In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
εν ω εχομεν την παρρησιαν και την προσαγωγην εν πεποιθησει δια της πιστεως αυτου
8 Church Fathers comment on this verse
"In Whom we have," he says, "boldness and confident access through faith in Him." We were not brought in as captives, he says, nor as those merely deemed worthy of pardon, nor as sinners. "We have," he says, "boldness and confident access through faith," that is, we hope with courage. Why is this so? Through faith in Him.
That all things came about through Christ is clear, he says, from the fact that He is the One Who brought us near. Yet we were not brought as captives, nor as sinners merely pardoned, but we have boldness, and not merely boldness, but boldness with hope and confidence.
Whence is this ours? From faith, he says. Having freed us from sins, faith placed boldness and confidence within us.
In Him we have received access, communicated to us through the confidence of faith in Him. Literally in the Syriac, Greek, and Vulgate: "in confidence through faith in Him"; the Russian rendering reads: "confident access."
Nothing can give us assurance and purity of conscience, of which it is said, "If our conscience does not accuse us, we have confidence before God" (1 Jn 3:21), except the Word, Wisdom, Truth, and Righteousness. All these refer to Christ. Whoever does all things reasonably and in good order believes in Christ as Word and Reason. Whoever can appropriate wisdom believes in Christ as Wisdom. Whoever understands truth believes in Christ as Truth. Whoever lives righteously believes in Him as Righteousness.
"In whom we have assurance and access to God through faith in Him with certainty." Nothing can give us assurance and purity of conscience, of which it is said, "If our conscience does not accuse us, we have full confidence before God" (1 Jn 3:21), except the Word, Wisdom, Truth, and Righteousness. All these are understood in the sense of Christ. Therefore, just as all this gives us assurance in God, so it also grants us access to Him. Thus our mind approaches Him, contemplates Him more diligently, and receives something of His majesty for itself. As though from the sun's rays, it receives some warmth and radiance of light, and says: "The light of Thy face, O Lord, has been signed upon us" (Ps 4:7). It is great not only that we have assurance, but that we have it with firm conviction. We have not only access to Him. In order that this access may be more certain, we have it with firm assurance. The beginning and source of this faith of access to God is faith concerning Christ. Therefore, whoever does all things reasonably and in good order believes in the Word and Reason, that is, in Christ. Whoever can appropriate wisdom believes in Christ as Wisdom. Whoever understands truth believes in Christ as Truth. Whoever lives righteously believes in Him as Righteousness. There is no need to say more, since it has often seemed necessary to me to reason about Christ in this way.
"And to me, the least of all the saints, was this grace given: to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all" (Eph 3:8-9). "So that now, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus" (Eph 3:10-12). That is, the mystery of this wisdom is so glorious that, through its revelation, the Church becomes the greatest spectacle for the highest angels themselves. Therefore, the Apostle adds, "I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations for you," that is, for proclaiming this mystery to you, "which are your glory" (Eph 3:13).
One may ask where Saint Paul is leading this whole discourse, and why he speaks at length about the hiddenness of the mystery of the calling of the Gentiles, now only revealed. He does this to dispose the Ephesians more strongly to keep firm remembrance of this mystery, so precious for them. For this reason he said at the beginning of his discourse on it: "remember" (Eph 2:11). With the same aim, he also sets forth this special point: the preaching of this mystery has been entrusted chiefly to him, Paul, and for its sake he suffers and endures bonds (Eph 3:1). What followed from this? The Lord suffered in order to break down the dividing wall and bring you near. The one who called you to participation in this is in bonds. Will you remain inattentive to this, and will you not remember it? Such is the content and meaning of the first thirteen verses of chapter three (Bishop Theophan).
The hiddenness of the mystery of man's salvation was such that even the angels did not know it in fullness (1 Pet 1:12). They learned it through the earthly Church, which has now received access to the heavenly Church. This often came through the sufferings of many righteous ones, and especially through zealous heralds of this mystery, such as the much-suffering prisoner in Christ, the holy Apostle Paul. Saint Chrysostom, confirming the limited knowledge of the angels, gives the example of how the angel of the Persians opposed the archangels Michael and Gabriel, not knowing what concerned the return of the Israelites (Dan 10:13).
Then he exclaims: "If the angels did not know this and things like it, what is surprising if they did not know the wealth of Christ's love as it was revealed through the gospel?" To this Bishop Theophan adds: "The angels too are now brought into the restored union. It is the most exalted and sweetest object of contemplation for them, since they have for the first time shared in it and beheld it. In this lies the end of the redemptive actions of the God-man. In it the mystery of God's governance of the world is resolved, and the purpose of the creation of the world is attained." "See how great is what has been done for you, O Gentiles. Heaven and earth have been set in motion. Angelic minds are enlightened, delighted, and amazed by the contemplation of it. Therefore remember." Saint Chrysostom asks: "Why are Paul's tribulations the glory of the Ephesians?" He answers: "Because God so loved them that He gave His Only-begotten Son, and delivered the Apostles over to suffering. So great is God's love for them."
How exalted is the Apostle's ministry now, as he proclaims this mystery. What long remained hidden from all, the Apostle reveals. He shows the whole greatness and manifold character of the wisdom of God, which brings the Gentiles also into the process of truly Christian development.
More than this, even the highest heavenly powers come to know the wisdom of God in its highest manifestation only through the fact of the founding of the Church of Christ, dia tes ekklesias. Thus it was determined in the eternal counsel of God.
The thought of the text is clear. It is the same as above in Eph 2:18: through Him we have access in one Spirit to the Father. Through the Lord we have boldness. Without Him, like the publican, we do not dare lift our eyes to heaven. Through Him we also have access to the Father, from whom our sins separate us. The Lord removes our sins from us, and we receive courage and boldness to approach the heavenly Father. "In confidence," πεποιθησει, means conviction and assurance. It expresses the disposition by which the weak says to the strong: I am confident in you, and I know that you will not abandon me. Such assurance in God we receive through the Lord Jesus Christ. Having believed in the Lord, we receive confirmation that God admits us into communion.
Having admitted us, He will never abandon us and will leave us lacking in nothing. For if He did not spare His own Son, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things (Rom 8:32)? Such a blessed disposition flows directly from faith in the Lord. It is inseparably joined with it and serves as its testimony. The Apostle says that it comes through faith in the Lord, δια της πιστεως. Saint Chrysostom says: "We have boldness in confidence; that is, we approach with courage. Why so? Through faith in Him." "For," Theophylact adds, "by loosing our sins, faith gave us boldness and confidence." In a few words the Apostle has outlined the whole course of our reunion with God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Through faith in the death on the Cross, we receive forgiveness of sins. By grace, through the mysteries bestowed according to faith, we are united with the Lord. Through Him we are made the Father's own. This is true of each believer separately, and of all believers together. All are united with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father. They form one body under Him, the one Head. It is therefore clear why the holy Apostle brought in these words. They explain precisely what was accomplished by the Lord in fulfillment of God's eternal determination concerning our salvation. They also show what the angels now behold through the Church: the manifold wisdom of God. The Apostle's thought rests entirely on one and the same image: the recapitulation of all things in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 13 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS