Coca Cola is not the real thing despite what the advert may say. The cross of Christ is the real thing. Only the cross can change people in this world.

1 – Access to God has been opened up (vs 18)

It is not only access to a King. It is openness to come boldly and confidently as a son to a father. In the Old Testament it required a High Priest to go into the Holiest of Holies. We have access to God. That is why we can and should pray. Do you pray? In Acts 4:24-31 the Church met together to pray.

2 – Access to the kingdom is available (vs 19a)

To the Gentiles reading this, it was a miracle. They were used to walls of exclusion. In the temple they were not allowed into the inner courts. They were treated like dogs. They had limited rights and privileges. They did not have citizenship. They were a stranger, a foreigner, a visitor or guest but not part of the family. That didn’t mean they didn’t exist around people who belonged to the family of God. It meant that they had nothing in common with them. They were not blood kin. They had not been washed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The walls have now been broken down. They can become citizens of God’s kingdom. It was a level playing field. It was necessary to be born from above. It required only faith in Jesus Christ.

3 – Access to the family is realised (vs 19b)

It does not matter your background, all are one in Christ Jesus. The focus for unity in this world is not Coca Cola, it is the Church. No one is superior or inferior in God’s Church. When you are family you have access to every room in the house. You have access to all that goes on in the home.

Categories: Ephesians