Ephesians 3:12

“In [Christ] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”

In Christ we can approach God with freedom.

it is our relationship with Christ that opens up access to the Father. Our sin created a chasm that separates us from God. The cross, the sacrifice of Christ, crosses that divide .

we who were once”far off” from from God are now in His presence - not because of our own goodness or our own deeds, but because we are in Christ.

to be in Christ means that I have become one with Him. I have asked Him into my heart and in so doing I have come into His heart, so to speak.

To be in Christ is to be united with Him, knowing that our sins are forgiven and we are now children of the Living God.

it is through faith in Christ that we gain access to the Father .

to have faith means that we believe that His death is sufficient and effective. His death is sufficient because there is nothing else that we can add to it. We are saved through faith not by works. Therefore, we must trust that Christ's death on the cross is an adequate sacrifice. We cannot keep going back to the temple to add to this sacrifice. We must not believe that any good work that we may do can in any way add to or replace this one sacrifice.

we must also believe that Christ's death is effective for us. I need to understand that there is no limit to the number of people or the number of sins that can be covered by the blood of Christ. I must know that my sins are forgiven, the specific things that I confess each day.

When we believe in our hearts that Christ's death means life for us, then we can put our trust in God. This combination of belief and trust is what the Bible calls faith. In the final analysis, our trust is in God's faithfulness that he will do what he has said. Faith is always in a person not in a doctrine.

now we can approach God in freedom and confidence.

we can approach God in Freedom because the sins that separated us from Him are gone. The burden of sin the kept us paralysed in fear of God has all been washed away.

the Book of Genesis tells of a “flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:24) Sin effectively barred the way to God's life, but now that we are forgiven we have freedom to come into the presence of God - the flashing sword has been taken away.

a person might come into a king’s presence in freedom but be consumed by fear or anxiety. We can approach God with both freedom and confidence.

from being aliens in a strange country, we have been adopted into God's family, through faith in Christ. So we can approach God with confidence because he is our Father and we are sons and daughters.

because of the sacrifice of Christ, I not only know that my sins are forgiven, I know that God loves me and will never reject me or condemn me.

when Ruth approached her husband's throne, she did so knowing that he could have her killed on the spot for her temerity. But we approach the throne of God with confidence because his love is eternal and unconditional.

because I have been adopted by God I can call him “Abba Father”. That means I can speak to him in intimate and familiar terms. He is not impressed by formal language or flowery prayers. He sees my heart and He loves me.

key points in this verse:

• our relationship with Christ opens up access to the Father

• to be in Christ means to be one with Him

• To have faith in Christ means to believe his death is sufficient and effective

• We can approach God with freedom and confidence

• We are sons and daughters of God