8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
NOTICE it is in past tense.
Yep. We don’t surprise God one jot. His preparing them beforehand provides the proof that we were obeying Him when we obeyed Him.
Many years ago I dreamed that I’d entered His presence and with only He, the Son, and the Holy Spirit there (or perchance it would be more accurate to say with God there I wasn’t aware of anyone else) and I was given a bible.
I said, IIRC, something about an old friend, but when I opened it it didn’t begin with Genesis 1:1 but with something about me (just what I cannot recall) and my response was to fall down and worship.
Maybe what it was, was a statement of what He had prepared beforehand for me to do? Along with that time I just woke up laughing hysterically but have NO IDEA WHY that would be the dream I’d like to know more about. If only out of curiosity.
Eph. 2:8-10 was written to people that were already born again. (”To the saints which are at Ephesus...” Eph. 1:1)
Paul baptized at least 12 of them in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 19:5).