Ⅰ
Our being saved by grace, being raised up together with Christ and seated together with Him in the heavenlies, and having access to the Father are for the building up of the church, His Body, through growing into a holy temple in the Lord—Eph. 2:5-6, 8, 18, 21-22:
A
God enlivened us together when He enlivened the crucified Jesus; therefore, He made us alive together with Christ—v. 5.
B
By grace we have been saved out of our wretched position of death into the marvelous realm of life—v. 5.
C
Through God the Son, who is the Accomplisher, the means, and in God the Spirit, who is the Executor, the application, we have access unto God the Father, who is the Originator, the unique source—v. 18:
１
Positionally, we were reconciled to God; experientially, we have access unto the Father—vv. 16, 18:
ａ
To be reconciled to God is to be saved; to have access unto the Father is to enjoy God.
ｂ
When we contact God, we come to Him through Christ in the Spirit unto the Father; this is the Triune God in our experience and for our enjoyment—v. 18.
２
The Father came to us through the Son in the Spirit, and now the Spirit brings us back to the Father through the Son; through this wonderful two-way traffic, we enjoy the dispensing of the Triune God—2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 3:16-17a.
３
Through the Son is through the Triune God, in the Spirit is in the Triune God, and unto the Father is unto the Triune God; this is how we experience the Triune God and the way that we can be built up—2:18, 21-22.
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 2:5-6 Even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together with Him and seated us together with Him in the heaven-lies in Christ Jesus.18 For through Him we both have access in one Spirit unto the Father.
As sinners we need God’s forgiveness and justification, as revealed in the book of Romans. But as dead persons we need to be made alive. Forgiveness and justification bring us back to God’s presence to enjoy His grace and participate in His life, whereas making us alive enables us, as the living members of the Body of Christ, to express Him. God made us alive by imparting His eternal life, which is Christ Himself (Col. 3:4), into our deadened spirit through His Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2). He has enlivened us with Christ. God enlivened us together when He enlivened the crucified Jesus. Therefore, He made us alive with Christ.
[“Grace” in Ephesians 2:5] denotes not only God freely dispensed into us for our enjoyment, but also God’s action in freely saving us. By such grace we have been saved from our wretched position of death into the marvelous realm of life. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 180)
Today’s Reading
Positionally we were reconciled to God; experientially we have access unto the Father [Eph. 2:18]. To be reconciled to God is to be saved; to have access unto the Father is to enjoy God, who, as the source of life, has regenerated us to be His sons.In the one Body we have been reconciled to God through the cross. This is a fact. Now we may have access unto the Father and contact Him directly. This is an experience. We have been reconciled to God positionally for salvation, and we have access unto the Father experientially for enjoyment.
In verse 18 the Trinity of the Godhead is implied. Through God the Son who is the Accomplisher, the means, and in God the Spirit who is the Executor, the application, we have access to God the Father who is the Originator, the source of our enjoyment.
After being reconciled to God, there was still the need for the Jews and the Gentiles to have access unto the Father for enjoyment... To be in the Body is a fact, but to be in the Spirit is an experience. Although we are in the Body, we may not be in the Spirit. Instead, we may be in our wandering thoughts.
We may have God in fact by being in the Body, but if we would enjoy the Father in experience, we must be in the Spirit. Once we were far off from God, but we have been reconciled to Him positionally. Now there is no separation, no partition, between us and God. However, if we are not in the Spirit, we do not have the enjoyment of this fact. Hence, in order to enjoy experientially what we possess positionally, we need to be in the Spirit. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 227-230)
Ephesians 2 reveals God as the Father and Christ as the Son. After His death and resurrection Christ the Son came as the Spirit to announce the gospel. When the Spirit came, He came with the Father (John 15:26 and footnote, Recovery Version) in the Son’s name (14:26). This means that when the Spirit came, the Son came. Therefore, when the Son comes to announce the gospel to us, the Spirit also comes. When we receive the Son in His announcing, we receive the Spirit. The Spirit then brings us back to the Father through the Son. This is marvelous! The Father came to us through the Son in the Spirit, and now the Spirit brings us back to the Father through the Son. Through this wonderful two-way traffic we enjoy the threefold dispensing of life by the Triune God. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 2, “The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity,” p. 305)
Further Reading; Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 3, 21, 27, 87-88; CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 1, “The Building of the Church,” chs. 1, 3-4