EPHESIANS EXTRA #11

February 10, 2021

WITH CONFIDENCE BEFORE GOD’S THRONE

G1860 ἐπαγγελία epangelía, ep-ang-el-ee’-ah; from G1861; an announcement (for information, assent or pledge; especially a divine assurance of good):—message, promise.

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

G3954 παῤῥησία parrhēsía, par-rhay-see’-ah; from G3956 and a derivative of G4483; all out-spokenness, i.e. frankness, bluntness, publicity; by implication, assurance:—bold (X -ly, -ness, -ness of speech), confidence, × freely, × openly, × plainly(-ness).

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

Recently some friends and I were discussing our over-familiarity with God. I fear that we take Ephesians 3:12 as license to approach the Lord flippantly. When taken in the context of the rest of the Bible, this cannot be the meaning. God created the world and all that is in it (Genesis 1 & 2). God is our provider and holds the power of life and death (Psalm 104:27-30). He is so overwhelming that no one may see His face and live (Exodus 33:20). When John saw the resurrected Jesus in his vision on the isle of Patmos, he fell at His feet like a dead man (Revelation 1:17). God is holy and all-powerful. We must always remember that.

            With all that in mind, I am even more amazed that all-powerful God has granted me the freedom to approach Him with confidence. As my loving Father, He wants to have fellowship with me. He knows my heart and mind, chooses to forgive my sins, and has compassion on me remembering that He formed man out of dust (Psalm 103:10-14).  In Jesus, we have a high priest who enables us to approach a throne, not of wrath, but of grace (Hebrews 4:15-16). Our freedom and confidence come from the relationship with Christ as our Savior and God as our Father. We must never take the privilege lightly.

            Father, thank you for granting me the awesome privilege of communicating honestly with you. Since I know that you already know all that I think and feel, I can come honestly before you with my hurts and misunderstandings. Thank you for the grace that forgives my sins and loves me when I am unable to understand what you are doing in my life. Thank you for the assurance of your everlasting love. Let me never take the privilege of prayer for granted!