The universal priesthood - Ephesians 2:18-21

The universal priesthood – Preaching

Preaching Outline on Ephesians 2:18-21 – “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”

Introduction to Ephesians 2:18-21

In this message we want to deal with a subject that is very important and a great benefit that every man achieves at the moment of the Lord Jesus’ encounter with man.

Development

The verse we read says: “For through him (Jesus) we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” Ephesians 2:18. The great benefit of the Lord Jesus’ encounter with man is direct access to the Father. (Jesus guarantees man access to the Father;

Paul speaks to the brethren of the Church in Ephesus, and remembers a time when:

– lived far from the Lord,

– lived without Christ,

– lived apart from communion,

– They were strangers to the concerts of promise,

– They lived without hope, and

– They were without God in the world.

Paul writes to them, not simply to talk about a time when they lived without the Lord, but to show that now through Salvation in Christ Jesus, they could enjoy this great blessing that they were experiencing, which was the privilege of being close in Christ Jesus, through his blood, that is, being able to be in the presence of the Father, in communion with the Father, experiencing the Father’s blessings in their lives.

When Paul talks about access to the Father, he is talking about the right that those brothers and sisters now in Jesus had, as believers in Jesus, to go directly to the Father, through the intermediary of Jesus, who is the only mediator between God and man.

UNIVERSAL PRIESTHOOD OF THE BELIEVER

It is Biblical doctrine to have the right to go directly to the Father in the name of Jesus. And the word of the Lord confirms this in the expression in Acts 2:12

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

Therefore, this priesthood of the believer consists of man’s right to go directly to God, with the Lord Jesus Christ as the only mediator.

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” I Timothy 2: 5.

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

The biblical expression “there is no other name” confirms that no one will reach the Father through the interposition of people who place themselves between God and man, as human blessers, often even under the presentation of objects that are offered, sold, as if they were resources capable of bringing them to God.

Even because, in his personal need to turn to God, man doesn’t need another man, because he may be away on a trip, or even in his daily occupation, or perhaps even prevented from providing assistance at that moment.

But the great wonder of the priesthood of the believer is that Jesus, the one in whose name we can come into the presence of the Father, gives us this access to the Father; because the name of the Lord Jesus is the name that is available to everyone wherever they are, all you have to do is close your eyes, open your heart and pray to the Father in the name of Jesus, and He will always be available to answer the prayer of the needy and bring them into the presence of the Father.

It is this Salvation that was, and is, offered to all men. This resource of God’s grace is available to everyone who believes in Jesus and uses it.

In the gospel of – John 3:16 – the word of the Lord says” …that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”.

Then whoever believes in Jesus, whoever goes to the Father in Jesus’ name, will not perish, but have eternal life, because Jesus said: “(…) that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

John 15:16b – THE ONLY WAY TO GO TO THE FATHER

Jesus also spoke of the means by which man reaches God when he said: “(…) I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. John 14:6

EXAMPLES OF ACCESS TO THE FATHER IN THE NAME OF JESUS

Access to the Father in the name of Jesus we will see in the experience of that moment in the midst of the early church described in Acts chapter 12. It was in this name that, when Peter was in prison, the church prayed continually for him to God and the prayer was answered by the sending of an angel of God to deliver Peter. The church exercised its priesthood by interceding for Peter, but interceding to the Father in the Name of Jesus;

It was also in this name that a man next to Jesus on the cross of Calvary, when he suddenly heard an expression of Jesus addressing the Father “Father forgive them for they know not what they do ” – in that instant he felt the need to reach this Father who forgives, a Father who does not condemn, and he goes to this Father through Jesus calling him Lord “Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom”; he didn’t say in the kingdom of the Father, but he said “In your kingdom” – because Jesus is the one who leads us into the presence of the Father, he is the only mediator between man and the Father. And Jesus’ reply “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise”

It’s interesting, my brothers and sisters, that it was exactly on the cross of Golgotha that Jesus surrendered his Spirit to the Father (“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”) – and when he said “ALL IS CONSUMED”, at that moment access was opened up to the place that until then people had tried to access through the veil of the Temple, but when Jesus gave his life at that moment the veil was torn inside Jerusalem, because now the true temple to the Father’s presence is through the Lord Jesus.

At that moment the prophetic expression was fulfilled when David said:

Psalm 24 – “Rise up, O eternal gates, and the King of Glory will enter. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of hosts, the Lord mighty in battle, He is the King of Glory.

At that moment we had access to the presence of the Father, and so now we can exercise the Universal Priesthood of the Believer through the Blood of Jesus.

And anyone who uses this resource of God’s Grace, going to the Father in Jesus’ name; he has been transformed by Jesus into Kings and Priests.

Revelation 1.5b-6: “To him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in his blood, and has made us kings and priests to God and his Father…” This is the condition for exercising this priesthood in the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus.

It is not a human interpellation or interposition, but Jesus who stands between us and the Father, to bring our prayer to the Father in his name;

– Revelation 5:10: “And for our God you have made them kings and priests, and they shall reign on the earth”.

Also the Apostle Peter’s letter

I Peter 2:9 – 10 – “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; who at one time were not a people, but are now God’s people; who had not obtained mercy, but have now obtained mercy.”

Conclusion

What a wonderful thing it is to be able to have the joy of having this experience of access to the presence of the Lord, this understanding that the Lord has granted his church at this time, that you and I can come to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus, our Savior. Not through objects acquired by the hands of men, not through human interposition, but in the name of Jesus, the one who is powerful to lead our prayer to the Father.

So it is clear that the desire of God’s heart is that you close your eyes, open your heart and pray, place your life before God, and pray to Him in the name of Jesus, and your prayer will be answered. The name of Jesus is at everyone’s disposal, it is at your disposal so that you may receive a blessing from the Father.