Ephesians 2:18
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Study Note
Study Note
The Trinitarian summary of the atonement's social consequence — 'for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father' — presents the unification of Jewish and Gentile believers as a Trinitarian achievement rather than a human social project. The three persons are each explicitly named as active in the access: through Christ (the mediator), in one Spirit (the common dwelling and bond of union), to the Father (the destination and source of the relationship). The 'we both' (hoi amphoteroi — we the two, referring to Jews and Gentiles from verse 14) makes the Trinitarian structure specifically relevant to the reconciliation of previously divided peoples. The verse grounds Christian unity theology not in ecclesial structures or social agreements but in the ontological structure of Trinitarian access created by the cross.
Other Translations
for through him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father.
because through him we have the access--we both--in one Spirit unto the Father.
Because through him the two of us are able to come near in one Spirit to the Father.
Cross References
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, …
Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your …
And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the …
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the …
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have …
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and …
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be …
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and …
By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his …
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,