Ephesians 3:12
“In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.”
Focus Thought
We all have full access to God. However, full access does not equal free reign. God has always had a pattern, He has always had a plan, and His People have always had to follow the pattern to gain the full access He has promised.
The Next Step
Locked out. We’ve all been there…some of us more than others. Whether it is our car, our house, our computer, or all of the above, there’s nothing like the sinking feeling that comes when the very object we use as an access point becomes an impassible barrier, standing between where we are and where we desire to be. In a world of locks and keys and secret passwords and in a society that highly values privacy, being locked out is a common phenomenon.
It’s with this mindset that we look at Ephesians 3:12:
“In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.”
Paul writes that we have access to God. Total, complete access. But go back two words…actually four words…yes, right there.
We have boldness.
Boldness.
It’s not a word we use very often. In fact, in today’s context, when we think of someone who is bold we think of someone who goes against the grain of society. Someone who is loud. Someone who is outspoken, unchallengeable, unwilling to back down. But the word “boldness”, as Paul defines it, is better translated as “confidence.” We can approach God freely and with confidence. We don’t have to fumble around checking our pockets for the ever-illusive key in order to get in with God. But before we go overboard with that idea, we need to realize that “full access” does not mean “free reign.”
There is a difference between boldness and belligerence.
Boldness says, “I am confident.” Belligerence says, ” I’m better than you.” Boldness says, “I live life to fullest without pushing the envelope.” Beligerence says, “Your rules don’t apply to me.” Boldness says, “I color with a passion, but stay inside the lines.” Beligerence says, “My passion for coloring is better than the lines.”
No matter who we are in Christ, no matter what He has done for us, no matter how wide He has opened the door, and no matter how loudly He calls for us to come, He is God and that realization should affect how we approach Him.
There are some lines we have to stay within.
From the beginning of time, and even really before that, God has always been a God of details. He has always had a pattern, He has always had a plan, and He has always required that His People stick to that plan.
Probably the best example of someone with full access to God is the High Priest of Old Testament times. Generation after generation, the man occupying the office of High Priest would be the only person to feel the Presence of God. He had full access, but he didn’t have free reign. There were still some ground rules, some lines that the colors of his life could never cross. And those ground rules still apply to us today.
The Gate
The priest would start his journey to the Presence of God at the main gate of the Tabernacle. It was the only entry way into the Jewish place of worship. He couldn’t climb over the linen walls that surrounded the outer court. He couldn’t burrow under them. The only accepted way of access was through the door. For us, the only acceptable way to God is through Jesus, the One who called Himself “…the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)
The Altar
The priest’s next stop was the Brazen Altar–a short, stout, altar made of, you guessed it, brass. It was here that the priest would make a sacrifice for the sins of his people. For us, the Brazen Altar is the place where we take the tangled mess of our lives, we slice it and dice it and throw it onto the altar, telling God to burn it, to consume it, to take it and to do whatever He wants to do with it. It’s bloody. It’s messy. And as we dig deeper and deeper into our past acts it begins to stink. And then with bloodied hands covered with the residue of our sin, we walk with the priest to his next stop.
The Water
We find the High Priest standing at the edge of the Brazen Laver, a large bowl-shaped piece of furniture that is filled to the brim with water. And as we watch, the priest reaches down and washes off the residue of his sacrifice. The smell of flesh disappears and the blood on his hands runs off into the basin. The Brazen Laver is where we wash off the residue of our life before Christ. It is where we wash our sins away. That’s why Ananias told Paul, “And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16) We are baptized at the basin. Washed and made clean. It’s more than a rite or a ritual. It’s more than a way to join the church. It’s where we wash our sins away.
The Lamp
The priest then steps into the Holy Place, the first of two rooms in the Tabernacle. He could have felt privileged to have gotten this far. He was stepping into territory that no one outside of himself and his predecessors had ever seen. He could have stopped having more than most. But it wouldn’t have been enough. Not for him.
Before the priest went anywhere else, he would stop and tend to the Golden Candlestick, the Menorah. He would top off its oil, he would trim the lamp, and anything else that was needed to care for that piece of furniture. The ground rule was that the light was to never go out.
The Menorah was the light of the Tabernacle. It was fueled by oil and oil in Scripture always represents the Spirit of God. Everything that the priest did was illuminated by the light of that candlestick. Before he did anything else, he took hold of the candlestick and tended to it. We also need to be able to take a hold of truth, the revelatory truth of God, and tend to it, to preserve it, to do whatever is necessary to keep it from going out. Yes, there is still only one God. Yes, there is still Divine Healing. Yes, God is still Holy and He requires the same of His People. These are the truths that we cling to and do whatever is necessary to preserve them and to never, ever let the light go out.
Not only did the light never go out, but the Menorah lit every portion and every part of the Holy Place. It illuminated the priest as he went to the Table of Shewbread and ate. It illuminated the priest as he went to the Altar of Incense and worshiped. And like the priest it is our responsibility to let God’s revealed truth shine in every aspect of our lives. Not just on Sunday, but every day.
The Table
After tending to the Golden Candlestick, the priest would go to the Table of Shewbread. On this table was special bread that was only for the priests. It was bitter to the initial taste, but also sweet and sustaining. The shewbread is the Word of God. And like shewbread, the Word is bitter to the taste because it convicts, but it is sweet in that it sustains. It was also illuminated by the Menorah. And just like the priest with the shewbread, when we partake of the Word of God it has to be illuminated by God’s Spirit, the light of revelation. It’s not enough to sit and to mindlessly read your Bible. It requires an attitude that says, “God reveal Your truth to me. God, reveal Yourself to me. Illuminate the words I read.”
The Incense
The last step before full access was the Altar of Incense. Incense represents prayer, praise, and, on a deeper level, worship. Worship is the gateway to God’s Presence. For the priest, worship was mandatory. It didn’t matter how bad his day was. It didn’t matter how tired he was. It didn’t matter if “his song” was played in the worship service. All that mattered was that he needed to get into the Presence of God. And just like the shewbread, the altar of incense was illuminated by the Menorah.
Let me say that again: The altar of incense was illuminated by the Menorah.
It is impossible to worship without revelation. You can’t worship if you don’t know Who you’re worshiping. You can praise. You can enter His Presence. But intimacy, the key ingredient of worship, cannot happen without revelation.
The Process
It didn’t matter if the priest “felt like” doing any of this. It was required. He couldn’t say, “That baptism stuff really isn’t necessary.” He couldn’t say, “I really don’t feel like getting my hands dirty with that sacrifice.” He couldn’t say, “No shewbread for me. I had a big lunch.” It didn’t matter how he felt. His preferences had no bearing on what he had to do. But after all of that, the priest was then ushered into the Presence of God. He had full access. He was able to experience something that no one else in his lifetime would be able to experience. He saw it as precious, as sacred, as something that needed to be protected and safe-guarded. We have access to the same experience. We have access to God through the cross, but are we willing to go the distance? Do we view the Presence of God like the priest did? Do we see it as something sacred, something that needs to be cherished? Or do we take it for granted and only do what we want to do when we want to do it?
With that in mind, here are some things to do this week:
1. Reflect
During the Middle Ages, what some call the Age of Workarounds, a false legend originated about the High Priests. It said that they would tie a rope around their ankles in case they died because of entering God’s Presence with sin in their life. The idea was that if he died, others outside could pull the body out using the rope. It makes sense that this idea would emerge during a time known for workarounds and compromise. It’s much easier to just tie a rope around your ankle than it is to go through the effort of doing things right. It sounds silly to us, but how many times do we do that in our own lives? How much time do we spend looking for workarounds, looking for the escape hatch, looking for the loophole, looking for the rope to tie around our ankles…just in case? Is that how you make your approach to God? How haphazard are you in His Presence?
2. Reflect Again
God was very specific in His Pattern for the Tabernacle. He was very specific all throughout the Old Testament. He was very specific even while He walked upon this earth. Why should He change now? Does your life meet the pattern? Have you put your faith in Christ? Have you been to the altar of repentance? Have you been baptized in Jesus’ Name and washed your sins away? Have you allowed God’s Spirit to shine in your life? Do you spend time in God’s Word? Do you worship or just ride on everyone else’s praise? Does your life fit the pattern?
3. Reflect Yet Again
Moving beyond the Tabernacle, salvation, and living right, does your life fit the pattern God has designed for your life? Are you willing to go and do whatever He asks, no matter how inconvenient it may seem? Do you have a calling? Do you have a purpose you are striving toward? Does your life line up with God’s Master Plan for you? If not, where do you need to make adjustments in your life to better align yourself with God’s pattern?
