Ron Dunn Podcast - The Spirit Of Access

Episode Date: November 30, 2022

Ron Dunn continues in his series from Ephesians. This week he discusses the Spirit of Access.

As Paul writes to these Ephesian Christians, he is thinking back of their condition before they were saved, and then reliving for them how they came into this position of salvation and what it means to them today. Ephesians 2, beginning with verse 12. That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained

in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereof by, and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." Verse 18 is the verse that we want to deal with tonight because it is the climax of all that the apostle has been saying. And as you go through this second chapter, you realize that he is laying step by step the process of salvation.

He starts back even in the first verses of that second chapter with their pre-salvation condition, their being dead in sins and trespasses. And bit by bit he has been showing how God has laid the groundwork in bringing them to himself. And then the ultimate, or the mountain peak, the climax of all of it is reached in this eighteenth verse. And really in verse 18, you have, in a nutshell, what it means to be a Christian and what the Christian life really is all about. For through him, that is through Jesus Christ, we both, speaking of Jews and Gentiles,

we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now, the emphasis in that verse is that we have access to the Father. The culmination of all that God has planned for us, of all that Jesus purchased for us, and all that the Holy Spirit is perfecting in us, is that you and I, all of us together, might have access unto the Father. That's the goal. That's the climax. And once you understand exactly what that phrase and that verse means, you will understand that having said that, you can really say no more about salvation, that everything else you say about salvation really draws from that one

statement. For through Jesus Christ, all of us, it makes no difference what our race is, our backgrounds are, but all of us have access in one spirit unto the Father. Now that word access, as I said, is the important part of that verse. This is the status of the Christian. He has access. This word is used also in Romans chapter 5 in the second verse after Paul then has brought these people through the process of the salvation again and has shown them that we're justified by faith. He says a result of being justified by faith is that not only do we have peace with God, but we have access into this grace wherein we stand. And so there again, in the fifth chapter of Romans, Paul is pointing out that the culmination of all our salvation is that you and

I have access. Now, what does it mean to have access? This is a rich and picturesque word, and it was used and is used five different ways in the Greek language. I want to share with you four or five of these, maybe five of the five, and then come back to one that is preeminently predominant in this particular verse. Number one, this word means to be brought or to be introduced into the presence of a king. A second meaning is it is the entrance of a harbor. And, of course, the picture behind it is a ship that has been on a troubled sea, and it sees the harbor.

There is safety, and there is peace. And so access is finally coming to the entrance to that harbor. It reminds you perhaps of Isaiah 57 and verse 20, where it says that the wicked are like a troubled sea. When we have access, that's like coming into a calm and serene and secure harbor. It was used as an entrance to a harbor. Another rich meaning of this word was that it was a landing stage into a country with unlimited resources. And the picture there, of course, is a country that is inaccessible, but if you could just somehow get into that country, the resources of that country are unlimited. And it reminds me of the people of Israel wanting to get into Canaan, that land

flowing with milk and honey. We have access, he says, by one Spirit through Jesus Christ now into a country with unlimited resources. A fourth usage of this word, and I thought about our own country when I thought about this, was an addition to revenues. Here is a country that's really just not taking in enough and needs some additional revenues, and they see a way of doing it. Now they have access. And the access is the way they discover to add to their revenues. Wouldn't you like to find that access tonight?

Another way, another usage of this word, and this is one of the richest meanings of the word, the means of carrying a heavy load. The means of carrying a heavy load. The means of carrying a heavy load. Through Jesus Christ, all of us now have the means of carrying a heavy load in one spirit unto the Father. Now I want to go back to the first one because it is the one, as I said, that is predominantly meant in this particular verse. An introduction to a king.

The word simply means to take someone, to lead them by the hand, and to introduce them to the king. It means that I have freedom of entry through the help or the favor of someone else into the presence of a king. Now, I cannot by myself, because of my own favor or my own merit, enter into his presence, but someone else has come, and through their help or through their favor position, they have brought me into this. One translation uses the French word entree to translate this word access. We have entree into the presence of God. It's like carte blanche. You just have freedom to move into the presence of God.

And there you find unlimited resources. Now, you'll notice the Trinity is involved in this. Through him, that is through Jesus Christ, we both have access in one spirit unto the Father. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, all engaged, all working together to do what? To bring you and me into position where we have access into all the riches of God. And as I was studying this, I again was impressed with the marvelous balance of the Word of

God. You know, the only time you and I get out of balance in our Christian life or in our emphasis of teaching and preaching is when we get away from the Word of God. The Bible never gets out of balance. You have all three members of the Godhead in perfect unity and balance, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. And you know, there are some that will major on the Son to the neglect of the Holy Spirit. And they won't even talk about the Holy Spirit. And they'll not even mention the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

And they emphasize the Son to the neglect of the Holy Spirit. And then we have some who emphasize the Holy Spirit to the neglect of the Son. And they lose sight of Jesus. And all they talk about and all they think about is the Holy Spirit. And then there are some who maybe get caught up with the Holy Spirit or get caught up with Jesus, and they forget about the goal of the whole thing. The only reason Jesus died and the only reason the Holy Spirit indwells us is that we might have access unto the Father. And this is the goal of our salvation, is that we might be brought into the presence

of God. And it is possible for us to get so taken up with, and this is almost irreverent to say it because I'm not too certain that you can get too taken up with Jesus, but you can get so taken up with some aspects of the Christian faith that you lose sight and you forget the object of the whole thing. The reason Jesus died and the reason the Holy Spirit has come and ministered in us

is that we might be brought into the presence of the Heavenly Father. That is the goal of our salvation. That is the end of all experience. And every Christian experience must always bring you to that point of being brought into a personal enrichment and fellowship with God the Father. And that's the whole purpose of salvation, this access.

Now we want to say several things about this matter of access. First of all, the object of this access is that we might be in the presence of the Father. You'll notice there are three prepositions in verse 18. And the key to understanding this verse is in those three prepositions. Through Christ, in one spirit, unto the Father. And the word preposition unto denotes goal or destination. And so the goal and the object of all that Christ and the Holy Spirit has done, is doing, will ever do,

is to bring us into a saving relationship and a sustaining relationship and a satisfying relationship with God the Father. He is the object. He is the object. In 1 Peter 3, verse 18,

it says that Christ suffered the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. Now, the object of all of this is not a new experience, and it's not any of the suburbs of truth that we so often get lost in. The object of it is that we might come to know him as our Father. And this is a face-to-face relationship. The little preposition that Paul uses

is a little preposition that means face-to-face. And it means the most intimate relationship that one person can have with another person in this fellowship with God and fellowship with Jesus. As a matter of fact, it's the same word that is used to describe the relationship that Jesus has with God. In John 1, 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was with God, face-to-face with God.

And it indicates there a close fellowship. In other words, Jesus had such a unique relationship with God that he was face-to-face with him. That's how close was the relationship. And this relationship that the Holy Spirit, through the death of Jesus, wants to bring us into is a relationship that is so close and so intimate that it's a face-to-face relationship. And I submit to you that it's only through the death of Jesus Christ and only by the Holy Spirit that any man could ever stand being face to face with God. Jesus said, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

And it is only the pure in heart who is going to be able to see God. Every man someday is going to stand before God in the presence of God, but only those who are pure in heart will be able to have that fellowship, that face to face fellowship with God. For all others who will meet God, it will be able to have that fellowship, that face-to-face fellowship with God. For all others who will meet God, it will be a time of fear and horror because they have not come through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. But it's also a father-son relationship. Now, if you'll study this second chapter, you'll see that up until this time, he has been using the word or the title God to describe the Lord.

But now when he comes to verse 18, talking about our access, he now changes titles, and that's no accident. Now he doesn't say that we have access unto God, but he says we have access unto the Father. And what this simply means is that Jesus Christ has brought us into the same relationship with God as Jesus Christ had with him. And if you go back and remember the words of Jesus, you'll remember that he was constantly emphasizing this. You see, it's one thing to have access to God, but it's another thing to have access to a God who is your Father. Because then you're moving into the presence of one who loves you and one who is committed to caring for you and meeting all your needs. And

Jesus is simply trying to get us to see that the same relationship that he uniquely has with God, he is bringing us into that same relationship same relationship that he uniquely has with God, he is bringing us into that same relationship. So he said in Matthew chapter 6, this is how to pray. When you pray, say, Our Father. Now, there's really nothing wrong with praying to Jesus, but the Bible doesn't teach us to. And there's really nothing wrong, I would say, in praying to the Holy Spirit,

but the Bible doesn't teach us to. There's no jealousy in the Godhead, but Jesus always taught us to pray to the Father. And if you'll go back and check out Paul the Apostle's prayers in Ephesians and Colossians and Philippians and Thessalonians, you'll see that he is always praying to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus said, If you shall ask the Father in my name. And strictly speaking, our prayer is to be to the Father in the name of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. Because prayer is simply a child

coming to a Heavenly Father and saying, Father, I have this need and I have this hurt and I have this ache. And he as a father will minister to that need and meet that need. And so the object of our access is that you and I might come into a personal, close relationship with the Heavenly Father.

All right? Second, the origin of this access is through Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Christ. I keep getting asked over and over again this question. Can a lost person have any kind of access to God? Will God hear the prayers of a lost person? Can a lost person pray and say, Our Father, and God hear him as his Father?

Can a lost person have any access at all to God? And of course the answer to the scripture is, emphatically, no. Now he does have a relationship to God, and God as Creator and God as Provider will provide for that man. He causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust, but the lost man has no access to God. God has access to him. But the lost man has no access to God. God has access to him. But the lost man has no access to God. It is through the death of Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit that we have access to the Heavenly Father. I had an unsaved man contradict me one time as we were talking. He said, no, you're wrong.

He said, I was in the hospital, and he said I was seriously ill, and I told the Lord that if he would get me well and get me was in the hospital, and he said I was seriously ill, and I told the Lord that if he would get me well and get me out of that hospital, that I would start going to church and I'd be saved and live a good life. I didn't have to ask him if he'd kept his word, kept his part of the bargain, because the obvious answer was no, he had not. And I said, you have mistaken answered prayer for the mercy of God. You didn't pull the wool over God's eyes.

I don't know where you got the idea that you fooled God, and he thought you were going to keep your end of the bargain, and so he heard your prayer. But God is a God of mercy who, even the Bible says, will feed the sparrows and will clothe the lilies of the field. And don't misunderstand the mercy of God for an answered prayer. God just had mercy on you. And besides, you don't know there may have been some Christian that was praying for you too.

The origin of our access to God the Father is Jesus Christ by the death that he died. And if you'll check back in those verses 12, 13, 14, 15 and following, you'll find that three different times he speaks about the death of Jesus Christ. He speaks about his blood being shed, his flesh being broken, and his cross wiping out the curse that was against us. And when Jesus died on the cross, he did two things. First of all, he removed the barriers that were standing between us and God.

He abolished the law and the ordinances that was against us. You see, there's a reason tonight that you, outside of Jesus Christ, cannot have access to God and call him your father. And the reason is there is a brick wall between you and the Father, and that brick wall is his law which you have broken. Which you have broken on purpose and by accident and by inability, just sheer inability, to keep it. The Bible says in Romans chapter 8 that what the law could not do in that it was weak through

the flesh. If I even wanted to keep the law, I could not do it. If I had the desire, I still could not do it. Because why? The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. And so there is a barrier that stands between man and God. And man may not see this barrier, but God sees it. Because why? The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. And so there is a barrier that stands between man and God. And man may not see this barrier, but God sees it. And when Jesus died on the cross, he took it out of the way. He abolished the enmity, not only between Jew and

Gentile, because the enmity that was between Jew and Gentile was really this barrier that is between man and God. So when Jesus died on the cross, first of all, he removed all the barriers, the sin, the broken law. But the second thing he did was he reconciled us to God. He reconciled us to God. In verse 16, it says, and that he might reconcile both unto God

in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. Now, I want you to notice something. It doesn't say that God was reconciled unto us. I've heard some men say that God was reconciled unto us. The Bible never says that God was reconciled unto man. It always says that God reconciled man unto himself. You see, it wasn't God who went away.

It wasn't God who rebelled. It wasn't God who went away. It wasn't God who rebelled. It wasn't God who sinned. It was man. God does not need to be reconciled to man because God has never stopped loving man. God has never stopped being faithful to man. Someone said, if God seems far away, guess who moves? It wasn't God it was you and when Jesus died on the cross because he was the God man all man and all God God and man met in Jesus Christ you see God and man couldn't meet

God and man couldn't meet because there was a barrier the sin barrier but in Jesus Christ he was God and he was man so in the person of Jesus Christ God and man met. And so when Jesus died on the cross,

he offered up himself as a sacrifice. And when he did that, man was reconciled to God because Jesus removed the only barrier. And through him, we have access. Jesus just didn't open the way, but he took us by the hand and he led us and introduced us to Jesus. And you know what salvation is? When a fellow

walks down this aisle, a boy or girl, and comes and takes Jesus Christ as their Savior, you know what happens? You don't see it happen? I imagine the person is not even aware of what is happening. But this really is the skeleton of salvation. When that person embraces Jesus Christ in saving faith, Jesus takes that person by the hand and introduces him to the Father and says, Father, this is so-and-so. He has just trusted me today. By the way, that's what it means in Matthew 10 when Jesus said, If you confess me before men, I also confess before my Father which is in heaven. And I have an idea. It happens like this. Down here on earth, somebody stands up and says, Jesus is my Savior.

And Jesus at that moment stands face to face with the Father and says his name and says, This person has trusted me. And as I confess Jesus in salvation before men, the Lord Jesus Christ confesses my name before the Father. He introduces me to Jesus. This is why the Bible says, The Lord knoweth them that are his. You see, we talk about our knowing the Lord, and that's important, but what's more important is the Lord knowing us. And it takes both. And so Paul, writing to Timothy, said,

The foundation of the Lord is sure and standeth, for the Lord knoweth them that are his. I'm glad he does. I sure don't know some of them that are his. Now, if it's up to me to distinguish between, I might throw out some of the good with the bad. But the Lord knoweth them that are his. By the death that he died,

by the life that he's now living, I have access through Jesus Christ. And what Jesus is doing right now is simply standing in the presence of the Father, face to face with the Father, confessing my name, pleading for me, interceding for me. And so John says in 1 John 2, 2, that any time I sin, Jesus Christ is right there, the same preposition again, face to face with the Father, and he is my what? My advocate. He's my heavenly lawyer, and he is representing me before the Father. And every time I sin, you say, why aren't you lost again?

Why don't you lose your salvation when you sin? Because Jesus is still standing in the presence of the Father tonight, and when I sin, he confesses my name again before the Father and says, because of my blood, he's forgiven. And so I have access tonight through the death that Jesus Christ died. By removing the barrier

and by bringing him in the presence of God, I have access tonight because of the life that he lives. And so Hebrews 7.25 says, he ever liveth, he ever liveth to make intercession for us. Now, one final thing. What is the operation of this access? In other words, how does it work? Jesus has died. The Father is waiting. Now, where is the dynamic? Where is the energy? What brings

it all together? How does this access come into operation? The operation of this access is in the Spirit. It is in the Spirit. And there is, as I said earlier, perfect unity and perfect harmony between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God the Father is the object. God the Son is the origin.

And God the Holy Spirit ties it all together and brings it into operation. He provides the power, the dynamic, for us moving in to what Jesus Christ has brought for us on the cross. Now just two things about the operation of the Holy Spirit. The little preposition, in, and as I said earlier, the whole verse hinges on those three prepositions, and as I said earlier, the whole verse hinges on those three prepositions, means two things. Number one, it means by the means of, by means of. How do I come into the presence of the Father? By means of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives me the desire

to want to come into the presence of God. He provides the desire. He prompts the desire. Have you ever been standing in the kitchen washing dishes, and all of a sudden you had a desire to pray? Have you ever felt an impulse, an impression, a pulling to stop what you are doing and pray? Have you ever all of a sudden just had a hunger, a thirst to pray, to read the Word? That's the Holy Spirit prompting in us the desire. Moses had a burning bush that caught his attention, pulled him aside from his everyday work and brought him into the presence of God. You and I have a burning bush indwelling us, and that's the Holy Spirit. And when the Father has something he wants to do for us or in us or through us,

the Holy Spirit prompts the desire in us to come into the presence of God. That's why anytime you feel like praying, you ought to pray, because the Holy Spirit is originating in you and operating in you a petition that's going to be according to the will of God. God wants to do something. And then as you respond to that desire, then he provides the dynamic, the power, the energy to bring you into the presence of God and to bring out that petition that is within you. And so we come into the presence of God by the means of the Holy Spirit. But there is another thing this word means.

It means in communion with the Holy Spirit. In communion with the Holy Spirit. And perhaps this is the most important aspect. Jesus Christ died to give me access into the unlimited resources of the Father. He lives right now to guarantee that access and to keep the way always open. The way will never be closed. The door will never be shut because Jesus lives to keep the way open. The Heavenly Father is waiting. The Holy Spirit is available, wanting to give us the desire and the dynamic to bring us into God's presence, to fellowship, to receive help. What's waiting?

He does it as we are in communion with him. As we are in communion with him, as we are in communion with him. In other words, as I order my life, as I order my life under his control, under his leadership, as I make certain that there is no sin grieving him, no rebellion quenching him, but that he has full sway within my life, then I am living in communion with the Holy Spirit. And as I live in communion with the Holy Spirit, he is constantly, constantly bringing me into the very presence of the Heavenly Father. And I'm not talking now about shutting yourself up somewhere and getting on your knees and praying. I'm talking about driving down the highway, sitting in the class, doing housework.

As you are in communion and fellowship of the Holy Spirit. He is bringing you constantly, continually into the presence of the Heavenly Father. This is why everything a Christian does in his everyday life can be worshiped. A man said to me some time ago, I wish I could go to church every day so I could worship God and serve the Lord. I said, What you don't realize is that if you are living under the Lordship of Jesus and living in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, in communion with him, and you are walking in the Holy Spirit, when you sell a tire and put it on the car, you are serving Jesus and you are worshiping him.

When a housewife vacuums the rug but she is living under the Lordship of Jesus and is living in communion with the Holy Spirit, she is in the presence of the Father. And she is worshiping and she is serving. That's why the Apostle Paul says, Whatsoever ye do, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, what did he mean by that? Whatever you do, Paul says, whether you eat or whether you drink, do all for the glory of God. What you mean is sitting down tomorrow and eating all that low-calorie food on Thanksgiving? That eating and drinking is worship?

That's right. Whatever you do, whatever you do. And some of the most basic activities of life, eating and drinking. And anything that you do, do it all for the glory of God. You see, if you can do it for the glory of God, if God can be glorified, now some of you may eat in such a way tomorrow God can get no glory whatsoever out of it. But if the way in which you eat tomorrow glorifies God, and everything you do, you do it in such a way as to glorify, please satisfy the demands of a holy God. As you do that, you're doing it in the name of Jesus.

That simply means you are worshiping Jesus and serving him as you do it. A Christian is someone who has access to the Father. It's what one brother said a while ago, it really doesn't matter. I know the Lord. I know the Lord. That's something they cannot say. I have access.

And really, when I have access, I have a door open to unlimited resources and the King of all the earth. I have freedom to move into his presence. And he's a Father who watches over me and meets my needs. Thank you for listening to this message by Ron Dunn. Ron Dunn's messages are for personal edification, not to be duplicated, uploaded to the web, or resold without prior written permission. The Ron Dunn Audio Library is managed by Sherwood Baptist Church.

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