Through Him by One Spirit

Introduction: The Focal Point of Access

0:03 I would encourage you to follow in your own Bible as I read from the second chapter of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 2. Unless the repetition of reading in this entire paragraph cause us to regard with lightness or indifference the portion that has been under consideration for some weeks, I shall read simply the statement that will be the focal point of our study today, though there will be reference made to other sections in the paragraph Ephesians 2 and verse 18.

0:40 For through him we both have our access in one spirit unto the Father. The Apostle's great concern in writing this letter to the Church, which under the blessing and direction of God he himself fathered in the Gospel, is that these believers, these believers at Ephesus might have a deepened understanding of their privileges in Christ, that in turn this might lead to a deeper appreciation of those privileges which in turn always issues in a deepened sense of obligation to Christ in the light of all that he has done.

Context: Christ Our Peace and Its Proof

1:24 And the way in which he goes after this goal, particularly in this second chapter, is to set before the Ephesians a vivid reflection, a contrast, in fact two contrasts, bounded by paragraph 1 verses 1 to 10 and paragraph 2 verses 11 to the end of the chapter. And I would remind you that in that first paragraph he contrasts what Jews and Gentiles alike were before the coming of the grace of God as individuals and what they are now by the grace of God since that grace has laid hold upon them. But the focus in the second paragraph verses 11 to 22

2:06 is not so much upon what individual Jews or Gentiles were prior to the coming of the Gospel, but what Jews and Gentiles were collectively, what the Gentiles were with reference to the visible people of God, the commonwealth of Israel, that nation with which God had such special and peculiar dealings, what the Jews were in spite of those privileges, and the great theme of this second paragraph is the oneness which has now been constituted by the coming of Christ and the Gospel, a oneness not only between Jew and Gentile and God, but Jew and Gentile and each other.

2:51 After setting before the Gentiles in particular what their native condition was in verses 11 and 12, the Apostle then in verse 13 gives a summary statement that says, of what has happened to them. In the first part of verse 14, he gives a capsule statement of the entire theme, for He, Christ, is our peace. And then from here to verse 18, he expounds what he means by that statement, that Christ is the peace of His people. Verses 14 to 16 is a description of what Christ did to procure that peace.

3:30 He broke down, He broke down the middle wall that existed between Jew and Gentile. He then took Jew and Gentile and in one body reconciled them to God. Christ procured peace between Jew and Gentile and between Jew and Gentile and God by the work that He accomplished upon the cross. And so these three phrases come before us in verses 14 to 16, His flesh, His blood, and His cross.

4:01 Telling, Telling us that Christ is our peace, not in some mystical way, not in some undefined and undefinable manner, but He is our peace on the basis of the work that He accomplished when He died a sacrificial death on the cross in the place of sinners. And then in verse 17, we have the record of the pronouncement of this peace. Having procured the peace, Christ is not only our peace, peace in procurement, but the Apostle tells us, and the same Christ came and preached peace, both to those that were afar off, the Gentiles, and to those that were near, the Jews.

4:46 So Christ is the peace of His people because He not only procured peace, but because He Himself has made the pronouncement of that peace in the proclamation of the gospel. Now we come today to verse 18, which is, is a statement that we could well call the proof that all that has gone before is valid.

The Profound Statement: Meaning and Message

5:10 The Apostle, you'll notice, uses a connective word, for through Him we both have our access in one spirit unto the Father. And this little statement is one of the most amazing, one of the most profound statements in all of this epistle in the words of one astute commentator. He says even something, and further, I quote him, there is no doubt that we are looking at and considering, speaking of this text, one of the greatest and most glorious statements that is to be found in the whole range of scripture. This little statement, for through Him we both have our access in one spirit

5:54 unto the Father. Now to think our way through this profound statement of Holy Scripture, I propose to have two divisions, under which to gather our thoughts. Division one, the meaning of the text in its setting. What does this statement mean in the flow of thought as it unfolds in this paragraph?

6:17 Then we shall consider secondly, the message of the text in itself. And as I was thinking of the difference in those two things, my mind went back to an experience that I had a few years ago when I was privileged to minister way out in the northwest corner of our country, out in the Seattle area. And when flying out of the Seattle area, when we were gaining altitude, we found cloud covered about 8 or 9,000 feet, completely covering the sky. And then one of the most astounding sights that my eyes ever beheld opened up before me.

6:51 There, sticking up through the clouds, solitary in its beauty and grandeur, was Mount Rainier. And it was solitary above the clouds. It was as though it were the only mountain that existed. Now we know that it's part of the Cascades.

7:07 And in that sense, Mount Rainier, if it's to be understood, must be seen in relationship to the foothills that surround it, the other mountains that bound it on the left and the right. So that if you're really to consider Mount Rainier, you must consider it in its setting. That is, in the midst of its foothills and its companion mountains. But Mount Rainier is of such singular grandeur that it's proper to consider, consider it in itself, in its own independent glory.

7:37 Well, this is one of those texts. We're going to look at it in relationship to the foothills and to its fellow peaks. And then we're going to go up and gain altitude and see it sticking up through the clouds in its own independent beauty and glory as one of the most profound statements in all of Holy Scripture. First of all, then, the meaning of this text in its setting.

Meaning in Setting: The Indisputable Proof of Unity

8:00 As I've already suggested, it is a statement at, attesting the reality of what Paul has already asserted in verses 14 through 17. He has told us that Jesus Christ is the peace of His people. That by His work upon the cross, He has destroyed that middle wall of partition that existed between Jew and Gentile. He has, in the language of verse 16, destroyed the barriers that existed between God, and the sinner.

8:35 He has reconciled us to God. According to verse 17, he tells us that Christ has come and announced that peace. And inferred is the fact that that announcement has been received and that Jews and Gentiles at Ephesus and throughout the Roman Empire have actually entered in to the experience of the peace procured. Now it's as though someone says, now Paul, that all sounds wonderful.

9:02 I mean, it's all right for you, to theologize and to go on talking about Christ, breaking down middle walls of partition, talk about Christ reconciling us to God. But Paul, when you come down to the nitty-gritty, what proof do you have that this is not just a bunch of religious notions? What proof can you put forward that is an indisputable evidence that all of this is really true? Paul says, all right, here's my proof.

9:29 Number four, we both have access in one spirit, unto the Father. In a very real sense, this statement can be connected with that capsule summary statement at the beginning of verse 14. I think then you'll catch the flow of thought. For He is our peace.

9:52 And how do we know it's so? Because through Him, we both, literally both groups, Jew and Gentile, have access in or by one spirit, unto the Father. In other words, it is the present experience of both Jew and Gentile drawing near to God as Father under the influence of the Holy Spirit through the mediation of Christ that is the indisputable proof that everything Paul has told us in verses 14 to 17 is true. Now to grasp what lay behind his thinking, use your imagination with me this morning

Illustrative Narrative: Simon and Demetrius

10:35 as I describe something that could very well be true. that could very well be true. that could very well be true. that could very well be true.

10:38 that could very well be true. that could very well be true. that could very well be true. That could very well be an accurate historical narrative.

10:41 We go to the city of Ephesus to be introduced to two men. One of them is named Demetrius. He's a pagan Ephesian. He's a Greek by birth and background.

10:54 He's a pagan in terms of his religious notions. His family is attached to the worship of Diana, God of the Ephesians. And the other individual to whom I would introduce you this morning is a man named Simon. He's a Jew of the dispersion.

11:11 He's part of that body of Jews that were dispersed throughout the Roman Empire. He has generations of the rich heritage that every Jew had and which he took with him and did not forget even when he was dispersed among the Gentile nations. By birth and background, Demetrius, as I've suggested, was steeped in paganism. His lifestyle is described in chapter 4 and verse 18 of this very epistle.

11:38 Darkened in his understanding, he was alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that was in him. And his lifestyle was characteristic of the lifestyle of a pagan Ephesian. Steeped in immorality. In fact, immorality had become a very part of the sacred acts of worship in the temple of Diana, goddess of the Ephesians.

12:02 He was utterly ignorant of the God of the Bible, though he looked at creation according to Romans 1 and put down and held down in unrighteousness what he could have known of God. Here was a man who knew nothing of the God of Holy Scripture. And then there was our friend Simon who had all the privileges of that Jewish background. He was part of that pocket of Jews, a few families at Ephesus who had established a synagogue.

12:31 And he would go up periodically for the reading and the exposition of the law of God. There in that synagogue, city of Ephesus, he was a marked man. Demetrius and his crowd despised these recalcitrant Jews. Why can't they join Diana worship?

12:47 Why do they have to have their own simple little meeting places called synagogues? Why do they have to read their holy books? What's wrong with our holy books? You see, the presence of the Jew was a constant source of irritation to the pagan, for it said to him, your God is not good enough for us.

13:03 Your gods are substandard. And so the pagan resented the presence of the Jew. And of course, this man Simon, if he ever happened to pass Demetrius on the street, he passed him with a sneer. He looked upon him as a Gentile dog on his way to worship these no gods called Diana and all of the other gods of heathendom.

13:25 And so there was this great animosity between the two of them. Demetrius knew nothing of communion with God. When he'd gone through his ritual, he went out to live in a lifestyle according to this very epistle, chapter 2, verses 1 to 3, chapter 4, 18 and 19, chapter 5, verses 5 and 6, a lifestyle that showed what he learned and did in relationship to his God in the temple did nothing to affect his life except to give him license to live in sin. But Simon had a problem.

13:57 Though the name of Jehovah was upon his lips, and though his external life was kept from many of the gross vices that Demetrius indulged in, it was obvious that he knew nothing of vital communion with God. He knew nothing of a living relationship with the living God. He had the form of knowledge as the apostle speaks concerning the Jew. Then one day, a man named Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsus, came to Ephesus.

14:26 And as he began to preach at the synagogue, the Spirit of God laid hold of this man Simon. And he began to see that there was one who fulfilled all the tithes and shadow and all that the Old Testament was prophesying. Under the preaching of the law and the gospel, he came to see that in spite of his external morality and religiosity and his great religious heritage, he was lost. He was undone.

14:53 He was condemned. He was dead. He was bound. He was guilty.

14:59 And Christ coming to him, preaching peace through the blood of his cross, enabled this man Simon to lay hold of Christ as the true Messiah. And he passed from death unto life. Well, it wasn't long before things got hot at the synagogue and Paul had to leave and began to preach in the place called the School of Tyrannus. They rented a building, such as we're doing this morning.

15:21 And Paul preached the same gospel. And Demetrius was concerned because he began to notice a different attitude when Simon passed him on the street. No longer did he curl his lip. But he smiled at him.

15:32 He said, Good morning, sir. He tipped his hat. He says, What in the world has happened to that character? And it began to get to him.

15:39 And one day he got bold enough to say, Sir, what's your name? Well, my name's Simon. Well, what's happened to you? I mean, has your wife suddenly begun to treat you well?

15:47 I mean, you smiled at me now. You say hello. He says, Oh, my friend, my name is Simon. And I'm a different man from the man who used to pass you up until a few weeks ago.

15:57 Well, what's happened to you? Come along with me and someone who's better able than I to explain it will tell you. And so Demetrius begins to go to the School of Tyrannus. And he begins to hear, Hear about the God of the Bible, who is holy, who is one God, who is the God of inflexible justice, the God who's given a holy law, the God who will judge all men by that law.

16:19 And it isn't long before Demetrius comes under that blessed seizure of Holy Ghost conviction and seeing himself lost and undone, he hears the preaching of repentance and faith and by the Spirit he's drawn into union with Christ and wonder of wonders. He, and Simon, begin to develop the deepest of friendships. They're found together. They're found sharing the same knowledge and the same truth.

16:46 And then one day, a few weeks later, after both have been converted, we happen to tiptoe, first of all, to the house of Simon early one morning on the first day of the week. For as yet, Sunday was not a special day in that society. So if a man was to pray, he had to pray early. We tiptoe to the little room where he's to pray and we listen to Simon, Simon praying.

17:08 You know what we hear? We hear the word Father caught there. We hear him addressing God in the terms of intimate endearment. And not only do we hear the word Father much upon his lips, we hear the words Jesus and Jesus Christ.

17:25 And we listen to him as we praise and we're very conscious that he's not only drawing near to God in all the intimacy of a father-son relationship, but that somehow Christ is central in, in that activity of drawing near. That he's continually saying, in Jesus' name and through the Lord Jesus and because of your Son. And the more we listen, the more we discern something else. That this guy's not just saying his prayers.

17:53 He's actually entering in with a fervency and a reality that bears no explanation. But that the things upon his lips, God, Christ, sin, heaven, the gospel, hell, spirit, spiritual realities have become as real to him as any other dimension of life. Keep that in mind. After listening for a while, we go down a few blocks to the house of Demetrius.

18:20 And we tiptoe up to the place where Demetrius is praying. And we notice a strange thing. This man from a pagan background with none of the rich knowledge of God's word and his ways that our friend Simon had, the word Father is upon his lips as he prays. And again, and again, he's saying, Father.

18:41 And wonder of wonders, again and again, the name of Jesus is upon his lips. And he speaks of coming in the name of Christ and through the merits of Christ and upon the righteousness of Christ. And the more we listen to Demetrius pray, the more we're astounded that he too is not just saying his prayers. Unlike his pagan days where he went to his prayer wheel and mumbo-jumboed his prayers, there's a note of reality.

19:07 He's obviously, he's obviously finding delight in the Father. He's obviously seen Christ, if not with physical eyes. Christ is so near and real to him as he prays. This must be something that is real.

19:20 We ask the question and say, how can it be? Simon, no longer thinking of God in distant traditional categories. Simon is calling Jehovah Father. Simon who belonged to the nation that crucified Jesus of Nazareth as a beast, blasphemous imposter, is basing all of his approach to God on who that person is.

19:47 And Simon who had nothing but a lifetime of ritual and form has living spiritual reality in his prayers. You say, how come? Look at verse 18. For through Christ,

20:05 for through Christ, Simon is enjoying what? Access. In one spirit, unto the Father.

20:17 And then lo and behold, when we analyze Demetrius, Demetrius' prayers, we say, what has happened? He no longer is addressing many gods. He is no longer addressing as God some creature of man. He's addressing the Father, the eternal God and Father of Christ.

20:36 He's no longer coming on the basis of his own works, but the work of another. There's reality. How come? Verse 19.

20:45 Through Christ, Demetrius is having access in one spirit unto the Father. Ah, but hold on now. Because after they've gone off to their work for the day, and as the churches were wont to do in old English language, they were gathering that evening to remember the Lord's death in the Supper of Remembrance, as we read in Acts 20, when they were gathered together on the first day of the week to break bread, to be inspired, to be instructed in the things of God. And what happens?

21:16 Well, we go to the little meeting place, whether it's the school of Tyrannus or somewhere else, and we find that when Simon and Demetrius meet one another within the doors, what do they do? Instead of sneering, they embrace one another and give each other a holy kiss. We say, what in the world has happened? From sneers to kisses.

21:38 And then we watch them. They take their place together in the assembly with the men on one side and the women on the other. Aren't you glad? We're not in Eastern culture.

21:47 And what happens? Well, one of the elders begins to lead in prayer, saying, Our Father. And we listen. And we even, for the sake of observing, open our eyes and we see a light of holy joy upon the countenance of Simon and Demetrius.

22:03 And we hear their muffled amens and ascents as they're being led into the presence of the Father. Then a hymn of praise is sung to Jesus Christ. Perhaps, perhaps it's a hymn based upon one of the words of Christ that has become common property of the Church. One of those faithful sayings.

22:22 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And they sing with tears coming down their faces. Thou art the way to Thee alone. Through Thee alone we come to the Father.

22:35 And then we see them expressing a reality that has no explanation, but that they're caught up in the power and energy of the Spirit. And we say, how come? Simon and Demetrius coming to the same God, calling Him Father, coming through the Son, obviously coming in an animation and in a power and an energy that is not native to them. Look at verse 18.

23:02 For through Him they are both having access, not in two spirits, a spirit for Jew and Gentile, through two mediators, one for Jew, one for Gentile, to two different gods, one for Jew, one for Gentile. No. Through Him, Simon and Demetrius are both having access in one spirit unto the one Father. And Paul says, if you doubt the reality of what I say, explain that.

23:36 You explain that. You explain. He says, do you want the living proof that Christ has done what I've said He did in verses 14 to 16? By His own death, broke down the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile?

23:55 You go to the school of Tyrannus and see Simon and Demetrius worshipping together. If you doubt the reality of what I've said, that Christ in one body reconciled both unto God? He said, you go to Simon and Demetrius and explain that. And I think that's the best way I know how to expound the text.

Application of the Setting: One Way to God and Peace

24:13 I don't often expound by a parable. But I think if you've got the message of the parable, you've got the exposition, that's the meaning of the text in its setting. That's Mount Rainier with its foothills and its companion mountains. And of course the message of it in its application reaches out in so many directions.

24:33 I shall limit myself with making but one application and it's this. As then, so now. There is but one way. There is but one way to bring men out of polite orthodox and orthodox.

24:50 But spiritless religion and out of blind, confused paganism into the knowledge of the true God. And there is but one way to bring alienated peoples out of their mutual alienation and into peace and harmony. And that's to bring them within the orbit of the proclamation of the realities of verses 14 to 16. Christ crucified.

25:15 And there is no other way.

Message in Itself: The Trinitarian Nature of Salvation

25:19 But now I want to address your attention. To the message of the text in itself. And I have frequently enunciated this principle from this pulpit and it bears repetition. That there are some texts which suffer nothing if they are lifted out of their setting.

25:39 Now it's not safe ever to do it and that's why I've not done it this morning. But there are certain statements of scripture that are self-contained units of truth. And when handled honestly in the light of the obvious meaning of the words stand in pristine and solitary glory. And we have such a text before us this morning.

26:02 And if time permits if not we'll just go as far as we can. I want you to consider with me the message of this text in itself. And it contains as I have meditated upon it I believe it is accurate to say it contains at least three profound aspects or avenues of truth. Number one.

26:22 It is a profound statement concerning the nature of biblical salvation. What is the nature of the salvation that came to Demetrius and that came to Simon? What is the nature of the salvation that comes to any sinner who has the gospel preached unto him as we read in verse 17? Well according to this text the nature of the salvation of the Bible is decidedly and pervasively Trinitarian.

26:58 Look at the text.

27:01 Offering proof of the reality of what he's asserted he says for through him and the pronoun obviously refers to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the subject of the preceding verses through him we both that is both groups Jew and Gentile have our access in one spirit and though the article is not there in the original or in most of our translations often the Holy Spirit is referred to without the use of the definite article and there is no grounds to believe that this is an exception to that general principle so it's a reference to the Holy Spirit almost every if not every translation I've consulted

27:45 has the capital S so it's through him Christ the Son in the one spirit God the Spirit that we have access unto the Father that is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has become the Father of all who believe in him now the amazing thing about this statement is this Paul has not digressed from the purpose of this paragraph to give a dissertation on the Trinity his purpose is to show the relative position of Jew and Gentile in the present scheme of redemption he has not moved from that purpose

28:29 he has shown us that Demetrius and Simon have been made one and that this is the living proof in this oneness of access that everything he has asserted is true but that's what makes it such a profound statement so pervasive and decided is the religion of the Bible Trinitarian that even when Paul has no explicit purpose to teach the doctrine of the Trinity he's simply referring to the knowledge and the nature of the salvation that has come to Jew and Gentile Trinitarianism bursts from the text oozes from every pore of the text now why? for the simple reason that biblical religion biblical salvation

29:13 is decidedly and pervasively Trinitarian to the core biblical salvation is the salvation in which the one God who is Father Son and Holy Spirit has come forth for the redemption of a people and in that redemption there is an assignment by mutual consent in the area of administration and responsibility it is not the Son who sends himself it is the Father who sends him it is the Son who lays down his life it is the Spirit who is given as the crowning gift of the work of Jesus Christ

29:58 what Paul gave us in such explicit terms in the first chapter in this great hymn of praise blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and he blesses the Father for his part in redemption the Son and then the Spirit in verses 13 and 14 of chapter 1 again though he is touching on a completely different sphere of truth that Trinitarianism is so central so fundamental that it is comes before us again in an inescapable way now by way of application child of God this is not just a theological tenet you and I are to think of the glory of this fact

30:42 that all the way from the eternal covenant of grace in which there was for want of better terms a compact of mutual commitment between the members of the triune Godhead all the way from eternity to eternity the one God who is Father Son and Holy Spirit is committed to your salvation with eternal love to be effected in eternal and immutable power and certainty that's what makes this salvation so glorious a salvation that you and I as the people of God are the objects

31:26 of the eternal love of the Father of the Son of the Holy Spirit and of the Spirit you and I are the objects of the redemptive acts of the Father of the Son and the Spirit we're the recipients of the saving power of the Father Son and the Spirit and bless God we are kept by the saving efficacy of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Spirit you see the doctrine of the Trinity is never developed as a theological abstraction in the Bible that's why it's such a stumbling block to so many say only if God gave us a paragraph in which it said God is one but God is three the three are one

32:11 and the one is three we'd say well that would satisfy me ah my friend listen God is not interested in writing theological treatises the Bible is the record of what he's done to create a world and then to recreate a world in Christ that fell it's redemptive history and in the unfolding of that history it becomes more and more clear that the redemption promised in Genesis 3.15 is a redemption that involves the one God yes but the God who is not the God of the Unitarians not the God of the Jehovah's Witnesses he is the God who though eternally and immutably one is essentially Father Son and Holy Spirit

The Saving Doctrine of the Trinity

32:56 the doctrine you see of the Trinity is a saving doctrine it comes to light as the work of salvation unfolds it's when the second person of the Godhead actually becomes man that the concept that there is a second subsistence in the Godhead becomes clear John writes concerning him and says in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and the Word became flesh and we say the one who walked the streets of Nazareth as a boy the one who went up the Via Dolorosa on his way to the cross that one is God

33:40 and yet he taught us that there was but one God and there is forced upon our minds that which we cannot grasp there is one God but that God is Father that God is Son and though there are many intimations more than the average person realizes and if you doubt it read John Owen's Masterful Treatise on the Holy Spirit Volume 3 in his 16th volume works there are intimations of the full and essential deity of the Spirit in the Old Testament it awaits the accomplishment of Christ's redemptive work and the sending forth of the one called alongside to help before it stands in bold relief that the one who is sent

34:24 is so essentially one with the Father and with the Son that Jesus says when the Comforter comes I come and my Father comes and yet amidst that he says I go away and he comes does this all just go over your head am I just talking to myself this morning I can't reach you whether you see the glory of this in other words dear people it was the necessities of saving the likes of you and me that precipitated the activity of the triune Godhead and then God having come forth to save us he reveals who it is that has done and is doing

35:09 the same you see that's great consolation and glory to the heart of the Christian and it ought also to put steel in the Christian's backbone to say I reject as unchristian anything that claims to be an expression of Christianity that is not decidedly and pervasively trinitarian to the core it is not it is not biblical and if you value your soul's salvation and the salvation of others you will be willing if necessary to stand with Athanasius and say if the world is against Athanasius

35:52 then Athanasius is against the world that kind of gutsy commitment isn't popular in our day but my friends if you love your soul and the souls of men nothing less nothing less than that kind of commitment is warranted by this great truth well there is a second independent avenue of truth in this text and it is this it not only teaches us something about the nature of our salvation decidedly and pervasively trinitarian but it teaches us something about the indispensable necessities of biblical salvation not only the nature

Indispensable Necessities: Christ's Mediation and Spirit's Ministration

36:37 but the indispensable necessities of biblical salvation and they are too in this text Christ mediation and the spirit's ministration look at them how did this man Simon and this man Demetrius ever get to that place where we see them there in the school of Tyrannus having embraced and given the brotherly kiss access to the father well he says look for through him that is through the mediation of Christ we both have our access in one spirit unto the father now what does that text

37:21 tell us well it tells us that indispensable necessity number one is that we have to if we are to know God or approach him is the mediation of Christ the absolute necessity of Christ mediation if we are to know God or to approach God and this word for access is a rich word and the most astute Greek commentators and students of the language kick back and forth whether they have the right to read into it all of the significance it had in the secular world in the secular world it comes from a word that describes a man whom we would entitle the official introducer he was the man appointed by the king or the superior personage

38:05 to go to inferiors and by appointment only he could do this and take them by the hand and bring them into the presence of the superior introduce them give them access and entree into the very presence now whether we have a right to read all of that in here and then they debate some of you English students whether the word is used here in a transitive or an intransitive sense or in a transitive sense or in a transitive sense whether we have access or whether we are given access but really very little difference ultimately is involved whether we have the warrant to press all of that significance in the word such as it had in its secular usage one thing is clear if anyone has any access to the father

38:48 it will be only and exclusively through the mediation of Christ the Son through him through him and the emphasis in the original falls there it is through him that we have access the both of us in the one spirit to the father that's very bad English but that's a more accurate conveyance of the emphasis as it falls in the original so Paul is telling us that if anyone ever has access to the father anything of filial acceptance and love and confidence it's because he has had direct inescapable vital dealings with the one

39:33 who is the appointed mediator even the Lord Jesus Christ surely you've thought already of his own words have you not John 14 6 I am the way the truth and the life no man no man sincere pagan sincere adherent of a false religion earnest devotee of a system of religious thought that is not rooted in the Bible no man no man

40:12 no man to thee father but through him that's the assertion of our blessed Lord is he the truth if he's the truth if he speaks the words of God as he claimed to do then we have the word of our Lord that he is the exclusionary mediator between God and men we have the statement of the apostle 1st Timothy 2 5 there is one God and one mediator between God and man himself man even

40:55 Jesus Christ one mediator and one mediator alone now who is that Christ through him what him the hymn of verses 14 to 17 the hymn who is mediator not by diffusing a spirit of amity and love and teaching us that God is not a God of justice he's just one big glob of unprincipled affection and that big glob just as it were spills itself over and envelops the world in one gushy gooey ball of love that's the sense in which Jesus brings us to the father rubbish

41:34 verses 14 to 16 say he broke down the middle wall of partition how? in his flesh verse 16 reconciling them through the cross he accomplished this verse 13 in his blood how is he the one mediator he is the one mediator in the virtue of the work he accomplished by dying a death that was nothing less than penal satisfaction rendered to God on behalf of sinners and you children don't be afraid of those words penal means it has to do

42:19 with punishment satisfaction means it has to do with paying what was due to the honor of God and his law because of sin there was wrath poured out upon the cross and that wrath is the basis of the father's favor no wrath poured out no favor extended and so this text sets before us the indispensable necessity of the mediation of Christ if we're to know God or approach him and may I say before I pass quickly to the ministration of the spirit do you know God do you approach God as father when you prayed this morning

43:03 or when you last prayed did you say our father or my father or oh God my father do you claim to have access to the father you say yes well then let me ask the next question is it an access consciously secured by the mediation of Christ not just in the past but right now for he uses a present verb through him we are we continue access well you see the difference between Christ as the official introducer and the introducer of the pagan court

43:46 is once the introduction is made the official introducer leaves but blessed be God once Christ takes us to by the hand and leads us to the first father it remains at the right hand of the father ever to satisfy every claim that would rise up against us for the scripture says he ever liveth to make intercession for us if any man sin we are having an advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous one my friend you say you called God your father when you prayed this morning was it self conscious approach to God through the mediation of Christ I don't mean to get tacked on at the end in Jesus name amen because that's some phrase

44:31 you heard that's supposed to be put on there to let people know you're about done no no were you conscious that the father in all of his glory and love and majesty and power is such a God that unless you stand before him clothed in the righteousness of his son washed in the blood of his son you could not stand before him were you conscious that's biblical religion when we heard Demetrius pray not Demetrius that's what I was going to call him yeah Demetrius I was originally going to call him Diotrephes but I thought he had such a bad reputation in the book of second or third John we better not so I crossed it out so my head is still saying Diotrephes at times remember when we

45:15 listened to Demetrius pray when we listened to Simon pray it was not just father father father it was father on the grounds of Christ righteousness in the name of Christ in the virtue of Christ my friend if I listened to you where you prayed this morning if you prayed would there have not only been father but would it have been evident to me that it was through him and through him alone and then finally and briefly the indispensable necessity not only of the mediation of Christ but the absolute necessity of the spirit's ministration if we're to know and approach him and this phrase again is so rich through him we both

46:00 have access in one spirit and as Bishop Mould has said in his excellent little commentary on Ephesians and I quote him the spirit as the element in which we have access now I quote it is surrounded animated penetrated by the spirit that we draw near to the father we have access to the father in the spirit that is surrounded animated penetrated by the spirit that's the second indispensable necessity of biblical salvation you and I are as dependent upon the ministration of the spirit as we are upon the mediation of Christ

The Spirit's Work and Concluding Challenge

46:45 it's just as accurate to say no Christ crucified no salvation no spirit no salvation why? well let me remind you very quickly he is the one who reveals our need of Christ when he has come he'll reprove the world of sin he alone can reveal the glory of Christ God who commanded light to shine out of darkness that's shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ he alone imparts faith in Christ earlier in this chapter it is the gift of God he alone enables us to repent he subdues our wills to Christ he baptizes us into the body of Christ

47:28 he attests and witness to our sonship through Christ Galatians for now do you see why he says if you want to understand Simon and Demetrius in their closets if you want to understand Simon and Demetrius sitting together in the public assembly you must understand there's been the ministration of the spirit and when the spirit comes he doesn't reveal two different kinds of need he reveals that whatever differences existed between Demetrius and Simon after the flesh are surface differences they are equally dead equally dead equally bound equally condemned and the Holy Ghost revealed one Christ not two a Jewish Christ and a Gentile Christ and the Holy Ghost

48:13 subdued them and gave them one disposition to Christ faith and love he set them in one path of holiness he gave them hopes and aspirations for one heaven to come one inheritance oh dear people do you catch the message of this text it tells us not only something about the nature of biblical salvation decidedly Trinitarian but it sets before us the indispensable necessities of biblical salvation the absolute necessity of the mediation of Christ the absolute necessity of the ministration of the spirit that's why the Lord said except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot see he cannot enter the kingdom that's why Paul could say

48:58 if any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his and so I close with the question and we'll just have to take up the main third point next week I'll just tell you what it is it tells us something about the ultimate intention of biblical salvation through him in one spirit we have access to the Father that's the ultimate intention but that will have to be a sermon in itself let me press upon your conscience the very simple question did you call God your Father when you prayed last whenever that was if so my friend did you call him as Father as the result of the ministration of the Spirit or simply by parroting what you've heard others say

49:42 you see Paul says because we are sons he hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts crying Abba Father you see the proof of the indwelling of the Spirit is not that you can say I had so many degrees of tingles up and down my spine so many different languages articulated by my tongue he hath sent forth his Spirit proof of his presence I'm able to come with filial access to God as my Father that's it that's biblical my friends that's biblical you're able to say

50:27 Father not as a word but as the overflow of your comprehension of God and apprehension of his mercy in Christ there's filial confidence there's filial love there's filial awe the word filial having to do with the family kids that's what it means filial having to do with the family can you call him Father this morning the God of heaven and earth the majestic awesome Christ holy God before whom cherubim veil face and feet the God of whom the scripture speaks and says he is a consuming fire he charges his very angels with folly the heavens are not clean in his sight you call a

51:12 God like that Father you say I can my friend unless you're doing it as a blind fool who knows nothing of your own heart there's only one reason you could ever call him Father the Holy Spirit has come having shown you your sin he's led you to the fountain open for sin and uncleanness he's led you to cast yourself upon Christ and confident that your acceptance rests not in you but in the beloved one and you're accepted in him you come through him under the influence of the one spirit unto this glorious Father oh my dear people that's biblical religion is that your religion is that your religion come on now answer is that your experience access

51:57 to the Father through the mediation of the Son under the ministration of the Spirit my friend listen that's not just the religion that meets you on the threshold when you get in that's the religion with which you live all the way until we see him face to face and in some way I don't know how we're even going to be reminded through eternity that it was by the mediation of the Son so John saw him as a lamb who was followed by his people in the vision of the everlasting state they follow the Lamb whithersoever he's gone my friend if that's not your religion

52:41 you better settle it right now today whatever you've got is bogus it's bogus I didn't say if you're not a Baptist you're bogus I didn't say Baptist in denominational terms as far as I'm concerned I wish something could be done to turn back the wheels of history and burn the tags that's how cherished they are to me what I'm saying my friend is if you do not have access to the God who is Father through the mediation of the Son who is God and mediator by the quickening powerful work of the Spirit who is God and minister of the salvation of Christ what you have is bogus

Prayer of Adoration and Supplication

53:24 you better jettison it turn from it and cry to this God in the name of his Son to have mercy upon you and join Simon and join Demetrius in the delight of the secret exercises of true religion the corporate exercises of true religion and become part of those who through the one Son have been constituted one body and approach the one Father in the power of the One Father of the One Spirit let us pray O God

54:08 our Father how we thank you for that name by which we know you our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name Lord Jesus we bless you for your mediation Holy Spirit we bless you for your ministry to us O Father Son and Holy Spirit one God we bless you we worship you this day we bless you for so great a salvation be merciful to those who are strangers to this salvation O God whether it's a Simon among us or a Demetrius

54:52 one acquainted with the Bible and the ways of God or one in the very midst of current paganism O mighty Savior come with power and draw them to your feet and help us your people that we will know afresh the wonder and the glory that we should be included in such a salvation Lord cut us loose from those weights that keep our spirits from soaring in holy wonder and awe we long to be lost in wonder love and praise O God help us by the Spirit so to worship you

55:35 hear our prayer and be blessed and be blessed and be with us as we seek further to sanctify this day to our prophet and to your praise and for these mercies we shall thank you through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen