Ephesians 2:18

Commentary on Ephesians 2:18

“For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.”

Historical and Literary Context

Ephesians 2[i] marks a pivotal transition from describing believers’ former deadness in sin to their new life in Christ. Verses 14–16 explain how Jesus, as our Peace, destroyed the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles and reconciled both groups into one body. Verse 18 then draws the inevitable conclusion: having been united in Christ, both groups now enjoy direct access to the Father through the one Holy Spirit.

Exegesis of Key Phrases

1. “Through Him”
   Refers explicitly to Jesus Christ, the sole Mediator whose atoning death and resurrection secured believers’ approach to God. Every reference to “Him” in Ephesians 2:17–18 points back to Christ’s reconciling work, emphasising that no one may enter God’s presence apart from the Son’s sacrifice.
2. “We both”
   The Greek adjective amphoteroi (both) denotes the totality of two groups—Jews and Gentiles—considered together as one entity. Paul reminds Gentile and Jewish Christians alike that they share equally in the benefits of Christ’s peace and unity.
3. “Have access”
   Translates the Greek noun prosagōgē, a technical term meaning “introduction to a royal presence.” In secular usage it denoted an audience with a king; here it signifies believers’ immediate right to stand before God the Father, a privilege purchased by Christ’s blood and ongoingly empowered by the Spirit.
4. “By one Spirit”
   Points to the Holy Spirit as the divine Agent who effects and sustains this access. Having broken down every barrier between divided peoples, God’s one Spirit now unites all believers and leads them into the Father’s presence as co-heirs in the new covenant community.
5. “To the Father”
   Shifts the emphasis from God as Creator or Judge to God as our loving Father. Throughout this century-old epistle, Paul unfolds the doctrine of the Trinity by showing how believers relate to each Person: we are chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and initiated into relationship by the Spirit.

Theological Significance

• The Triune God in Harmony: Verse 18 encapsulates the cooperative work of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Spirit—in salvation. The Son mediates, the Spirit unites and empowers, and the Father welcomes His children into intimate fellowship.
• Union with Christ: Christian theology emphasises that all spiritual blessings flow from our union with Christ. Because we are “in Him,” believers share in His resurrection power and priestly access, a doctrine elaborated elsewhere in Paul’s letters (cf. Romans 5:2; Ephesians 3:12).
• Effectual Calling: The “access” believers enjoy is not a mere offer but an actual privilege granted by divine initiative. The Spirit’s work in effectual calling brings spiritually dead sinners into living communion with God, underscoring salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
• Ecclesial Unity: Believers partake together of this access. The Spirit’s unity overrides ethnic, social and cultural divisions, exemplifying the church as the one holy temple and household of God (cf. Ephesians 2:19–22).

Application to Modern Christian Living

1. Confident Prayer: Since we have “access” to the Father, approach Him boldly in prayer, knowing it is not your merit that grants entry but Christ’s finished work and the Spirit’s intercession (Hebrews 10:19–22).
2. Foster Unity: Actively tear down walls of prejudice or indifference in your local church. Recognise every believer as a joint-heir with you in Christ, irrespective of background (Galatians 3:28; 1 Corinthians 12:13).
3. Dependence on the Spirit: Cultivate sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s guiding presence. He not only unites you to other believers but also empowers you to live in holiness and truth (John 14:6; Ephesians 3:12).
4. Embrace Fatherhood of God: Learn to call God “Father” with childlike trust. This familial intimacy should transform your worship, obedience and service, reflecting the warmth of divine relationship.

Central Teaching:
Ephesians 2:18 teaches that because Christ has reconciled Jews and Gentiles into one body, every believer—without exception—enjoys direct, ongoing access to God the Father, secured by the Son and mediated by the one Holy Spirit.

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[i] Ephesians 2

New King James Version

By Grace Through Faith

2 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the [a]course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Brought Near by His Blood

11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you 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. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Christ Our Peace

14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Christ Our Cornerstone

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Footnotes

Ephesians 2:2 Gr. aion, aeon