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For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Ephesians 2:18 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
  • BSB For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
  • NKJV For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
  • NASB for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
  • NLT Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Through Christ, both Jew and Gentile have access to the Father by one Spirit. It reveals the Trinitarian basis of the believer's access to God.

Overview

Paul sums up the result of reconciliation: 'through him' (the Son) 'we both' (Jew and Gentile) have 'access in one Spirit to the Father.' All three Persons of the Trinity are at work in our approach to God. The unity of the church rests on this shared access to the one Father through the one Christ by the one Spirit.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 26

  • Eph 3:12In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
  • 1 Cor 12:13For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
  • Rom 5:2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
  • Eph 4:4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
  • John 14:6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
  • Heb 10:19–20Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
  • John 10:9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
  • Heb 4:15–16For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
  • John 10:7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
  • Col 1:12Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
  • Rom 8:15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
  • Gal 4:6And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
  • 1 Cor 8:6But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
  • 1 Pet 3:18For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
  • Eph 6:18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
  • Zech 12:10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
  • Heb 7:19For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
  • Eph 3:14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
  • Matt 28:19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
  • John 4:21–23Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
  • 1 Jn 2:1–2My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
  • Rom 8:26–27Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
  • 1 Pet 1:17And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
  • 1 Pet 1:21Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
  • Jude 1:20But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
  • Jas 3:9Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ephesians videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ephesians 2:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EphesiansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Every spiritual blessing is 'in Christ,' the head over all things for the church, in whom Jew and Gentile are made one new man by his blood.

How Ephesians 2:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.