Eph. 2:18

18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

We both, Paul says. He was near and the Gentiles were far away but both, in the church at Ephesus, have believed in Jesus Christ, there they have equal access to the riches of the Father. If both came through the one lowly door, Jesus, then in Jesus Christ, they are changed and redeemed, in precisely the same way.

Jesus’ body, his Kingdom, does not have two doors of entrance, one for Jews, another for Gentiles. The door is one and it is open to all at the foot of the Cross. We can restate this for our times by posing two very diverse groups, like Tanzanians and the Pennsylvania Dutch who, if they are believers, have equal access to all there is in God.

Through Him. The way to God is through the Cross of Christ. If another way is possible, the incarnation/atonement events in Jesus Christ are not at all necessary. The Gospel story has no meaning, whatsoever.

We are not dealing with a capricious God but an honest, faithful, trustworthy God who makes a way for us. He does not close false doors. That is not his design. No, he is Lord because he has made a door, his own body, by which all enter.

People find it difficult to rest on the fact that the door to God is there, and open. As Jesus said, “I am the door of the sheep.” Others who try to get into the riches of God in a way of their own making will always be frustrated because God made one door, not many.

As I read, I hear people saying, “There must be many ways to enter the place of God’s fullness.” Behold, there is no other way. Jesus is the way. What he did can not be duplicated or replicated.

By one Spirit. Behind everything is the Holy Spirit of God. He is the guide, the “convictor,” the instigator, the ever-present Spirit of God who yearns that all people might come to Jesus, the door that opens people to God’s fullness. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one in their ministry of grace. All of those who are led by that Holy Spirit are one in that same Spirit who guides each life.