I would like to show you an incredible verse from the
book of Ephesians,
“For through him (Jesus Christ) we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” (Ephesians 2:18)Many have taught on this verse and many have been blessed by it. But I think many of God’s children take this for granted. They do not realize that full access to God was not always available to man, or the enormous privilege that has been made available to them. I will attempt to shed some light on this scripture and it’s meaning.
When God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden, they both
enjoyed perfect fellowship with God. They could freely speak to Him about
whatever was on their hearts and God could in turn, talk with them and show
them many incredible truths. This kind of relationship was available because
they were created with God’s spirit upon them, which allowed them to
communicate with God. But sadly, this sweet fellowship did not last long
because Adam was tricked by satan into disobeying God, and on that very day,
Adam and Eve lost that spirit that God had placed upon them. Their access to
God had ended. From here on out, access to God would be very limited.
The Tabernacle
One great example of this is the
construction of the tabernacle that God directed Moses to build in the
wilderness. The tabernacle was basically a big tent where the service of
God could be performed. First of all, around the tabernacle, was a curtain to
restrict most of Israel from coming near. Only certain people could go beyond
this curtain. Out of the twelve tribes of Israel, God chose the tribe of Levi
to transport and take care of the tabernacle, and from this same tribe He chose
the bloodline of Aaron to be the priests to offer offers and sacrifices to God.
This tabernacle consisted of two compartments. The first compartment was called
the ‘sanctuary’, or ‘holy place’ where the priests would perform certain
services on behalf of the people. The second compartment was called “the Holy
of Holies” or ‘Holiest of All’. Only the high priest could enter, but only once
a year, and only to offer a blood sacrifice for the nation of Israel. This is
where God would meet with His people, by way of this high priest. But as soon
as the high priest made an end to offering to the Lord, he needed to get out
and not stay in the presence of God.
Now between these two compartments hung a huge woven curtain, or veil, that
further restricted men access into the ‘Holy of Holies’; into God’s presence.
Do you see how heavily restrictive access to God was in the Old Testament? Such
a far cry from the sweet fellowship that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the garden.
How could sinful man ever be able to approach a holy God?
Enter Jesus Christ
The moment Jesus gave up his life for us on the cross, the veil of the
temple was torn from top to the bottom.
“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.“ (Matthew 27:50 and 51a)
Our sin died with
Jesus Christ. The sin that had separated us from God was gone forever (Hurray!!).
And on the day of Pentecost, God poured out His spirit upon mankind (Joel 2:28),
which now gave us direct and unrestricted access to God. What was severed by
Adam’s disobedience, Jesus Christ regained for us (and so much more).
Because we have the spirit of Christ dwelling within us, we have unlimited
access to the Creator. The word “access” is best described as “entrance into
the presence of a king or dignitary by way of an intermediary”. For instance,
if I wanted to go and speak to the President, I couldn’t just show up at the
White House and expect to meet with him. I would have to find someone who had
’access’ to the President who would take me in to see him. I would have no
access on my own credentials. I have to rely on one who already had access. Let
me give you another example.
When I was young, I remember a time when a friend of my father’s invited us to
use the indoor pool in a nearby town. This was a real treat because we grew up
in Illinois and it got quite cold in the wintertime, and to be able to use an
indoor heated pool during the winter months was special. My father’s friend
was a member of an organization where one of the privileges was to be able to use
this pool, and they could invite friends to utilize it as well. The only catch
was, the member had to be present in order for us to swim there. We couldn’t
just show up there and expect to use the pool without my dad’s friend being
present. He gave us access.
Jesus Christ is this special friend that gives us access into the presence of
God Almighty.
“By whom also
we have access by faith into this
grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans
5:2)
“In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.” (Ephesians 3:12) (‘Boldness’ in this verse means ‘boldness of speech’. We can now come to God and discuss any situation and pour out our hearts to Him).
Now whenever we
have a need, we can come boldly before His throne to obtain help. Not by our
own credentials, but by the credentials of Christ who resides within us..
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews
4:16)
Now that is the kind of access we need. It is an enormous privilege to be able to come into
God’s throne-room and tell Him everything that's on our hearts, just like Adam and Eve did
when they were in the garden. Now that’s cool!.
Love Always, Ray
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