“1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”
Chapter 5 is a continuous flow of thought from Chapter 4. As was discussed at the end of the last chapter, our condemnation for sin before God the Father is removed through faith in Christ, whose death and resurrection were necessary to bring about our salvation and righteous standing before the Father, all of which comes by Christ. That’s what verse 2 confirms, “We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand…” (v. 2a) What is it to stand before God as righteous? What does it mean to have inherited the righteousness of Jesus? First, verse 1 reveals that we will be at peace with God. Rather than constantly looking over one’s shoulder, hoping that God is not aware of, or is at least indifferent to our broken lives and persistent sinfulness, we can live in peace. We can live in peace knowing that in Christ, not only are we forgiven, but our record is wiped clean. When God looks at us, He sees the righteousness of Jesus, not our past, present, or future failures and mistakes. This brings joy to God, and joy to us! Second, by our inheritance of Jesus’s righteousness, we have been granted access to God and to His grace. Before Jesus took on flesh and died for sinners, those in Israel did not have direct access to God except through a few select priests. Even then, the high priest was only allowed to enter the most holy area of the temple once per year. When Jesus’ sacrifice for sinners was completed, the curtain that separated the most holy place from the rest of the temple was torn in two, thereby symbolizing the access to God’s presence that all who are saved in Christ now have.
“But Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.” — Matthew 27:50-51
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church, he explains that both Jews and Gentiles now have access to God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
“He came and proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household,…” — Ephesians 2:17-19
“In him we have boldness and confident access through faith in him.” — Ephesians 3:12
The access we have to God in Jesus is beautifully summed up by the writer of Hebrews:
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus — he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh) — and since we have a great high 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 in pure water. Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.” — Hebrews 10:19-23
Another thing to note: As Christians, we must be thankful that Jesus was raised from the dead because He is right now interceding for us at the right hand of the Father. If Jesus had not been raised, there would be no one that could intercede for us, and we would have no access to the Father. (See also Romans 5:10, 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25)
We now have hope because of what Christ has accomplished for us! Verse 2b says that we can boast about the hope of the glory of God. This hope is not the same hope that one has to hope for good weather or to hope for your favorite sports team to win the game. This hope is a hope with a much more solid foundation. This is hope in a promise from God. A hope in something that is guaranteed to come about. We need only have faith. What are we hoping for? For the glory of God to be revealed. For sin and death to be no more. For God to reign and bring about His kingdom. We have hope in our salvation through faith in Jesus!