Ephesians 2.18b-Access to the Father and the Intermediate Agency of Jesus Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday February 1, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 2:18b-Access to the Presence of the Father and the Intermediate Agency of Jesus Christ
Lesson # 121
Ephesians 2:11 Therefore, each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of remembering that formerly each of you who belong to the Gentile race with respect to the human body, specifically, those who receive the designation “uncircumcision” by the those who receive the designation “circumcision” with respect to the human body performed by human hands, 12 each one of you used to be characterized as without a relationship with Christ. Each one of you used to be alienated from the nation of Israel’s citizenship. Specifically, each of you used to be strangers to the most important promise, which is the product of the covenants. Each of you used to not possess a confident expectation of blessing. Consequently, each one of you used to be without a relationship with God in the sphere of the cosmic world system. 13 However, because of your faith in and your union and identification with Christ Jesus each and every one of you as a corporate who formerly were far away have now been brought near by means of the blood belonging to this same Christ. 14 For He Himself personifies our peace. Namely, by causing both groups to be one. Specifically, by destroying the wall, which served as the barrier, that is, that which caused hostility (between the two). 15 In other words, by nullifying by means of His human nature the law composed of the commandments consisting of a written code of laws in order that He might cause the two to be created into one new humanity by means of faith in Himself at justification and union and identification with Himself through the baptism of the Spirit at justification. Thus, He caused peace to be established (between the two and God). 16 In other words, in order that He would reconcile both groups into one body to God (the Father) through His cross. Consequently, He put to death the hostility (between the two and the two with God) by means of faith in Himself at justification and union and identification with Himself through the baptism of the Spirit at justification. 17 Correspondingly, He as a result came proclaiming peace for the benefit of each and every one of you, namely, those who were far off likewise peace to those were near. 18 Consequently, through the personal intermediate agency of Himself each and every one of us as a corporate unit, namely, both groups are experiencing access by means of the omnipotence of the one Spirit to the presence of the Father. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 2:18 is a hoti (ὅτι) result clause, which presents the result of the previous declarative statement in Ephesians 2:17.
The statement which it introduces asserts that through the intermediate agency of Jesus Christ Himself both Jewish and Gentile Christians experience by means of the omnipotence of the one Spirit access to the presence of God the Father.
Specifically, it asserts that through Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father both Jewish and Gentile Christians experience access to the presence of God the Father by means of the omnipotence of the one Spirit.
Therefore, a comparison of these two statements indicates that Jesus Christ through His Spirit empowered communicators of the gospel came and proclaimed peace for the benefit of Jewish and Gentile church age believers “with the result that” through Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father both Jewish and Gentile Christians experience access by means of the omnipotence of the one Spirit to the presence of God the Father.
The verb echō (ἔχω) means “to experience” a state or condition indicating that through the personal intermediate agency of Jesus Christ Himself both Jewish and Gentile Christians are “experiencing” access to the Father by means of the omnipotence of the one Spirit.
The referent of the first person plural of this verb is both himself and the recipients of the Ephesian epistle with himself representing the Jewish Christian community.
Thus, it specifically refers to both the Jewish and Gentile Christian communities.
As was the case in Ephesians 2:14 and 16, the articular nominative masculine plural form of the adjective amphoteroi (ἀμφότεροι) here in Ephesians 2:18 means “both groups” and in each of these verses the referents are both the Gentile and Jewish Christian communities.
The noun prosagōgē (προσαγωγή), “access” here in Ephesians 2:18 appears only in this verse and two other places in the Greek New Testament (Romans 5:2; Ephesians 3:12).
It means, “to lead someone into the presence of another” with the assistance of another and with the implication that the person doing the receiving is of higher status and in each instance, the word denotes “access to the presence” of the Father.
In these passages, the noun prosagōgē (προσαγωγή) is used in relation to God the Father, thus the word denotes the sinner being led into the presence of the Father through the intermediary agency of the Lord Jesus Christ in order to experience an eternal relationship and fellowship with the Father (cf. John 14:6).
The noun prosagōgē (προσαγωγή) indicates that because Jewish and Gentile church age believers have permanent access to His presence in the sense that they always possess an eternal relationship with the Father.
The word also indicates the continuing availability of this access to the presence of the Father or in other words, it indicates the continued availability of approaching the Father for fellowship.
The noun prosagōgē (προσαγωγή) means, “access” and not simply “entrance” since the former accurately reflects the meaning of the word because it denotes not only entrance into the presence of the Father but also the continuing availability of that access to the presence of the Father.
The English word “access” denotes the ability or permission to approach, enter, speak with or use; admittance and is the state or quality of being approachable.
If we paraphrase this definition, we could say that the believer has the ability and permission to approach the Father and enter His presence in order to speak with Him in prayer through the personal intermediate agency of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The referent of the genitive third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), “Himself” is Jesus Christ.
This word of the preposition dia (διά), which functions as a marker of agency, which indicates that Jesus Christ is the personal intermediate agency through whom both Jewish and Gentile Christians experience access by means of the omnipotence of the one Spirit into the presence of the Father.
Therefore, this prepositional phrase diʼ autou (διʼ αὐτοῦ), “through Himself” indicates that both Jewish and Gentile Christians experience access by means of the omnipotence of the one Spirit into the presence of the Father “through the personal intermediate agency of Jesus Christ Himself.”
This interpretation is supported by the fact that the Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father brought the Jewish and Gentile Christian into the presence of the Father.
This is indicated by the fact that when the Father declared them justified through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, simultaneously, the omnipotence of the Spirit united them with Jesus Christ and placed them under His headship.
Also, at their justification, the omnipotence of the Spirit identified them with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
This is called the baptism of the Spirit (Rom. 6).
Thus, both Jewish and Gentile Christians were brought into the presence of the Father because of the work of both the Son and the Spirit.
Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father brought regenerate church age believers into the presence of the Father because He is the intermediary between a holy God and sinners (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5).
The church age believer’s faith in Jesus Christ resulting in the Father declaring them justified simultaneously, appropriated the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit who brought them into the presence of the Father.
The Spirit did this by placing them under Jesus Christ’s headship and uniting them with Him and identifying them with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
Therefore, Jesus Christ is the personal intermediate agency who enables both Jewish and Gentile church age believers to experience access to the presence of the Father because when He declared them justified through faith in His Son, the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit appropriated for them the benefits of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.