Created in Christ Jesus for Good Works

You bear God’s image and share His Spirit. You were made alive for His work, not just working to protect an image.

That is the order the Bible gives us. “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2.7 ESV). That breath of God is the Spirit that marks His image in us. Our identity starts there. Before you accomplish anything, before you build a reputation, before you achieve or fail, you are already an image-bearer.

The danger is that we reverse the order. We think our worth comes from performance, productivity, or the way others perceive us. We try to hold an image together with effort and fear. Scripture tells us the opposite. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him” (Genesis 1.27). You are not defined by what you can produce but by what God has already given: His image and His Spirit.

That has deep implications. Failure does not erase who you are. “Though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand” (Psalm 37.24). Success does not add to your value. You are not more of an image-bearer on the day you win than on the day you lose. Your work matters, but not as a way of proving yourself. It flows out of who you already are in Christ.

Paul told the Ephesians, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2.10). The Spirit makes us alive, and out of that new life comes new purpose. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8.11). Work is no longer about image maintenance but about Spirit-led living.

This frees us. It frees us from trying to secure worth through constant effort. It frees us from fear of what others think. It frees us to rest in God’s work while still putting our hands to the tasks He gives. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12.2).

So remember the order. You bear God’s image and share His Spirit. That is the gift. The work you do is the fruit.

~PW 🌮🛶