Pastor David B. Curtis
Pastor David B. Curtis
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We are looking at the last half of Ephesians chapter 2. This paragraph (verses 11-22) can be broken into three sections: verses 11-13 describe the pre-Christian past of Paul's Gentile readers in relation to Israel and their present position in Christ. Secondly, verses 14-18 explain how this coming near was made possible through Christ. Thirdly, verses 19-22 apply the truths of verses 14-18 to the readers new privileged position in Christ.
We looked at the first section (vs 11-13) last time and saw that Paul rehearsed the plight of the Gentiles before Christ (2:11-12). They were separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. While the Jews who were God's chosen people because of His grace alone, had become proud, and had developed an intense hatred for the Gentiles. They viewed them as uncircumcised dogs. They shook the dust off their feet after traveling in Gentile territory before coming back to the Holy Land, so as not to defile the land. They would never eat with a Gentile. Even Gentile converts to Judaism had to keep their distance in the Temple. That was their past before Calvary, BUT NOW they have been brought near to Yahweh by the blood of Yeshua.
The next section, verses 14-18, which we are going to look at this morning, explains how this coming near was made possible. These verses are a distinct unit of thought. It begins in verse 14 with the conjunction "for," and ends in verse 18.
The theme of this section is fairly clear, Paul uses the word "peace" four times (2:14, 15, and twice in 17). He talks about Christ making the two groups into one, breaking down the wall between them, and creating the two into one New Man. He mentions twice that Christ removed the enmity, and that He reconciled the two groups into one body, so that they both have common access to the Father through the one Spirit. Reconciliation is clearly his theme. The context speaks of the reconciliation of redeemed Jews and Gentiles to each other and to God from whom both were estranged:
For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, Ephesians 2:14 NASB
"He Himself is our peace"—the position of the pronoun here in the Greek indicates that the best translation is: "He alone is our peace, or He only is our peace." It's emphatic. He alone. Not only does Yeshua make peace between Jews and Gentiles, but He Himself is that peace. He, living in believing Jews and Gentiles, is what has made both one.
Who is the "our" in this text? Some want to make a distinction between the pronouns by postulating that the first person plural pronouns refer to the Jews and the second person plural pronoun refers to the Gentiles. But in this text the pronoun "our" cannot refer to Jews as opposed to Gentiles, but must refer to all believers.
"Peace"—is the Hebrew shalom. It comes from the root shalam, and it is used most often of restitution, which means: "to make someone whole." It literally means: "to make one whole and complete." Shalom Aleykhem is saying, "May you be whole and complete. May you have everything you need to be whole and complete."
In the ancient Hebrew the word shalom was made up of four letters. The "shin," which looked like our capital W. It represented teeth, and meant: "to consume or destroy." The next letter is the "lamed" and it looked like a shepherd staff. It stood for: "control or authority." Then you have the "vav," which is the nail. It has the idea of: "connecting or attaching." The final letter is a "mem," which pictures water. It means: "chaos or mighty." So the concrete Hebrew meaning of peace is: "to destroy that authority attached to chaos." When you destroy what is bringing chaos, you will have peace. Christ is "our" peace, that of Jews and Gentiles, because He destroyed what brought chaos between Jews and Gentiles, which in this context is the Mosaic Law. We'll see this in a minute. Yeshua also destroyed the enmity between man and Yahweh bringing peace, making us whole.
Here we see Yeshua in fulfillment of that prophecy in Isaiah 9:
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 NASB
He, Yeshua, is our peace. The peace mentioned that made both groups one was accomplished by Christ's death on the cross.
"Who made both groups into one"—-he "both" refers to the two parties, Jews and Gentiles. Please get this, in Christ all believers are ONE, it doesn't matter what their nationality is. All believers are one in Christ. Paul put it this way to the Galatians:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28 NASB
When we are in Yeshua, there is neither Jewish Christians nor Gentile Christians, there is just Christians! Since this is true, then there is no reason to compel Gentiles to keep Jewish religious customs.
"Broke down the barrier of the dividing wall"—what is this barrier referring to? Before we look at what this means, let me share this with you. One commentator, I don't want to mention his name, commenting on this phrase says this: "There are walls like that among us. There are walls in homes like that. There is hostility and hatred and defiance and suspicion and distrust between husbands and wives, between parents and children, and between neighbors and friends." That is true, but it has nothing to do with this text. I understand that we want to apply the Scriptures to our lives, but this is really forcing it. This author takes this text and preaches a message about how we should all get along. Paul is speaking here about the hostility between Jews and Gentiles in the first century. And the barrier that he talks about being broken down is the Mosaic Law.
Many commentators view this "barrier wall" as referring to a four-foot wall in the Temple precincts that divided the Court of the Gentiles from where the rest of the Jews could worship.
In the Temple area, in the city of Jerusalem, in the day of our Lord, there was an outer court, which was the court of the Gentiles, and the Gentiles could enter that court. And then there was a court of the women, and the women could get a little bit closer if they were members of the Nation Israel. And then there was a court of the priests, there was a court of the men and a court of the priests, and of course the most holy area where only the priests, as they carried out their ministry, could go.
Well, this court of the Gentiles was separated from the rest of the Temple area, and there was this barrier. Many commentators view this "barrier wall" as referring to this four-foot wall in the Temple precincts.
Josephus, in his description of the Temple, says: "When you went through these first cloisters unto the second court of the Temple, there was a partition made of stone all round, whose height was three cubits. Its construction was very elegant; upon it stood pillars at equal distances from one another, declaring the law of purity, some in Greek and some in Roman letters that no foreigner should go within the sanctuary" (The Wars of the Jews, 5, 5, 2). In another description he says of the second court of the Temple: "This was encompassed by a stone wall for a partition, with an inscription which forbade any foreigner to go in under pain of death" (The Antiquities of the Jews, 15, 11, 5).
In 1871 one of these prohibiting tablets was actually discovered, and the inscription on it reads: "Let no one of any other nation come within the fence and barrier around the Holy Place. Whosoever will be taken doing so will himself be responsible for the fact that his death will ensue."
Paul was in the Temple when a mob falsely accused him of bringing Trophimus, an Ephesian Gentile, beyond the barrier, and thus arrested him (Acts 21:27-36).
Many see this "barrier wall" in the Temple as what Paul is referring to here. They see breaking down this wall as symbolizing the Jew and Gentile worshiping as one. One problem with this view is that it would have Jews and Gentiles worshiping in the Jewish Temple, thus worshiping as Jews.
Some think that this "barrier wall" refers to the curtain in the Jerusalem Temple between the holy place and the Holy of Holies. But that was a curtain, not a wall. And that curtain separated all men, Jews and Gentiles, from the Holy of Holies. The wall in this context separated the Jews and Gentiles.
It is my opinion that when the Temple veil was rent in two, it wasn't to show that all men had access to Yahweh, it was to expose the fact of the empty vain worship that had been going on for 400 years. The Holy of Holies was empty. The presence of Yahweh no longer resided in the Temple, but in the body of Christ, the redeemed people of every nation.
So what was this "barrier wall" that was broken down? Paul goes on to say:
by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, Ephesians 2:15 NASB
"By abolishing...the Law of commandments contained in ordinances"—the wall dividing the Jewish courts from the Gentile courts was an image picturing the bigger spiritual wall of the Law. It was Torah that separated the nations from Israel. What makes a Hebrew a Hebrew? Bottom line, it was Torah. And in Christ's finished work, we see that this wall, or as Paul explains next, this enmity—the Law of commandments—has been destroyed and abolished.
The word "abolishing" is the Greek word katargeo, it's a really strong word. It's used 27 times in the New Testament. It means: "to destroy, annihilate, or do away with." There is much controversy as to what it was that was abolished, but I think that the NASB has it right, and what was abolished was, "the Law of commandments contained in ordinances"—the Mosaic Law created a barrier between the Jews and the Gentiles. The Mosaic Law was given exclusively to Israel as God's covenant people. Many stipulations in The Law excluded Gentiles from the Jewish forms of worship. The priests alone could perform the sacrifices and ceremonies. Only Jews who had properly gone through the cleansing rituals could approach the altar with their sacrifices. The ceremonial food laws made it impossible for a devout Jew to eat a meal with a Gentile, or to stay in a Gentile home. So The Law created a barrier between the Jews and the Gentiles.
In my opinion, the relationship between the Mosaic Law and the believer is one of the most misunderstood subjects in the Bible. How many of us are, in our experience at least, still in bondage to the Law?
The Jewish New Testament Commentary speaking of Ephesians 2:11-22, says this, "They are fundamental to understanding both the nature of the Torah, which still exists and is binding on believers, and the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in the Messianic Community."
The Torah is binding on believers? Do any of you have a problem with that? What would your first problem be? The Gentiles were never under Torah. If Torah is binding on believers, then we all have to go to Jerusalem three times a year:
"Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. Exodus 34:23 NASB
Who among the Messianic believers does this? This is Torah. And you had to be circumcised or you couldn't partake of Passover, according to Exodus 12:48.
This is my problem with the Messianic Movement, they think we have to observe Torah. We don't, we Gentiles never did have to. Because I use the name Yeshua instead of Jesus people think I'm connected with the Messianic Movement, I'm not. But I think it is important to understand that Yeshua was Jewish and so were the apostles. I think it is very important for us to understand the Jewish culture, but I don't think we need to observe it. We are not Jewish. I don't think that we can understand the last 27 books of the Bible unless we understand the first 39. The Bible was written by Hebrews so the more we understand the Hebrew language and culture, the more we will understand our Bible.
It is not only the Messianic believers who push Torah. Vincent Cheung writes, "He did not destroy the moral laws, but only 'the Law of commandments contained in ordinances' (Ephesians 2:15, NASB). So other than the commandments relating to ceremonies, dietary regulations, and the like, God's laws, such as the Ten Commandments, remain in effect and continue to govern the thought and conduct of His people, and to hold all of humanity accountable." So according to Cheung, the moral law is still in effect, but the ceremonies and dietary regulations are done away. Do you know which laws are ceremonial and which are moral?
John MacArthur holds to a similar view and writes, "Now what was the biggest barrier, the biggest genuine barrier between a Jew and a Gentile? What was it? Basically the ceremonial law, wasn't it? The whole Jewish thing." He goes on to say, "Let me hasten to say this. God has a moral law and God's moral law never changes. Never. It never changes. ..God's moral law was formalized in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20."
So according to Cheung and MacArthur, at very minimum we are under the Ten Commandments. What do you think? You do realize that the command to "keep the Sabbath" is part of the Ten Commandments. So then I guess we are still under the Sabbath law? Do you remember what the penalty was for Sabbath breakers?:
"For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a sabbath of complete rest to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. "You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day." Exodus 35:2-3 NASB
The Sabbath is not Sunday, so if you do any work on Saturday, even if you kindle a fire to keep warm, you are to be put to death.
These Commandments were for Israel. Along with the Ten Commandment came the Temple worship, the sacrifices, the food restrictions. Are you bound by those? Do any of you eat shellfish?:
'These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. 10 'But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers, that do not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you, Leviticus 11:9-10 NASB
Why is it that believers can eat whatever they want, but some still feel compelled to obey the Sabbath? James says that the Law is a whole:
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. James 2:10 NASB
The Old Covenant Law is a unit. If you break one commandment, you are guilty. Some have tried to divide the Law into three categories: moral, judicial (civil), and ceremonial. This started with Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) back in the 13th century, and most Christians seem to have adopted this division. The problem with this is that there is nothing in Scripture to support the idea that the Law should be divided into three parts, such as the ceremonial law, the civil law, and the moral law. Most teach that God has done away with the ceremonial and civil aspects of the Law, but not with the moral aspect of the Law. Such a distinction is not drawn anywhere in the Scriptures. The Law is viewed as a unit, or as a whole. James said that anyone who breaks one point of the Law, breaks the whole Law.
So what I am saying is that Christ abolished the Mosaic Law, every bit of it. It was given to Israel, not to us and it has been abolished. So what Law are believers under?
Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 NASB
The law of Christ is the law of love. We are to love Yahweh and love our neighbor as our self. We are under the laws of the New Covenant.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Yeshua has set you free from the law of the sin and of the death. Romans 8:2 NASB
"The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Yeshua—this is Torah of the Spirit. This introduces us to a new facet of Torah, this is New Covenant Torah.
Speaking of our text, "abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances" The Jewish New Testament Commentary says, "But usually this verse is rendered so as to say that the Messiah did away with the Torah. Those who think so can give only lip service to Yeshua's own statement that He came not to destroy the Torah but to fill it up with its full meaning (Mat 5:17)."
Let's look at that text:
"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Matthew 5:17-18 NASB
What is Christ saying here? Look at it carefully. This is a very important verse. What does Yeshua mean by "the Law"? Yeshua said, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets." The use of the terms "the Law" and "the Prophets" indicates that what the Lord is speaking of in these verses is the whole of the Tanakh. If you trace these terms through your Bible, you will find that wherever this expression is used, it includes the entire Hebrew Bible.
The word "abolish" comes from the Greek word kataluo, which has the idea of: "destroy or dissolve." Matthew uses this word four times in his gospel; if you look at the other three we can clearly see its meaning is to destroy.
Yeshua said that He didn't come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. What does it mean to fulfill the Law? The word "fulfill" is from the Greek word pleroo. Matthew uses this word seventeen times, and in fifteen of them it clearly refers to prophecy being fulfilled or coming to pass. The Law, which we read in the Torah, and everything that has been said by the Prophets, was going to "come to pass" down to the minutest detail. And until it was all fulfilled, it was binding on the Jewish people.
Christ fulfilled the Law by fulfilling all the types and prophecies of the Tanakh. All of the illustrations in the Old Covenant sacrificial system focus on and find their fulfillment in Him. All of the prophecies given regarding the coming Messiah, His kingdom, and His salvation find their fulfillment in Him.
The phrase "till heaven and earth pass away" refers to the duration of the whole Old Covenant's authority. So, Yeshua is saying that not a single item of the Law—the Old Covenant—will ever be changed UNTIL heaven and earth pass away. Most today would says this has not happened, but as a Preterist, we know it happened in A.D. 70. The Lord destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple and that was the end of the Mosaic Law.
Commenting on our text, "abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances," listen to what one commentator writes, "Do you know that to prove the abolishment was final in A.D.70. God allowed the Romans to come down and the Romans literally wiped out Judaism. They abolished the Temple, destroyed the whole thing and there has never been a sacrificial system in Judaism since that time to this day, never. It was wiped out. It was done. It was gone. And with it went all the records. They don't know what tribes they're in. They don't know who the priests are. The whole system was finished. God wiped it out." (http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/1910 - "The Unity of the Body Part 2" - In the eighth paragraph from the bottom). It was not a Preterist who wrote this; it was John MacArthur. Can you believe that MacArthur said that?
Back to our text: In verse 15 Paul says this abolishing was done "in His flesh"—this is a reference to Christ's death on the cross. Was the Law abolished at the cross? No, it was not:
When He said, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. Hebrews 8:13 NASB
In A.D.67-68 the Old Covenant was ready to disappear.
Paul's reference to the Law being abolished in Christ's death is a prolepsis. A prolepsis is the representation or assumption of a future act or development as if presently existing or accomplished. What God was teaching Peter was that the Law was beginning to fade away. The process had started and would culminate in the destruction of the Temple.
"In Himself He might make the two into one new man"—the Greek word translated "make" is literally: "create." Yeshua created something new.
Barclay comments, "In Greek there are two words for new. There is neos, which is new simply in point of time; a thing which is neos has come into existence recently, but there may well have been thousands of the same things in existence before. É There is kainos, which means: 'new in point of quality.' A thing which is kainos is new in the sense that it brings into the world a new quality of thing which did not exist before. The word that Paul uses here is kainos É" (William Barclay's, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, revised edition, p.116; Philadelphia: The Westminster Press).
Christ created a "New Man." This is something totally new. Paul mentions this new category in:
Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; 1 Corinthians 10:32 NASB
Jews tended to speak of the division of humanity into Jews and Gentiles, Paul makes a third classification: "the called out ones" of God. This "called out ones" embracing former Jews and Gentiles. Thus the Church, the called out ones, is a new humanity or new race, a new Israel. Israel means: "God rules" or "He who rules with God."
If you are a believer today, no matter what your nationality or heritage, you are not a Gentile, nor are you a Hebrew. Christ did not make Jewish Gentiles, nor did He make Gentilish Jews. He made a "New Man." There are not Jewish churches and Gentile churches. There is the Church, made up of both Jew and Gentile, but constituting a new humanity—those who have been called out and redeemed by Christ. The picture here is that the true Israel becomes the Church of Christ and the Church of Christ emerges as the new Israel. And that unites this new people is Yeshua. They are the people of Yeshua. Christ is the one New Man.
The New Covenant, as mediated by Christ, is a brand NEW Covenant, which totally replaces the Old Covenant. There are not two covenants between man and God: one for Jews and one for Christians, but there is only one covenant and one way to be reconciled to God.
John Hagee teaches a heresy known as "Zionism." Religious Zionism teaches that God has a separate covenant with Israel and another for the Gentile Church. This is unbiblical and is sometimes called a "Dual Covenant." Hagee stated to the Houston Chronicle that he believes Jews have a special covenant with God and do not need to come to the cross for salvation. According to Hagee, Jews don't need to be born-again. Mr. Hagee told the Texas newspaper: "I believe that every Jewish person who lives in the light of the Torah, which is the Word of God, has a relationship with God and will come to redemption" (Houston Chronicle, April 30, 1988).
The Houston Chronicle Newspaper then quoted Hagee as saying, "I'm not trying to convert the Jewish people to the Christian faith... In fact, trying to convert Jews is a waste of time. Jews already have a covenant with God and that has never been replaced by Christianity." (Houston Chronicle, April 30, 1988, sec, 6, pg. 1).
You have to question how well Hagee knows the Bible. Notice what John says:
Who is a liar at all, if not the person who denies that Yeshua is the Messiah? Such a person is an anti-Messiah — he is denying the Father and the Son. Everyone who denies the Son is also without the Father, but the person who acknowledges the Son has the Father as well. 1 John 2:22-23 CJB
If you reject Yeshua, you reject Yahweh; and if you reject Yahweh, you are not part of the one New Man, the new Israel. Yeshua is the point in redemptive history where the true Israel becomes the Church of Christ and the Church (Jew and Gentile) emerges as the true Israel.
"Thus establishing peace"—Yeshua has established peace by abolishing the Mosaic Law and making the two into one New Man. There are not two saving covenants. There are not two saved peoples. And the reason is that there are not two ways of salvation as verse 16 shows us:
and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. Ephesians 2:16 NASB
To reconcile is to bring two people together who have been at enmity. So in a sense, to put it very simply, reconciliation is a movement from a status of enmity, where we're enemies, to a status of amity, where we are friends; or, from being an enemy to being a friend. From enmity to amity: that's what it means to be reconciled.
"Both in one body"—this is the body of Christ, the one New Man. By virtue of doing away with the Law, Jew and Gentile now stand on the same basis before the Lord God. And the purpose of the atoning work of Yeshua, in which the Law is done away with, is to ultimately reconcile Jew and Gentile together, not only to one another, but to God Himself.
"Through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity"—this is saying that the enmity has been put to death by the cross. Meaning that the Lord Yeshua has taken upon Himself the judgment that the broken law required, that He has paid to the full for the people of God. And that's why the people of God go free: their penalty has been paid. Everything was procured for us by the work of the Lord Yeshua the Christ —forgiveness of sins, reconciliation to God, propitiation for sins—all secured by the cross.
AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; Ephesians 2:17 NASB
"Christ is peace," verse 14 says. "Christ made peace,"verse 15 says. "Christ preached peace," verse 17 says. This is a quote from:
Creating the praise of the lips. Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near," Says the LORD, "and I will heal him." Isaiah 57:19 NASB
This passage speaks of Jews who have been dispersed among the nations because of God's anger against their sins. That is who the "far" and "near" are in Isaiah 57. But Paul takes this passage and applies it not specifically to the nation of Israel, but generally to the whole of humanity, where the "near" are the Jews and the "far" are the non-Jews.
So when did Yeshua preach to those who were far, the Gentiles? There is no record that He preached to Gentiles while on earth. But by means of the ministry of the Holy Spirit through His apostles He preached to the Gentiles. Men were doing it, apostles were doing it, but they were giving out the word, and Christ Himself was coming to them through the word of the apostles. So He came and preached peace.
Harold Hoehner, in his commentary on Ephesians, says, "This verse reinforces the idea of the formation of an entirely new entity. Both the 'far' and 'near' hear the message of peace. If the Gentiles actually became Jews, then the near would not need the message of peace; rather those who were far away would enter into the fold of the near."
for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. Ephesians 2:18 NASB
Him is Yeshua, it is through Him, and only through Him, that anyone has access to Yahweh. The word "access"—is the Greek word prosagoge. This word was used in ancient times for the person who introduced somebody to the king. It is a levitical term for access to the Temple. This word prosagoge is used only two other times in Scripture, Romans 5:2 and Ephesians 3:12, each time speaking of an introduction to God. Christ has brought us in and introduced us to Yahweh.
This was revolutionary—especially for Paul's Jewish readers. All through their history, the one thing that was true for the Jews was no access. God was the utterly unapproachable Holy One, and that was laid down in no uncertain terms. Entrance into the "Holy of Holies" was restricted to the High Priest—and that only once a year on the Day of Atonement. The message was clear: "Keep your distance!" Access was not a word in the vocabulary of the Jews.
Notice what the writer of Hebrews says:
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Yeshua, Hebrews 10:19 NASB
This idea of having assurance or confidence arises directly out of what has just been said, that is why he starts this verse with "therefore."
For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Hebrews 10:14 NASB
Since they were "sanctified, perfected forever," boldness is appropriate and right. It is referring to an objective right, which gives us a subjective attitude of boldness. They have boldness to enter the "holiest"—this is a reference to God's presence. And this boldness by which we enter is "by the blood of Yeshua," not by our own merit.
This is the proof that peace did come through the preaching of the Gospel. Because of the Son's finished work we now have access to the Father by one Spirit. We have here all three persons of the Trinity: through Him (Christ) we both have access through one Spirit unto the Father. So it is through the instrumentality of the Son in the sphere of the Holy Spirit that we are brought to the place where we have access to the Father. All the persons of the Trinity working in beautiful concert: the Son, laying down His life; the Holy Spirit applying the ministry; and it is the Father who has chosen us as He said in the beginning and has determined the whole means by which the program shall be carried out.
Believers, our life is a life of access. We have continual access to Yahweh, the eternal God of the universe. We're able, at any time, to lift our voices and say, "Father, we thank You, we need You, we love You." We have a companion, One who is always with us.
We have no record of any individual Jewish man until the days of the Lord Yeshua, lifting up His voice to heaven and saying, "Abba, Father." Yeshua is the first One who used that term in the individual sense, so far as we know. Now all believers have access to the Father 24/7. We are blessed!
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