Access to God is
the privilege of approaching the living God
with confidence, freedom, and welcome.
In the Old Testament
this access was limited and carefully regulated.
In the New Covenant,
through the finished work of Jesus Christ,
believers have bold and direct access
to the Father by the Holy Spirit.
Under the Old Covenant, access to God’s presence was restricted:
These limitations taught the holiness of God and the seriousness of sin.
Jesus Christ has permanently opened the way to God:
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh… let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)
Key truths about this access include:
- It is made possible by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19).
- It is a “new and living way” opened through His death (the tearing of the veil — Matthew 27:51).
- It is available to all believers, not only to a priestly class.
- It is characterized by confidence and full assurance rather than terror (Hebrews 4:16; 10:22).
- It is permanent because it rests on Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice and ongoing priesthood.
Paul also emphasizes that through Christ “we both have access in one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:18) and that in Christ “we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him” (Ephesians 3:12).
Because believers have access to God, they can:
- Draw near to Him in prayer at any time.
- Approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
- Enjoy ongoing fellowship with the Father and the Son.
- Live without the fear of rejection or condemnation when they come to Him.
This access is one of the greatest privileges of the New Covenant.
- Hebrews 4:14-16 “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
- Jesus is not a priest who stayed on earth. He has passed through the heavens. He is the Son of God, and He still knows weakness from the inside. He was tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin. Because of that, the throne is a throne of grace. Draw near. Hold the confession. Mercy and help are not locked behind a veil. They are given to those who come.
- Hebrews 10:19-22 “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
- The holy places are open. The blood of Jesus is the reason. His flesh is the torn curtain. He is the great priest over the house. Confidence here is not swagger. It is a cleansed conscience and a true heart. Draw near. The way is new and living. Do not stand in the courtyard as if the veil were still whole.
- Ephesians 2:18 “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”
- Jew and Gentile do not take two roads. Through Christ, in one Spirit, both come to the Father. Access is a gift of the Trinity. The Son opens the way. The Spirit brings us. The Father receives us. Priesthood in the new covenant is not a private stairway for a few. It is one access for one new people.
- Ephesians 3:12 “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.”
- Boldness and access belong together. They are in Christ, through faith in Him. The gospel does not produce cringing at the door and it does not produce careless stomping in. It produces children who come because the Son has made them welcome. Faith is the empty hand that takes what He has opened.
- Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
- Justification comes first. Peace with God is the result. Access is not a feeling we work up. It is a standing we have obtained through Jesus. We stand in grace. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. The priestly way in is the justified way in. No peace, no real drawing near. In Christ, both are given.
- John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
- There is one way to the Father. It is a Person. Priesthood, temple, veil, and altar all meet in Him. He does not point to a path and stay behind. He is the path. No one comes by another name, another offering, or another mediator. Come through Him, or you do not come.
- Matthew 27:51 “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.”
- When Jesus died, the curtain tore from top to bottom. Heaven did that. The way into the holy place was opened by God, not cut from below by man. The old barrier is finished. What Hebrews explains, Calvary displayed. Do not sew the veil back up. The earth shook. The access is real.
- 1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”
- The aim of the cross is stated in five words: that He might bring us to God. He suffered once. The righteous stood in the place of the unrighteous. Priesthood is this: the Holy One bringing the unholy home. He was put to death in the flesh and made alive. The One who brings us to God is alive to keep us there.
Access to God is a blood-bought privilege that should never be taken for granted. What was once restricted to one man on one day of the year is now open to every believer at all times through Jesus Christ. The gospel does not merely forgive sins; it brings forgiven sinners into the very presence of God with confidence. This nearness is the heart of eternal life and the daily privilege of every Christian.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.