"11This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. 13Therefore, I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory." - Ephesians 3:11-13 (NASB)
The apostle Paul explains that this revelation (vs 10) aligns with the eternal purpose fulfilled in Christ Jesus. The Greek word for “purpose” (prothesis) suggests a deliberate plan; a predetermined plan, if you will, of God (cf. Eph 1:9-10). It emphasizes that God is not taken by surprise and does not resort to a backup plan (cf. Luke 22:22, Acts 2:23, 3:18, and 4:28). And His plan reaches its fulfilment in Christ’s redemptive work. Through Christ’s sacrifice, God’s eternal purpose is achieved, enabling believers to enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.
The initial chapters of Genesis depicts the extraordinary creation of humanity for intimate fellowship with God (Genesis 1:26-27; 3:8), only to be marred by human disobedience (Genesis 3). This pivotal event forms the crux of the overarching plan. Throughout the Bible, God fervently directs the narrative towards the restoration of His image and the renewal of intimate fellowship with humanity, encompassing both Jews and Gentiles. This paramount objective is realised through the redemptive work of Christ (Genesis 3:15) and the ministry of the Spirit (John 16:8-14).
Because of the accomplished redemptive work of Jesus Christ, believers are granted unparalleled access to God. This access is characterised by boldness1 and confident access2 underscoring freedom to approach God and the assurance of being accepted by God. Through Christ, all believers have unrestricted access to the Father. The use of “boldness”, and “confident access” collectively conveys the magnitude of the reconciliation between humanity and God achieved through Jesus Christ, illustrating the immeasurable impact of God’s redemptive act.
The believers’ boldness and confident access to God is through “faith in Christ” – this phrase literally means “faithfulness of Him” (cf. Gal. 2:16; 3:22). If it is an Objective Genitive, it signifies that believers place their trust in Christ, who is the trustworthy One. If it is a Subjective Genitive, it pertains to Christ’s “faithfulness” in the Old Testament sense of the term, denoting His faithfulness in fulfilling the Old Testament Law through His life, and offering Himself as a sacrifice for sins through His death. Both cases are true; so, we can rightly understand this passage to say that by having faith in Christ’s faithfulness, we can boldly and confidently draw near to God, and discover His character and feel assured of His love. This great and wonderful privilege is available to all through Jesus Christ, the Son of God – God’s conduit for all spiritual blessings (cf. Eph. 1:4,7,9,10,12,13).
Paul’s exhortation to believers in verse 13 allows for different interpretations due to the phrase “I ask you not to lose heart” being a Present Middle Indicative, meaning “you, yourselves, continue to not lose heart.” Grammatically, this could refer to either Paul or the Ephesian church. The majority of scholars concur that it pertains to the churches Paul is addressing in this circular letter. In effect, he urges the believers not to discouraged on account of his tribulations – his hardships and sacrifices, including being imprisoned, beaten, shipwrecked, and constantly in danger while being concerned for the well-being of the churches he cares for (cf. 2 Cor. 4:7-12; 6:3-10; 11:23-29). What Paul’s saying is, that they should rejoice in the fact that they have a friend who is ready to endure suffering for their sake and advantage.
Therefore, as Paul’s co-labourers in Christ we should likewise be able to overcome all the difficulties of this life and always maintain a joyful spirit. As the recipients of such a wonderful redemption and having this great freedom to approach God, we should not be discouraged by the challenging circumstances that come with spreading the Gospel.
- This term is used for freedom of speech, but it came to mean confidence in approaching someone in authority (cf. Heb. 4:16; 10:19,35; 1 John 2:28; 3:21). In Christ, believers have boldness to approach a Holy God! – Bible Lessons International ↩︎
- This term is used in the Septuagint (LXX) for a personal introduction to royalty. Remember, the NT authors, except Luke, were Hebrew thinkers, so the place to go to understand the meaning of Greek words they used is the Greek translation of the OT, which was the Bible of the early church in Palestine. – Bible Lessons International ↩︎
Leave a Reply