confidence through Christ

…in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Ephesians 3:12

Jesus provides a unique and very powerful new relationship with God. Through faith in Him, that is, by trusting in Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of our sins and deliverance from our deserved eternal punishment, we have a brand new amazing relationship. Yes… heaven is our ultimate home, but Paul emphasizes three important daily truths that give us full lives right now.

We have boldness. This kind of teaching would be unknown in an Old Testament Jewish view of God. The predominant method to approach God that we see in the OT before Jesus came was fear… a deep respect for a holy God. And though we do still respect that holiness, we do so with a new boldness, not because we have that “right” in and of ourselves, but because we come to God through Christ, Who has forgiven our sin, Who intercedes for us, Who has prepared a place for us in His Father’s house, and Whose holiness covers us giving us freedom to be bold in coming to God the Father.

We have access. Jesus is our means to relationship with God. He is the God-Man. He is the go-between. He is the Way. He is the Door by which we enter into fellowship with God by Christ’s work for us. Jesus is the road we walk, the truth we trust, and the passport that gains us full privileges as ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven. It is a privilege… the highest privilege… to be a child of God, loved by the Father, redeemed by the Son, empowered and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, in order to represent Jesus in this world!

We have confidence. We are led by the Spirit of God. We are saved by the Son of God. We are loved by God the Father and He treats us as brothers and sisters of Christ. We are in God’s family and He longs for us to love and know Him! Why should we ever doubt our Father’s love? Why should we fear any experience in this world? We can trust that no matter where we are, what we experience, or what we need, God loves us. God provides for us. God welcomes us. Boldly, with access through Jesus, we live confidently Christian!