Do you have a group of people that you can have them pray for you? As believers, we need to pray for one another and share where we are struggling.
For through him, we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. Ephesians 2:18
This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus, our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. Ephesians 3: 11-12
What are these verses saying? What can we learn about God and Jesus from these verses?
According to Ephesians 2:18, “There is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” And you have no access to God apart from Jesus Christ. This is straight to the point. You can only have access to God through Jesus Christ. Yes, it is a straight gate, and it is a narrow path, but it leads to eternal life. Broad is the gate, and broad is the path that leads to destruction, and many go in. There is the flow, the flow of the world. But straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to eternal life, and few there be that find it. So Christ has made the way a man can come to God, it is a road marked by blood, but it brings us into fellowship and communion with the Father.
According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ephesians 3:11):
That was God’s plan from the beginning.
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him (Ephesians 3:12).
In chapter 1, it says we have been accepted in the beloved. God accepts me. Now it says we have access to God. That was, of course, something that was withheld even from the Jew. They did not have access to God. They came to God through the priest. He would enter into the presence of God for them. When God gave the law to Moses, He said, “Cordon off the mount. Don’t let a man come close, lest he is destroyed.” Moses went up and communed with God. When the people saw the awesome phenomena of the presence of God, they fled, and they said to Moses, “You go up and talk to Him, and you come down and tell us what He said, but we don’t want to get near. That is awesome, the fire rolling around the ground, the thunder, and all of these things. And you go up, and we will listen to you, and we will take what you tell us that God says, but we don’t want to approach that.”
And as God established the law, then it was the high priest who went into the Holy of Holies before God for the people, which was only once in a year, one day in a year. But now we have access to God. There is no veil any longer to hold you out.
It was extremely significant that at the crucifixion of Jesus, the veil was rent or torn from top to the bottom and God was just now saying through Jesus Christ; you can all come. You have access to God. In Hebrews, it says, “that we may come boldly before the throne of grace to make our petitions known.” We were once alienated from God through Jesus Christ and could not approach Him, and now have been brought close, been brought nigh, access to God. And then, here again, boldness and access, as in Hebrews, “come boldly to the throne of grace.” That timidity that some people display, “Oh, I really don’t think that I am worthy to come to God. I will just go to one of the saints and ask him to go to God for me,” is unscriptural and it’s wrong. When God opens the door and says, “Come on in,” it is wrong for you to hold back. We come boldly. We have access, boldness, and access, confidence by the faith of Him.
We join God’s activity by participating in prayer. When James said that the righteous’s prayers are effective, it doesn’t mean that God is more inclined to answer their prayers but that their prayers are already more in line with God’s will. This is because the righteous have a desire to be close to the heart of God.
God uses the prayers of the weak and finite people. This plays a part in the unfolding of His sovereign will. God doesn’t need to accomplish His purpose or will. However, God has chosen to work through us as we pray. Prayer can change people. It can change their circumstances.
Who can you pray for who doesn’t know Jesus? If God answered all your prayers, what differences would it make in your life? What difference would it make in the world? How might your prayers need to change as a result of what you’ve learned today? How can you be more intentional with your prayers?
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your grace. Thank you that Jesus is our mediator. I pray that we will know the power of prayer and be more intentional in praying to you.
In Jesus Name
Amen
