:

“And as He taught them, He said, ‘Is it not written: “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”? But you have made it “a den of robbers.”’” – Mark 11:17

We serve the heart of God by interceding for the nations. Rather than stealing their spiritual future, we grant them a place to meet Christ in the gospel. The salvation of souls is worth the price such work. Spiritual sacrifice is labor the Lord will reward.

Let’s be about His business!