Ephesians 3:12
Approaching God
How’s your prayer life? Why is your prayer life the way that it is (Good or bad)? Are you intentional about going to the Lord? Do you schedule time with Him regularly? Do you keep a list that you pray through? When you do pray what motivates you to do so?
Today we’re going to look at Approaching God. Praying is no small topic in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. There are 2 big Pauline prayers mentioned in it. The first one is in chapter 1 and the other is right here in chapter 3. Both of these prayers occur in the last half of their respective chapters. And both prayers come immediately after deep doctrinal discourse by Paul. Paul was motivated to pray when he thought of the deep things of God.
Paul makes other mentions of prayer as well. At the end of the letter in chapter 6 he tells the Ephesians that they should pray (READ). He also alludes to prayer in chapter 5:17 (know God’s will) and 5:20 (giving thanks). The difference here is that he instructs the Ephesians in prayer whereas in chapters 1 & 3 Paul is describing how he prays for them.
Why are these prayers important for us to have today? Let me answer that first by pointing out to you again that his prayer immediately follows his teaching on some magnificent doctrines.
(In chapter 3 we have seen the mystery in Christ where Jew and Gentile are brought together in the Church through faith in Christ. Over the last couple weeks we have seen the unsearchable riches of God’s wisdom in Christ as well as the Church as the exhibit of God’s manifold wisdom for all the angels to see. God’s secret throughout history has finally been revealed in Christ and in the Church.)
The picture here is that magnificent knowledge leads to magnificent praying. We need to know the magnificent things of God and that will lead to a more magnificent praying life. In other words, Paul’s kind of praying starts with Paul’s kind of theology. If we know the things in the first half of this chapter like Paul does, we will pray like Paul does in the 2nd half of this chapter.
I would suggest that today if we want to see our prayer life grow then don’t start with verse 12. Instead, start with verse 1 and work your way up to verse 12. Studying theology, discovering the knowledge of God will lead you to pray.
That’s an important point. Bible study should make us want to pray. If this doesn’t happen for us then something is missing in our Bible study. We shouldn’t view it as if we are cramming for a test. We aren’t competing to know more than everyone else. We are studying to know and love and worship God. Those inner things are produced in us through study but they are the expressed in prayer. What I come to know of God makes me love Him for what I know and how can I but help worshiping Him in prayer?
In verse 12 Paul says, “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Let us look at several Aspects of Approaching God.
We Can Approach God
First of all, we can approach God. The simple, yet profound truth is that we are allowed to approach Him. Not only so, but, we are invited to. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Then, in 7:25, “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through Him…” And in 10:22 it says, “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and full assurance of faith…” James 4:8 says, “Come near to God…”
There is a time when we were not allowed to. Paul spoke of this in chapter 2, “remember that at that time you were separate from Christ…” But then he says in verse 13, “now in Christ Jesus we who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”
Why Can We Approach God?
Secondly we should ask the question, “Why can we approach God?” How is it even possible? Don’t fly over this verse. Don’t miss the awesome truth Paul mentions. We can approach God. It begs the question: Why can we approach God?
Let me mention 2 reasons why we can approach God from what we’ve seen so far in Ephesians. We can approach God because we have been reconciled to Him. This is something Paul already started to address in the previous chapter. In 2:13 He said, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” Then in verse 16 he says “and in this one body [Jesus Christ’s body] to reconcile both of them to God through the cross.” Do you see yourself as someone who is reconciled with God? Reconciliation means that there is a change in your relationship with God. It means that God’s hostile stance towards you is gone. His anger towards you has been replaced with His peace and kindness. That’s why in 2:17 it says, “He came and preached peace…” That is God’s peace. That is the peace God now has with you. That is the peace that comes as a result of reconciliation.
And Reconciliation is the key that opens up the door for us to have access to God. A few verses later Paul makes that point when he says, “For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” Jesus is the One who reconciles us with God and Jesus is the One we must go through to approach God. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, the Life; no one goes to the Father but through Me.” We can approach God because we are reconciled to Him through Christ. Reconciliation is something that God initiated. God instigated it. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5 “All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Chrsit and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
We can approach God also because we have been raised up to Him. In 2:6 Paul says, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus”. The significance of this becomes clear when we realize this is based on Jesus Christ’s being raised up first. In 1:19 Paul said, “That power of God is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated him at His right Hand in the heavenly realms” Christ has been raised up into the heavenly realms and we have been raised up with Him. The reality is we are told we can approach God and should approach God and that is based on the reality that He has brought us to Himself. Paul said in 2:13, “You have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”
What is Jesus doing there? He is praying. He is approaching God the Father and interceding on our behalf. Romans 8:34 says, “Christ Jesus is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Hebrews 7:25 says, “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” What can we see here? We can see that God has raised us up in Christ and this for the purpose of our approaching Him in prayer.
How To Approach God
First of all, we approach God in Christ. Paul says, “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God”. He says “in Him” which is referring to Christ. And Paul says “through faith in Him” which is also referring to Christ. These two truths are related but worth distinguishing. They are related in that when you put your faith in Christ, God puts you in Christ. We are continually told that we are “in Christ”. In 1:1 Paul said, “to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus”. In 1:7 Paul says, “In Christ we have redemption and forgiveness of sins”. In 1:13 Paul says, “And you also were included in Christ”. In 2:6 he says, “And God raised us up with Christ seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” In 2:10 Paul says that we are God’s workmanship “created in Christ Jesus”. In 2:13 he says “But now in Christ Jesus you are brought near”. In 2:21, “In Him (Christ) the whole building is joined together”, and then in 22, “In Him you too are being built together”.
Over and over throughout the NT we are told we are “in Christ” as believers. The importance of this can be seen when we compare this truth to what we used to be “in”. In Ephesians 2:1 Paul says, “you were dead in your transgressions and sins”. In other words, before we came to Christ we were in our sins. Now that we have come to Christ we are no longer in our sins, but, we are in Him. This is referring to the union we have with Him and it is referring to who God associates us with when He sees us. He no longer associates us with our sins, but, with His Son.
Secondly, we should approach God in Confidence. Paul says we can approach God with “freedom” and with “confidence”. These are great and you’re going to love them. Let us examine them both.
Freedom is the Greek word “parresia”, and it means to have “freedom of speech”, or, “to be unreserved in speech”. Confidence is a Greek word, pepoithesis and it means to have a deep conviction about someone or something – so much so that you have no problem relying on them. It means to be so persuaded of their reliability that I am confident when I have to rely on them that they won’t let me down.
When you approach God with this kind of confidence and are persuaded that you can rely on Him then you come with no reservations when you pray to Him. It is someone who speaks boldly. There is no hesitancy, no reluctance, no fear, no doubt.
A wonderful example of this is found in children. We have all seen a child who is shy with a stranger but unafraid to ask mom and dad for things. Every time we sit down for dinner Evan wants everything on the table. He sees us put salt and pepper on our food and he says “Daddy some!” He sees us put sour cream on our food and he says “Mommy some?!” Whatever he wants he has no hesitation to ask. He sees me drinking coffee and he says “Some?!” Anything that comes to his mind he says it.
As a father I love this. I wouldn’t trade this. He has no reservations in asking things of me. He comes running up to me to tell me everything and to ask me things. It’s really only a relationship between a parent and child where you can find such unreservedness. That’s where freedom in speaking and asking flourish the most.
And that is what Paul says we can are supposed to approach God like. This is what the writer of Hebrews is talking about when he says, “Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence..”
The freedom with which you speak with God should be quite surprising to one who does not know God. Should they not ask, “Who are you that you might speak that way with God? Who are you that He might listen to you?” I am His child. He has adopted me and made me one of His own. He has given me the gift of His own Spirit and He has forgiven me all my sins.
God does not welcome prayers to Him by people who are not confident in His reliability. James 1:8 says that if anyone asks in doubt that man is double minded and should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Go for His will. First John 5:14 says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
Why Approach God?
Let me offer several reasons to close. By no means do these exhaust the list of reasons why we approach God.
To Worship. Hebrews 10:1 says, “For this reason, the Law can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”
For Wisdom. James 1:5 say, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
For Mercy, Grace, and Help. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Approaching God
How’s your prayer life? Why is your prayer life the way that it is (Good or bad)? Are you intentional about going to the Lord? Do you schedule time with Him regularly? Do you keep a list that you pray through? When you do pray what motivates you to do so?
Today we’re going to look at Approaching God. Praying is no small topic in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. There are 2 big Pauline prayers mentioned in it. The first one is in chapter 1 and the other is right here in chapter 3. Both of these prayers occur in the last half of their respective chapters. And both prayers come immediately after deep doctrinal discourse by Paul. Paul was motivated to pray when he thought of the deep things of God.
Paul makes other mentions of prayer as well. At the end of the letter in chapter 6 he tells the Ephesians that they should pray (READ). He also alludes to prayer in chapter 5:17 (know God’s will) and 5:20 (giving thanks). The difference here is that he instructs the Ephesians in prayer whereas in chapters 1 & 3 Paul is describing how he prays for them.
Why are these prayers important for us to have today? Let me answer that first by pointing out to you again that his prayer immediately follows his teaching on some magnificent doctrines.
(In chapter 3 we have seen the mystery in Christ where Jew and Gentile are brought together in the Church through faith in Christ. Over the last couple weeks we have seen the unsearchable riches of God’s wisdom in Christ as well as the Church as the exhibit of God’s manifold wisdom for all the angels to see. God’s secret throughout history has finally been revealed in Christ and in the Church.)
The picture here is that magnificent knowledge leads to magnificent praying. We need to know the magnificent things of God and that will lead to a more magnificent praying life. In other words, Paul’s kind of praying starts with Paul’s kind of theology. If we know the things in the first half of this chapter like Paul does, we will pray like Paul does in the 2nd half of this chapter.
I would suggest that today if we want to see our prayer life grow then don’t start with verse 12. Instead, start with verse 1 and work your way up to verse 12. Studying theology, discovering the knowledge of God will lead you to pray.
That’s an important point. Bible study should make us want to pray. If this doesn’t happen for us then something is missing in our Bible study. We shouldn’t view it as if we are cramming for a test. We aren’t competing to know more than everyone else. We are studying to know and love and worship God. Those inner things are produced in us through study but they are the expressed in prayer. What I come to know of God makes me love Him for what I know and how can I but help worshiping Him in prayer?
In verse 12 Paul says, “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Let us look at several Aspects of Approaching God.
We Can Approach God
First of all, we can approach God. The simple, yet profound truth is that we are allowed to approach Him. Not only so, but, we are invited to. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Then, in 7:25, “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through Him…” And in 10:22 it says, “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and full assurance of faith…” James 4:8 says, “Come near to God…”
There is a time when we were not allowed to. Paul spoke of this in chapter 2, “remember that at that time you were separate from Christ…” But then he says in verse 13, “now in Christ Jesus we who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”
Why Can We Approach God?
Secondly we should ask the question, “Why can we approach God?” How is it even possible? Don’t fly over this verse. Don’t miss the awesome truth Paul mentions. We can approach God. It begs the question: Why can we approach God?
Let me mention 2 reasons why we can approach God from what we’ve seen so far in Ephesians. We can approach God because we have been reconciled to Him. This is something Paul already started to address in the previous chapter. In 2:13 He said, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” Then in verse 16 he says “and in this one body [Jesus Christ’s body] to reconcile both of them to God through the cross.” Do you see yourself as someone who is reconciled with God? Reconciliation means that there is a change in your relationship with God. It means that God’s hostile stance towards you is gone. His anger towards you has been replaced with His peace and kindness. That’s why in 2:17 it says, “He came and preached peace…” That is God’s peace. That is the peace God now has with you. That is the peace that comes as a result of reconciliation.
And Reconciliation is the key that opens up the door for us to have access to God. A few verses later Paul makes that point when he says, “For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” Jesus is the One who reconciles us with God and Jesus is the One we must go through to approach God. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, the Life; no one goes to the Father but through Me.” We can approach God because we are reconciled to Him through Christ. Reconciliation is something that God initiated. God instigated it. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5 “All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Chrsit and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
We can approach God also because we have been raised up to Him. In 2:6 Paul says, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus”. The significance of this becomes clear when we realize this is based on Jesus Christ’s being raised up first. In 1:19 Paul said, “That power of God is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated him at His right Hand in the heavenly realms” Christ has been raised up into the heavenly realms and we have been raised up with Him. The reality is we are told we can approach God and should approach God and that is based on the reality that He has brought us to Himself. Paul said in 2:13, “You have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”
What is Jesus doing there? He is praying. He is approaching God the Father and interceding on our behalf. Romans 8:34 says, “Christ Jesus is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Hebrews 7:25 says, “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” What can we see here? We can see that God has raised us up in Christ and this for the purpose of our approaching Him in prayer.
How To Approach God
First of all, we approach God in Christ. Paul says, “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God”. He says “in Him” which is referring to Christ. And Paul says “through faith in Him” which is also referring to Christ. These two truths are related but worth distinguishing. They are related in that when you put your faith in Christ, God puts you in Christ. We are continually told that we are “in Christ”. In 1:1 Paul said, “to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus”. In 1:7 Paul says, “In Christ we have redemption and forgiveness of sins”. In 1:13 Paul says, “And you also were included in Christ”. In 2:6 he says, “And God raised us up with Christ seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” In 2:10 Paul says that we are God’s workmanship “created in Christ Jesus”. In 2:13 he says “But now in Christ Jesus you are brought near”. In 2:21, “In Him (Christ) the whole building is joined together”, and then in 22, “In Him you too are being built together”.
Over and over throughout the NT we are told we are “in Christ” as believers. The importance of this can be seen when we compare this truth to what we used to be “in”. In Ephesians 2:1 Paul says, “you were dead in your transgressions and sins”. In other words, before we came to Christ we were in our sins. Now that we have come to Christ we are no longer in our sins, but, we are in Him. This is referring to the union we have with Him and it is referring to who God associates us with when He sees us. He no longer associates us with our sins, but, with His Son.
Secondly, we should approach God in Confidence. Paul says we can approach God with “freedom” and with “confidence”. These are great and you’re going to love them. Let us examine them both.
Freedom is the Greek word “parresia”, and it means to have “freedom of speech”, or, “to be unreserved in speech”. Confidence is a Greek word, pepoithesis and it means to have a deep conviction about someone or something – so much so that you have no problem relying on them. It means to be so persuaded of their reliability that I am confident when I have to rely on them that they won’t let me down.
When you approach God with this kind of confidence and are persuaded that you can rely on Him then you come with no reservations when you pray to Him. It is someone who speaks boldly. There is no hesitancy, no reluctance, no fear, no doubt.
A wonderful example of this is found in children. We have all seen a child who is shy with a stranger but unafraid to ask mom and dad for things. Every time we sit down for dinner Evan wants everything on the table. He sees us put salt and pepper on our food and he says “Daddy some!” He sees us put sour cream on our food and he says “Mommy some?!” Whatever he wants he has no hesitation to ask. He sees me drinking coffee and he says “Some?!” Anything that comes to his mind he says it.
As a father I love this. I wouldn’t trade this. He has no reservations in asking things of me. He comes running up to me to tell me everything and to ask me things. It’s really only a relationship between a parent and child where you can find such unreservedness. That’s where freedom in speaking and asking flourish the most.
And that is what Paul says we can are supposed to approach God like. This is what the writer of Hebrews is talking about when he says, “Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence..”
The freedom with which you speak with God should be quite surprising to one who does not know God. Should they not ask, “Who are you that you might speak that way with God? Who are you that He might listen to you?” I am His child. He has adopted me and made me one of His own. He has given me the gift of His own Spirit and He has forgiven me all my sins.
God does not welcome prayers to Him by people who are not confident in His reliability. James 1:8 says that if anyone asks in doubt that man is double minded and should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Go for His will. First John 5:14 says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
Why Approach God?
Let me offer several reasons to close. By no means do these exhaust the list of reasons why we approach God.
To Worship. Hebrews 10:1 says, “For this reason, the Law can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”
For Wisdom. James 1:5 say, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
For Mercy, Grace, and Help. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
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