Ephesians 2:17-20
The Problem of the Human Heart: Our Need for Access to God – Ephesians 2:17-20
Ephesians 2:17-20 (NIVUK)
He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
Commentary
Verse 17: Jesus came and preached peace to us who were far away and peace to those who were near. Through him we both have access to the Father by one spirit. Do you see that the diagnosis of scripture is that the conflict and division that we experience, not just in ourselves but between us as people, is rooted in actual fact in our alienation from God. Verse 18. Through him, we both have access to the father by one spirit. Our tendency is always to point the finger to blame others for the problems that we see. But Jesus says there is no them and us. The world is not made up of good and bad, but it is all of us. We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to our own way. There’s a wonderful story you might know about a time when the newspaper, the Times of London sent out an inquiry to leading intellectuals of the day and asked the question, what’s wrong with the world? And you might ask the same question in this day and age. And the brilliant author, GK Chesterton, wrote back and simply responded: Dear Sirs, I am. Yours sincerely, GK Chesterton. The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart.