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IN WHOM WE HAVE BOLDNESS AND
CONFIDENT ACCESS THROUGH FAITH IN HIM: en o echomen (1PPAI) ten
parrhesian kai prosagogen en pepoithesei dia tes pisteos autou: (2:18;
John 14:6;
Romans 5:2;
Hebrews 4:14-16;
10:19-22)
Paul's point is
that although God’s eternal plan was accomplished in Christ some two
thousand years ago, His past work has a continuing effect in the present
for every believer.
We - We,
the Gentiles, and Paul, the former persecutor of believing Jews, both
have freedom of speech before God and an access or introduction to Him
which is made possible in Christ.
Have (2192)
(echo) means to possess the capacity to do something. The
present tense
indicates this is the
believer's continual possession - all can now come into the Father's
presence at any time, not in self-confidence but in Christ-confidence.
In the Old
Testament only the High Priest could go into that Holy of Holies and
then only once per year (See Day of Atonement - Lev 16). In the book of
Hebrews we read that the veil between the holy place and the holy of
holies has been rent, and we can come in with confidence and with
boldness because of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Since therefore, brethren, we have
confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and
living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His
flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us
draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed
with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)
Boldness (3954)
(parrhesia from pas = all + rhesis = speech)
literally conveys the idea of freedom to say all. It is that attitude of
openness that stems from freedom and lack of fear ("shaking" fear -
godly, reverential fear is always appropriate). Greeks used parrhesia
of those with the right to speak openly in the assembly. It is used here
in a more sense of ease of feeling and comfortable self-possession, in
our access to God. Boldness is the antithesis of Adam's reaction after
becoming dead in his trespasses and sins (eating forbidden fruit), Moses
recording...
And they heard the sound of the LORD
God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his
wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of
the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where
are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I
was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." (Genesis 3:8-10)
And again what a
contrast with the attitude of unrepentant men who should be desperately
seeking an audience with God, instead seek to hide from Him, John
recording...
And the kings of the earth and the
great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave
and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the
mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us
and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from
the wrath of the Lamb for the great day of their wrath has come; and who
is able to stand?" (Revelation 6:15-17)
Confident (4006)
(pepoithesis from peítho = to persuade, come to a settled
conviction) expresses a belief in someone or something to the point of
placing one's trust or reliance in them - the idea is having been
persuaded and remaining persuaded. It is a belief that one can rely on
someone or something.
Pepoithesis
is derived from the
perfect tense
which refers to a past process of being completely persuaded, with the
present result that we are in a confirmed and settled state of utter
confidence.
Wuest adds
that pepoithesis...
comes from the perfect participial
form which refers to a past process of being completely persuaded, with
the present result that we are in a confirmed and settled state of utter
confidence.
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
Paul explains this
confidence writing...
And such confidence we have through
Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider
anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who
also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter,
but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
(2Cor 3:4-6)
Access -
Such access to God refers not only to prayer, but also to the entire
communion we have with God by faith in Christ.
Access
(4318) (prosagoge from pros =
toward + ago = bring) literally means "a bringing near" or
providing access (freedom, permission and/or the ability to enter). It
describes a continuous and unhindered approach to God, One Whom we could
never approach in our unredeemed, unholy, sinful state.
Prosagoge was used to describe
the introduction to or audience which one is permitted to have with a
king or other person of high rank. This introduction or audience must be
effected through an officer of court to whom the duty is entrusted.
Prosagoge carries the idea not
of possessing access in our own right but of being granted the right to
come to God with boldness, knowing we will be welcomed. It is only
through our Savior’s shedding of His blood in sacrificial death on
Calvary and by faith in Him that we have union in His Holy Spirit and
have access to the Father. The Spirit is at work to draw us continually
to God (Rom. 8:15-17; Gal. 4:6-7). Both and one spirit emphasize
again the commonality of Jew and Gentile.
MacArthur
sums up the significance of prosagoge writing that...
Those who once were socially and
spiritually alienated are in Christ united with God and with each other.
Because they have Christ they have both peace and access in one Spirit
to the Father. They have an Introducer who presents them at the heavenly
throne of God, before whom they can come at any time. They can now come
to God as their own Father, knowing that He no longer judges or condemns
but only forgives and blesses. Even His discipline is an act of love,
given to cleanse and restore His precious children to purity and
spiritual richness.
(MacArthur,
J: Ephesians. Chicago: Moody Press)
In a parallel
passage in Romans regarding Jesus as our way "through" to God,
Paul writes...
Therefore having been justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through
(dia) Whom also we have obtained our introduction (prosagoge)
by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the
glory of God. (see notes
Romans 5:1;
5:2)
The other use of prosagoge in
Ephesians declares that...
in (Christ) we have boldness and confident
access (prosagoge)
through faith in Him. (see note
Ephesians 3:12)
Notice that prosagoge always
refers to the believer’s access to God through Christ.
What was unthinkable to the Old Testament Jew is now available to all
who come to Christ by grace through faith.
To summarize, from the 3 NT uses of
prosagoge observe that...
1. We have access into grace (Ro
5:2) God’s throne is the
throne of grace (Heb
4:16).
2. We have access to the Father (Ephesians
2:18). Though He is
sovereign, we can still approach Him as a child does a father (Luke
11:11–13, see note
Romans 8:15).
3. We have access through Jesus Christ (1Ti
2:5). The blood gives us
boldness (Heb
10:19).
4. We have access by our faith (Romans
5:2; Ephesians
3:12). The essential
ingredient is prayer (Heb
10:22).
Prosagoge also pictures
fellowship and communion (see
communion, fellowship)
available with the Father through Christ for all who have been redeemed
by His blood! The French word for this is entree meaning freedom
of entry or access. And that is exactly what our Lord Jesus Christ
provides for a believing sinner. He clothes him with Himself as his
righteousness, cleanses him in His precious blood, and brings him into
the full unmerited favor (grace) of God the Father. This is a believers
entree. It is a priceless boon to have the right to go to some
lovely and wise and saintly person at any time, to have the right to
break in upon him, to take our troubles, our problems, our loneliness,
our sorrow to him. That is exactly the right that Jesus gives us in
regard to our Father, the All Wise God.
Prosagoge pictures provision
of access into the presence of One Whom we would normally be restricted
from approaching. In the Orient, one who came to see a king needed both
access—the right to come and an introduction—the proper presentation.
You couldn't just waltz into a king's presence. To do so would invite
death. In fact the Persian royal court actually had an official called
the prosagogeus whose function was to introduce people who
desired an audience with the king.
Through faith
in Him - We believe in Jesus as the Propitiation, as our
Peace, as the Reconciler, and we go before God with confidence.
Have you ever had
a friend who knew some very famous or distinguished person. You would
never have had any right to enter into that person’s presence, but in
your friend’s company you had the right of entry and were able to meet
the distinguish personality and converse with them. That is what our
Friend Jesus does for us with the most distinguished of all, Almighty
God. In the presence of our Redeemer there is an open door into God’s
very throne room.
The writer of
Hebrews emphasized this same point to the Jewish believers whose faith
was being severely tried...
For we do not have a high priest who
cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in
all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with
confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may
find grace to help in time of need. (See notes
Hebrews 4:15;
4:16)
Since therefore, brethren, we have
confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new
and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is,
His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed
with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)
Through (1223)
(dia) signifies the channel through which God's grace flows, here
speaking of faith and remembering that this free flow of grace is based
on the object of that faith, Christ Jesus our Lord. Faith is
never the basis or the reason for justification, but only the channel
through which God works His redeeming grace. Faith is simply a
convicted heart reaching out to receive God’s free and unmerited gift of
salvation.
S Lewis Johnson
agrees writing that the expression "Through faith in Him"
shows us the means by which we come
into the glorious position whereby we who are Gentiles stand on this
same basis in the body of Christ as the Jews, through the faith of Him.
(Ephesians
3:1-13 Dispensation of Grace Audio/Pdf)
Through the
perfect, once for all sacrifice of Christ and through receiving His gift
of righteousness, we have access to God in both daily prayer and eternal
salvation (See note
Ephesians 2:18;
see note
Romans 5:2;
Heb 4:16, see note
2 Peter 1:11).Every
person who comes to Christ in faith can come before God at any time, not
in self-confidence but in Christ-confidence.
Faith (4102)
(pistis)
(Click
word study on
pistis)
means a firm persuasion, conviction, or belief in the truth.
Pistis
is not just mental assent but firm conviction, surrender to that truth
and conduct emanating from that surrender. In sum, faith shows itself
genuine by a changed life. Faith is never the basis or the reason for
justification, but only the channel through which God works His
redeeming grace. Faith is simply a convicted heart reaching out to
receive God’s free and unmerited gift of salvation. Furthermore, faith,
like grace, is not static.
In short, saving
faith is more than just understanding the facts and mentally
acquiescing. It is inseparable from repentance, surrender, and a
supernatural longing to obey. None of those responses can be classified
exclusively as a human work, any more than believing itself is solely a
human effort.
As Merv Roswell has succinctly stated...
“Faith is
simply saying ‘Amen’ to God.”
My Faith Looks Up to Thee
by Ray Palmer
Play Hymn
My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray, take all my guilt away,
O let me from this day be wholly Thine!
May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart, my zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me, O may my love to Thee,
Pure warm, and changeless be, a living fire!
While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread, be Thou my Guide;
Bid darkness turn to day, wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray from Thee aside.
When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold sullen stream over me roll;
Blest Savior, then in love, fear and distrust remove;
O bear me safe above, a ransomed soul!
Ray Palmer the writer of My Faith Looks Up to Thee
had these words regarding his hymn...
The words
for these stanzas were born out of my own soul with very little effort.
I recall that I wrote the verses with tender emotion. There was not the
slightest thought of writing for another eye, least of all writing a
hymn for Christian worship. It is well-remembered that when writing the
last line, “Oh, bear me safe above, A ransomed soul!” the thought that
the whole work of redemption and salvation was involved in those words,
and suggested the theme of eternal praises, and this brought me to a
degree of emotion that brought abundant tears.
Boldness and confident access - access is the
freedom believers possess to speak to God in prayer anytime, anywhere.
The believer's confidence is the assurance of a ready welcome, a open
hearing, and a wise, loving response which is all possible through faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Access
(4318)
(prosagoge from pros = toward + ago = bring)
literally means "a bringing near" or providing access (freedom,
permission and/or the ability to enter). It describes a continuous and
unhindered approach to God, One Whom we could never approach in our
unredeemed, unholy, sinful state.
Thayer defines access as
“that
friendly relation to God whereby we are acceptable to Him and have
assurance that He is favorably disposed towards us.”
In a parallel
passage in Romans regarding Jesus as our way "through" to God,
Paul writes...
Therefore having been justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through
(dia) Whom also we have obtained our introduction (prosagoge)
by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the
glory of God. (see notes
Romans 5:1;
5:2)
The other use of prosagoge in
Ephesians declares that...
in (Christ) we have boldness and confident
access (prosagoge)
through faith in Him. (see note
Ephesians 3:12)
Notice that prosagoge always
refers to the believer’s access to God through Christ.
What was unthinkable to the Old Testament Jew is now available to all
who come to Christ by grace through faith.
To summarize, from the 3 NT uses of
prosagoge observe that...
1. We have access into grace (Ro
5:2) God’s throne is the
throne of grace (Heb
4:16).
2. We have access to the Father (Ephesians
2:18). Though He is
sovereign, we can still approach Him as a child does a father (Luke
11:11–13, see note
Romans 8:15).
3. We have access through Jesus Christ (1Ti
2:5). The blood gives us
boldness (Heb
10:19).
4. We have access by our faith (Romans
5:2; Ephesians
3:12). The essential
ingredient is prayer (Heb
10:22).
Prosagoge also pictures
fellowship and communion (see
communion, fellowship)
available with the Father through Christ for all who have been redeemed
by His blood! The French word for this is entree meaning freedom
of entry or access. And that is exactly what our Lord Jesus Christ
provides for a believing sinner. He clothes him with Himself as his
righteousness, cleanses him in His precious blood, and brings him into
the full unmerited favor (grace) of God the Father. This is a believers
entree. It is a priceless boon to have the right to go to some
lovely and wise and saintly person at any time, to have the right to
break in upon him, to take our troubles, our problems, our loneliness,
our sorrow to him. That is exactly the right that Jesus gives us in
regard to our Father, the All Wise God.
Prosagoge pictures provision
of access into the presence of One Whom we would normally be restricted
from approaching. In the Orient, one who came to see a king needed both
access—the right to come and an introduction—the proper presentation.
You couldn't just waltz into a king's presence. To do so would invite
death. In fact the Persian royal court actually had an official called
the prosagogeus whose function was to introduce people who
desired an audience with the king.
There is an Old Testament story in
the book of Esther which is a beautiful illustration of prosagoge.
Esther sought to plead with King Ahasuerus for the safety of her Jewish
countrymen but she knew what fate might await her for approaching the
King without an introduction (see Esther 4:11). Esther risked her life
by doing this, not knowing beforehand whether Ahasuerus would grant her
an "introduction." Fortunately for her, he granted her grace. Ray
Stedman fills in the details writing that...
"There is a beautiful picture in the
book of Esther that illustrates this: Remember Esther, that lovely
Jewish maiden, a captive in the land of Persia? The king, seeking a
bride, found her and made her his queen. After Esther ascended to the
throne as queen, a plot was hatched against the Jews. The king,
unwittingly, signed a decree that meant death for all Jews in the land
of Persia. Esther's godly uncle, Mordecai, said it would be necessary
for her to go to the king and tell him what he had unwittingly done.
Esther knew that was a dangerous thing, because it was the law of the
Medes and Persians that no one could come before the king without first
being summoned by him. It meant death for anyone to dare come before the
king in that manner. There were no exceptions -- even for a queen -- for
this was the law of the Medes and the Persians and could not be changed.
Unless the king extended his golden scepter to that person, he must die.
Yet Esther knew that she had to dare to take her life in her hands and
go before the king. The story tells us that she fasted for three days
and three nights before she went. I am sure that was to prepare her
heart and her courage. It doesn't say what else she did during that
time, when she was getting ready to come before the king. With a wife,
four daughters, and a mother-in-law in my home, I've observed women
getting themselves ready for some years now. I'm sure that what Esther
was doing was fixing her hair. It probably took three days and three
nights to get ready! Then we are told that she dressed herself in robes
of beauty and glory. When she was all ready, she stepped into the
audience hall of the king, appearing all alone before him. The king was
so smitten with her beauty that his heart went out to her. He stretched
forth his scepter and accepted her. She had access to the king. Dressed
in robes of beauty and glory that do not belong to us -- for they are
the garments of Jesus -- we have access to the King, to receive from him
all that we need to handle any threat that has come into our lives. We
have continual acceptance before him." (excerpt from
Rejoicing in Hope)
><> ><> ><>
Our Daily Bread
devotional "He's Waiting"...
Telephone answering machines can be
helpful, but it's often frustrating to call someone and hear a recorded
voice say, "I'm sorry I can't take your call just now, but please leave
your name and phone number and I'll get back to you." Disappointed, we
speak into the machine, hoping the other person won't be forgetful or
too busy to call back.
In our high-tech world, it's encouraging to know that when we call out
to God we get straight through to Him. In Ephesians 3, the apostle Paul
said that "in Christ Jesus our Lord . . . we have boldness and access
with confidence through faith in Him" (Ephesians 3:11-12).
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul encouraged believers to "pray without
ceasing," which assumes, of course, that God is always listening and
wants to hear from us. Yet, for some reason we often keep God waiting.
Our prayerlessness gives God the repeated message that we won't answer
His call to pray now, but we'll get back to Him later.
What are the things that keep you from praying? Begin by talking to God
about whatever is hindering your prayer-life. Such praying will
cultivate the two-way closeness that your heavenly Father is longing to
enjoy with you.
Why keep God waiting any longer? —J E Yoder (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
We can know that God is watching,
Always present, everywhere,
And with hope and joy and patience
He is waiting for our prayer. —Roworth
If you're too busy to pray, you're too busy.
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