Eph. 2:17-18 - He Preached Peace and Access

17 AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR;
18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

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Peace - Both Far and Near

Vs. 17 - This is a quote from Isaiah;  See: Isa 57:19; Matt 2:33-46; Eph 2:12-13. 

“Near” = Jews. The Jews had the advantage over the Gentiles. Unfortunately they did not grasp that 'near' position. God chose the descendants of Abraham to be the vehicle that brought the savior, Jesus Christ, into the world. But they almost squandered that advantage by dismissing the Lord and not following his commands. Although they were 'closer' to God, there was no discernible difference between Jews and Gentiles. Now they would raise their hand and object to that statement - they have the Passover, and Pentecost, and the temple, and the Laws handed down in the desert during the exile. Some believed that doing the rituals (sacrifices) and celebrating the holy days made them good enough. To bring that to ‘today’ - if you celebrate Christmas, does that make your life acceptable to the Lord? How about showing up at Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter? These do not evidence a heart given to Jesus. 

“Far” = Gentiles. The Gentiles were enemies - they were the "heathens" - i.e., anyone who was not Jewish. That meant every nation, every people surrounding Judah/Israel were heathens. It also meant the heathens did not worship the Lord, the God of Israel. Note: Christ preached peace with God to both.

Vs. 18 - “for through Him “ - This all happens through Christ alone. We have no power to make this happen.

 “access in one Spirit” - We have access to the Father through Jesus Christ in one Spirit — “we” is both Jew and Gentile. (See: Eph 4:4 John 14:26, 15:26; Rom 5:5; 1 Cor 12:13 ) There is only one Holy Spirit, given to us as a pledge, a guarantee of our hope in glory. In one Spirit we can worship God, because of Christ!

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