Ephesians 2:10

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

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this last verse in this paragraph.  So, going back, we read that our previous state was that we were really dead.  However, God stepped in and saved us by grace.  We were saved so that God could show this as an example of his grace.  If we didn't already know, we didn't work for our salvation.  Instead, it was all God's work and we cannot take the credit.  Coming to the last verse, we read about being his workmanship and created for good works.  Not only that, but this was something planned long ago.  So, how does this all fit in?

AMP translate the first part of the verse, "For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art]".  God created us and we are his work of art.  I'd assume that a work of art is valued and cherished by its creator.  Perhaps this idea is what is linked using the word "for".  God saves us by grace and not by our works to make us his own master work.  He creates us into this new thing to do good works.  He wants us to become something new in Christ Jesus and part of that is for us to be doing his good works.

One other interesting this is about how God planned this long ago.  It's not as if this was something cooked up last minute.  It's not as if things weren't going horribly wrong and God had to make a last ditch effort to fix it all.  No, this was planned all along.  He planned to make us into his workmanship in Christ Jesus.  The plan was for us to be doing his good works.  We once were dead in our trespasses but now we are alive in Christ doing his good works.  Now, being made new, this is what we are to walk in; we are to walk in good works.