2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
With verse two, we come to the second privilege and result of being justified before God—access into God’s presence.
2 Through him
Not only is Jesus the means of establishing an eternal relationship with God, but He is also the way to gain access to God.
we have [have had] also [in addition to peace] obtained access [entrance, entry]
The word “access” carries the idea of privilege of approach to a person of high rank. The idea is one of being granted entrance into the chamber of a king. “Access” consists of two Greek words: to bring and facing. In this case, the believer is brought into the presence of God. It is the privilege of being allowed into the presence of God. Two other passages use this word:
Eph 2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Eph 3:12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
We find the verb for “access” in 1 Peter 3:18:
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit…
The Greek tense (perfect) for “have” indicates that we had this access at one point in the past with the existing results continuing into the present—“have had.” This is the ongoing results of a past act. In other words, our access into God’s presence by Christ is permanent.
by faith
“By faith” does not occur is some manuscripts. Faith is the personal means of access to God.
into this [God’s] grace
The word “into” means entrance into a sphere or dimension. The dimension of God’s grace is the domain of access into God’s presence.
Paul mentioned “grace” six times in Romans five.
in which we stand,
Again we have the tense that shows our permanent standing in grace (perfect tense). Our relationship with God is sustained and settled. This is true because we stand with permanence on the grace of God and not our works. God can never revoke His grace toward us.
and we rejoice [exult, glory] in hope [sure confidence] of the glory of God.
Because we have permanent standing before God, direct access into His presence, we can rejoice in the hope of God’s glory.
“Hope” is confidence in our future experience of reveling in God’s glory. Our confidence comes by the right of access and standing in God’s grace. That is why we can be certain of the outcome. We have personal triumph in realizing the permanence of our confidence in what Christ has done for us.
PRINCIPLE:
The believer has unhindered and complete access into God’s presence.
APPLICATION:
Christians can approach God with freedom and confidence because of God’s grace. We have full freedom with God because of Christ. Our privilege is a direct access into God’s presence. God’s grace is undeserved, unsought, and without conditions.
He 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Very few of us will have access to the President of the United States, yet we have access to someone much greater and infinitely so.
