And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Let’s take a look now at verses 17 and 18 which continue the thought from the previous verses.

And he came. Jesus came and preached peace to you who were far off. He is speaking here of Gentiles who were outside the covenants of promise and without hope. Christ has preached peace to us. He has also preached peace to those who are near. To the Jews. He is still speaking of the fact that the barrier between the two has been broken down such that there is peace with God and peace between these two groups.

Verse 18 begins with “for.” Why is there peace? Because through Christ we both have access. Both Jews and Gentiles have access to the Father. How? Through the one Spirit. There is only one Spirit (Eph 4:4). And through that one Spirit, we, who were far off, have been given access to God the Father. Amazing!

Both Jews and Gentiles are saved the same way, just as Peter states in Acts 15:11: “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we [the Jews] shall be saved in the same manner as they [the Gentiles].”

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:57 AM November 16, 2020.