The Access We Could Never Have

Reflection

I think most of us have experienced places and people that we simply don't have access to. There are certain doors we cannot walk through, offices we cannot enter, and people we cannot simply approach whenever we want. If I wanted to see the leader of my country, I couldn't just walk up to the door, knock, and expect someone to let me in. There are barriers, security, and people whose responsibility is to determine who is allowed access. Being nearby doesn't mean I have the right to enter.

Being religious doesn't give us access to the Father—Jesus does.

That made me think about our relationship with God.

There was a time when we were far from Him. Not simply physically far away, but separated from Him because of sin. We couldn't work our way into His presence by being good enough, religious enough, or knowledgeable enough. There was a separation that we could not remove ourselves.

When Paul spoke to the people on Mars Hill in Acts 17, he encountered people who were very religious. They had their altars, their philosophies, and even an altar dedicated to the unknown God. They were reaching out in their own way, trying to understand the divine, but their religious efforts had not brought them into a true relationship with the God who created them. They had an altar, but they didn't know the One to whom the altar was supposed to point.

And perhaps there is something familiar about that.

Human beings have always tried to find ways to reach God. We create our own ideas about who He is, what He requires, and how we can become acceptable to Him. We may think that if we do enough good things, attend enough services, say enough prayers, or become religious enough, somehow we will get close enough to God.

But being religious doesn't give us access to the Father.

Jesus does.

That is what makes Ephesians 2:18 so beautiful. Paul doesn't say that we have access because we finally figured out how to reach God. He says, "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." Our access is through Christ.

Think about how extraordinary that is.

The God who created everything is not someone we have to spend our lives trying to find a way to approach. Through Jesus Christ, we are given access to the Father. The One who was far away has been brought near, not because we discovered the right path on our own, but because Christ made the way for us.

Jesus explained this in John 10 when He called Himself the door. He said, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." He didn't describe Himself as one possible entrance among many. He presented Himself as the door.

That matters because Christianity isn't simply another attempt by humanity to find God. It is the message that God came to us.

We couldn't climb high enough to reach Him, so Christ came down to us. We couldn't remove the separation caused by our sin, so Christ dealt with our sin. We couldn't make ourselves righteous enough to stand before a holy God, so Christ became our righteousness.

A Bold Confidence in Prayer

And that changes the way I think about prayer. Sometimes I can approach prayer as though I am trying to get God's attention, almost as if I am standing outside the door hoping someone will notice me. But Ephesians reminds me that through Christ, I already have access to the Father.

I don't have to wonder whether I'm allowed to come.

I don't have to find the right person to introduce me.

I don't have to present a list of accomplishments before I am permitted to speak with Him.

Through Jesus Christ, I have access.

That doesn't mean we approach God carelessly or without reverence. He is still holy, glorious, and worthy of our worship. But we don't have to approach Him as strangers trying to gain entrance. Through Christ, we have been brought near.

And perhaps that is something we need to remember when we feel distant from God.

Our feelings can tell us that God is far away. Our circumstances can make us wonder if He hears us. Our failures can make us feel unworthy to approach Him. We may even look at our own lives and think, Why would God want to hear from me?

But our access to God does not depend upon how worthy we feel.

It depends upon Christ.

That is why the Gospel is so much greater than simply being told to believe in God. Jesus didn't merely come to give us better religious instruction. He came to reconcile us to the Father and bring us near.

We don't have to build our own altar like the people Paul encountered at Mars Hill. We don't have to invent our own way to God. We don't have to spend our lives searching for an entrance that doesn't exist.

Jesus is the door.

And through Him, we have access to the Father.

You don't have to earn your way in—
Christ is the door.

Before You Go

There is something remarkable about having access to someone who would otherwise be completely beyond our reach. We understand this in ordinary life. There are people we cannot simply walk up to, places we cannot enter without permission, and doors that remain closed to us because we do not have the authority or relationship required to pass through them. Yet the God who is infinitely greater than any earthly authority has opened the way for us to come to Him.

That is not a small privilege.

We were not naturally close to God. Sin created a separation that we could never overcome through our own efforts. We could create religions, build altars, develop philosophies, perform good works, and search for answers, but none of those things could remove the separation between sinful humanity and a holy God. We needed more than a better attempt at religion. We needed a Savior.

And God provided one in Jesus Christ.

Jesus did what we could never do for ourselves. He bore our sins, died in our place, and rose again so that those who believe in Him could be reconciled to God. The access we have isn't because God lowered His standard of holiness or decided that our sin didn't matter. It is because Jesus paid the price that we could never pay and opened the way for us to come near.

Coming Before the Father

So when you pray, remember what you are being given.

You are not speaking into an empty sky, hoping some distant God might hear you. You are coming before the Father through Jesus Christ. When you need wisdom, you can come. When you are afraid, you can come. When you have sinned and need forgiveness, you can come. When you are thankful, you can come. When you don't know what to say, you can still come.

You don't have to stand outside the door wondering if you are permitted to enter.

The door has been opened through Christ.

And this is why Jesus' words in John 10 are so important. He doesn't merely point us toward the door. He tells us that He is the door. There is no need for us to construct another entrance, invent another path, or try to make ourselves worthy enough to gain access. Christ has already made the way.

So don't take this access for granted. The next time you bow your head to pray, stop for a moment and consider what you are actually doing. You are approaching the Father, the Creator of heaven and earth, the holy God who was once far beyond your reach, and you are able to come because Jesus Christ has brought you near.

What an incredible gift.

You don't have to search for another way.

Through Christ, you have access to the Father.