Grow With Pastor Joe

Not only must we remember and rejoice in our acceptance in Christ, armistice in Christ, but thirdly, our access in Christ. Eph. 2:18 tells us, “¹⁸ For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” There is no access to heaven or relationship with God outside of Jesus Christ. The Bible makes this plain in 1 Tim. 2:5, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” Jesus Himself makes this declaration in John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” I believe that one of the greatest dangers in the life of the believer is forgetting that we have constant access to God through Christ by the Holy Spirit. We have access to Him because we are accepted by Him and have an armistice with Him. Not only are we no longer unaccepted or at enmity with Him, but we now have access to commune with Him as a friend and son. Those in Christ were aliens who have now been accepted through the armistice in His blood and now have access to the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit. Our redemption and reconciliation are a work of the Triune God. His triunity works to provide us with our unity with and in Him. Eternally, each believer has access into the presence of the Father through the provision of the Son and by the power of the indwelling Spirit. Our wealth is having eternal access to God, but our walk is experiencing the access we have with God. We are to not only remember that we have union with Him but that we are to walk in communion with Him. Sin causes our hearts to forget that we have access to Him, or it causes us to hesitate in coming to Him. Our eternal acceptance and armistice enable our eternal access. Isaiah 57:15 gives us this comforting thought, “¹⁵ For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Although God is the King of the universe, He is a Father to the humble and contrite. He is our Father and because of that we have the privilege of continual access to Him. There is not one believer that can say that they can’t go to Him or that He drives us away. Our great issue is not that we don’t have access, it’s that we don’t walk as if we do. When we forget our wealth in Christ our walk suffers. The Father always invites us into His presence. Jesus the Son intercedes so we may have constant access (Heb. 7:18-28). The Holy Spirit instructs us to come and intercedes for us when we are struggling in prayer (Rom. 8:25-26). Just as a child rejoices over having instant access to the love of his father, so should the child of God. As we remember this access that we have been given to our heavenly Father through the Son and by the Spirit our hearts rejoice over this privilege. Are we forgetful of the access that we have? Take advantage of it. Walk in the wealth of your access to God through Christ by the Spirit. To not walk in the access of wealth that we’ve been given is to walk in unbelief or forgetfulness. The believer has much to rejoice over but we can especially rejoice that there is never a moment that the believer walks without access to God. His presence, provision, and power are only accessed by grace through faith. All that God is and desires to do for, in, and through us is accessible in Christ.

Lastly, we must remember and rejoice that we have association with Christ and His Church. Eph. 2:19-22 says, “¹⁹ Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; ²⁰ And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; ²¹ In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: ²² In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” As Paul is developing Ephesians, much of His doctrine and the application of it will be regarding the relationship of Christ and His Church. These verses are an immediate reminder that God saved us to belong to His Church (Body and Bride of Christ which will be further developed in Ephesians). In Eph. 2:11-22 we see the theme that our redemption and reconciliation is not just to Christ but with His people. We have a new association of belonging. We were strangers, aliens, and outsiders. Now, we are in Christ, included in His eternal plans and purposes to the praise of His glory. When we forget that we are associated to one another in Christ we don’t rejoice over the Church as Christ does. We need to remember what Jesus has saved us from and what Jesus has saved us for. The believer’s union is with and in Christ, yes, but also with His people. There is no such thing as being in union with Christ and not in union with His Church. A tell-tale sign if we are walking in communion with Christ is if we are walking in communion with His Church.

There are two major truths in these verses. One, we are fellow citizens in Christ. Each of us has the same spiritual passport, birth certificate, and social security card. There is no one in the Church of Christ that is more in union with Him than another. We all have different experiences of communion with Him but that is dependent upon our yielding to His word, work, and will in our life. As citizens of Heaven in Christ (Eph. 2:4-7) we have rights and responsibilities. The believer’s wealth in Christ is the believer’s rights and privileges that we have already discussed. The believer’s walk in Christ is their responsibility. Relationships determine and direct our responsibility. Just as a citizen of a country would have rights and responsibilities so too do we. The Church has no second-class citizens or members. The Kingdom of God doesn’t have second-class citizens, divisions, or classes. There are no rich, poor, or middle-class citizens in Christ. Everyone in Christ is rich beyond measure. The only difference is that not all chose to walk accordingly.

Secondly, we are a family. As a citizen works amongst other citizens for the greater good of the country, each member of the family brings something to the table for the betterment of the household. The Church who has been reconciled to Christ and with one another in Christ is now the household or family of God. The fatherless have a Father. The only child has siblings. The childless have spiritual children. We now have aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. We are a family and God has no neglected children. God has no abused children. God has no red-headed stepchildren that don’t get to play with the other kids. We belong to Him and one another. The foundation of the family is Jesus the cornerstone. Everything is built upon His word, work, and will. All things in Christ will and must align to Him or else the whole household will suffer. We struggle in our horizontal relationships with the brethren when we struggle in our vertical relationship to Him. In other words, when my life is not in alignment with Him then it won’t be in alignment to His people. The formation of the family is dependent upon God’s work of grace for, in, and through us. He has not only made us for Himself, but also for one another. We were designed to need Him and one another. You need the Church and the Church needs you. He has fit us perfectly together, although it doesn’t always feel that way. Our distinct personalities, preferences, and peculiarities make the Church beautiful. Only through Christ can the family grow together in Him and make something so united that seems so divided. We also see the function of the family. Each member of the household of God serves a purpose. There are no such things as believers without a purpose. His purpose for the family of God is that we would be united together in His presence, power, and purposes to the praise of His glory. We should rejoice that we belong to Him and one another. We should rejoice that He is ever at work in His Church. We should rejoice that He is present within the individual believer and the corporate body.

This passage begins and ends with the theme of the presence of God. When we remember that we were designed to walk in His presence then we can rejoice in the wealth that His presence has provided for us in Christ. The Christian life is one that is to not merely to be endured but enjoyed. It is a joy to be saved. It is a joy to belong to Christ. It is a joy to belong to His people. It is a joy to remember all that it means to be in Christ. As we continue to remember our wealth in Christ then we can continue to walk rejoicing in Him. Have you been accepted by Him? If so, then walk freely in His eternal acceptance. Do you have an armistice with Him? If so, then walk as His friend and not His foe. Enjoy the peace that is in Christ. Do you have access to God today? If so, then embrace and enjoy access to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit. Go to Him. Keep going to Him. Where is your association? To whom do you belong? If you belong to Him then you belong to His family. Embrace your responsibility and enjoy your rights as a child of God. Let us remember our wealth in Christ and rejoice in it. Let us remember what it means to walk in Christ and rejoice in it.

Grow with me as we study the believer’s wealth and walk in Christ.

Grow deeper.

Grow higher.

Grow wider.