Something cool in Greek

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Eph 2:10)

Dane pointed out something very cool about this verse last night. The first part of this verse in Greek is αυτου γαρ εσμεν ποιημα, which literally translated means "His for we are workmanship" or "For we are his workmanship."

Two things are interesting here. First is the placement of "his" as the first word. This is emphatic positioning, emphasizing that first and foremost, we are "his."

Secondly, the 4th Greek word, pronounced "poi-ee-ma," is frequently translated as "workmanship" (NIV, NASB, KJV, NKJV, ESV) along with "handiwork" (Amplifed), and "masterpiece" (NLT). But, what English word does this sound like?

Poem.

So, in a sense, we are God's poetry. To me, words like "workmanship" or "handiwork" sound more like something made by a worker. Poetry, on the other hand, is something beautiful spoken by an artist.

The next time you feel down on yourself, remember that you are God's poetry, beautifully spoken into existence by the artistic Creator of the universe.

Cool, huh?