Standing in God’s Presence

Justification dealt with our sin problem once and for all. Romans 5:1-2 speaks about three blessings that result from our having been justified: peace with God, presence of God, and triumphant praise. We have already spoken about having peace with God and therefore experiencing the peace of God that passes all human understanding. In this study we want to consider the second blessing: enjoying God’s presence. If we learn to enjoy God’s presence, we will have no problems, because the joy of God’s presence will take care of all our troubles.

Justification necessarily brings us into the presence of God, that we may enjoy fellowship with God. The ultimate goal of our salvation is to bring us home to our heavenly Father. This acceptance by the Father is an implicate of justification by faith.¹ John tells us, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). Peter says, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God” (1 Pet. 3:18). Jesus leads all his elect, wandering sheep home and introduces them to the Father.

The Hebrews writer speaks of this ultimate purpose of our redemption: “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering” (Heb. 2:10). Jesus brings us who have sinned and have no glory to God. We can go from shame to glory because Jesus dealt with our sin problem. Now we are without sin, as far as God is concerned, and fit to be in this presence. So we read, “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand” (Rom. 5:1-2).

Saints of God, realize this great truth. It does not matter who forsakes you in this world. You are in God’s presence and he will never leave you. Through Jesus we have been admitted forever to the most exclusive club in heaven and on earth. To the praying thief Jesus said from the cross, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” We also have been brought to paradise to enjoy God’s glorious presence forever.

1. Access through Our Lord Jesus Christ

All spiritual blessings flow to us in and through Jesus Christ. Paul uses the preposition “through” (dia) seven times in Romans 5:1-11 (vv. 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 11). All blessings flow to us from the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit. These blessings include peace with God, access to God, glory of God, love of God, future fullness of salvation, reconciliation with God and man, and joy in the Holy Spirit. There is no salvation apart from Christ. Jesus is not a minor god of a hill or country; he is the Sovereign Lord of the universe and salvation comes through him alone. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Peter understood this, declaring, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). This was the purpose of his incarnation, as the angel told Joseph: “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).

No spiritual blessings come to us except through Christ. This is the exclusivism of Christianity. Therefore, if someone is outside of Christ, he will have no peace, no enjoyment of God’s presence, and no ability to triumphantly rejoice in the midst of troubles. We have access to God only through Christ. Paul speaks of this truth throughout his epistles: “This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men” (1 Tim. 2:4-5). Elsewhere he says, “So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord or ashamed of me, his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God who has saved us and called us to a holy life, not because of anything we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1:8-10). He also writes, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11).

Paul says this access comes to us through “Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:1). Jesus is Lord of all. We do not make him so; the Father did. In fact, it does not matter whether we believe in him or not: he is Lord. Paul says God the Father “raised [Christ] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the benefit of the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Eph. 1:20-23). Elsewhere he declares that it is Christ who destroyed our enmity against God and his enmity against us by his death on the cross (Eph. 2:14, 16). Now God is favorably disposed to us and we have been made to love God.

Is Jesus your Lord, that you may enjoy this peace with God and access to his presence? Paul was a violent, blaspheming enemy of God. But after God confronted him and saved him, Paul called him Lord. Paul himself instructs us, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). I urge you to surrender your life to Christ today, that you may live forever.

2. We Have Access to God’s Presence

Many of us would be satisfied to obtain access to some famous or powerful person’s presence. But through Christ we have been admitted to the most exclusive place, the presence of God. Through Christ, we have immediate, direct, and continual access to the Father. There is no difference; everyone who believes in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, master or slave, enjoys this great privilege. And having gained this blessed access, we shall never be thrown out. The Father planned our salvation from all eternity; the Son accomplished it by his death on the cross; and the Holy Spirit applies it effectually to every sinner.

Therefore, if the Father is for us, who can be against us? But more than that, the Son our great high priest who lives eternally, intercedes for us in heaven. Additionally, the Holy Spirit dwells in us and intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (Rom. 8:26). Such intercession is effectual. We are saved forever.

This access to God’s presence is for all eternity. No matter what trouble we experience here, we have access to God. We are in the presence of “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). May God even now fill our hearts with glorious joy. We cannot be miserable, anxious, or fearful in God’s presence. God who is for us will fill our hearts with his eternal joy. We do not need the intercessions and merits of priests, the Virgin Mary, or saints. We do not need purgatory or indulgences. Jesus Christ our great high priest has brought us and introduced us to the Father, who loves us with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3).

Our problem was that there was a blockade to God’s presence. Adam sinned, and in him we all sinned and became godless, gloryless, lifeless, and hopeless. In Adam, we were cast outside of paradise and denied access to the tree of life (Gen. 3:22-24). The entrance to paradise was blocked with cherubim with flaming swords. Who could open it and bring us back to paradise and into God’s presence? Who could destroy our death and bring life and immortality to light? Who would rescue us from the dominion of darkness, of Satan, of death, and bring us into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, the kingdom which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit?

Exodus 19 and Hebrews 12 tell us this blockade existed because of our sin. In Revelation 22 John also spoke of this wall separating people from God. First he says, “Blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates of the city.” But then he declares, “Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (Rev. 22:14-15). God’s presence is a place of life, joy, and glory. But outside there is darkness, gloom, storm, death, sin, and the wrath of God. Outside is the physical Mount Sinai that cannot be touched because it is burning with fire. Everyone is trembling, including Moses. There is a trumpet blast warning of no admittance to God’s presence. The way to God is blocked for all guilty sinners who deserve only punishment. Who will bring us out of Mount Sinai to Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God?

The temple itself had a system of blockades that kept people from God’s presence. When worshipers came to the temple, the first thing they would see was the court of the Gentiles, beyond which no Gentile could go under penalty of death. Then there were the courts of Israeli women and Israeli men, respectively. They could not go further into the court of the priests, and only the high priest could go into the Most Holy Place, where God was, separated by a thick veil. Only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, could the high priest, with the blood of the sin offering and the incense cloud, come into God’s presence for a brief moment.

Again we ask: Who, then, is able to remove all these blockades? Who can bring sinners, whether Jews or Gentiles, to God? Who can bring us from outside to inside, from death to life, from gloom to joy, from hell to heaven? The answer is our Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is the sinless Son of God, the God-man, our kinsman-redeemer, our only mediator and great high priest who sacrificed himself once for all for our sins. Because his propitiatory sacrifice was accepted by the Father, God’s wrath has been averted, and God himself is now gracious to us. Now God is our heavenly Father and we are his adopted sons. Jesus our older brother alone can bring us to God, for he alone is without sin.

When Christ died on the cross, he declared, “It is finished.” He was speaking of the work of redemption for which he came. Matthew writes, “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matt. 27:50-51). A new way was opened up for us to God through the body of Christ. The Hebrews writer explains, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened up for us through the curtain, that is his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful”” (Heb. 10:19-23). Why do we have confidence? We have been sprinkled with the blood of Christ; our sin and guilt are gone. Now we are citizens of the kingdom of God and children of God; as such, we have boldness (parrêsia) to enter his presence. No longer are we timid and fearful, wondering whether God will accept us or not. We know that he delights to see us and that he exhorts us to draw near to him any time. We have come to the heavenly Jerusalem.

Elsewhere we read, “For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants” (Heb. 2:16), and in Romans 4 Paul establishes that all believers are children of Abraham. This idea of helping is that, just as a father runs to help his child, God is running to take hold of us and to help us, saying, “Be not afraid. Peace be with you.” The writer continues, “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 2:18). The writer also declares, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive grace and find mercy to help in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Our time of need is every moment. Every day we are tempted and in need. What should we do? We should approach the throne of grace with confidence, knowing that through justification we have been brought into God’s very presence. When we do so, he will give us grace that is more than sufficient for our need. He gives us exceedingly abundantly more than all we can ask or imagine. He gives grace and mercy to help us in our time of need. His mercies are new every morning. There is always manna coming down, and we are welcome to gather it. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with confidence because we have been justified. Our sin is gone, our consciences have been cleansed, and we are citizens of the kingdom and children of God.

Where has God brought us? The Hebrews writer explains in Hebrews 12, beginning with verse 22: “But you have come to Mount Zion.” He is using the perfect tense, meaning we have come and we will remain there forever. He continues, “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands and thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven.” Sinai was a gloomy, miserable place; heaven is a joyful assembly. He goes on, “You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect.” The moment a believer dies, God perfects his spirit and takes him to heaven. Finally, he says we have come “to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better things than the blood of Abel” (Heb. 12:22-24).

Through Christ we have come inside to God’s presence. We do not belong outside any longer. We belong inside with our Father in our true home. We have gone from Mount Sinai to Mount Zion. We are not under the authority of law but under the rule of grace, and we can never go back. No more doom, trembling, and death for us. We have come into God’s house and gathered in his name to worship him. Knowing these things will stabilize us when trouble comes.

Notice, these blessings come to us through the triune God. Paul writes, “For through [Christ] we both have access to the Father by one Spirit” (Eph. 2:18). One who does not believe in the Trinity cannot be a Christian. We believe in one God in three Persons, co-equal and co-eternal. All the Persons of the Trinity love us and work to bring about our salvation. That is why we are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. God’s people are always under the care of the triune God. We are eternally secure; nothing can separate us from God or snatch us out of his hand. He neither sleeps nor slumbers. Notice, Paul says “we both” have access. There is no discrimination between Jewish and Gentile believers. The verb he uses means we have continuous access to the Father. As children of God, we live in our Father’s presence with exceeding joy.

But this idea of living continuously in the presence of God brings up a question. The Bible says God is a holy, righteous Father in whom there is no darkness. He is also a consuming fire. Isaiah asks, “Sinners in Zion are terrified, trembling grips the godless. ‘Who of us can dwell with consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?'” (Isa. 33:14-15). Who can dwell with God who is fire? The answer is, those who believe in Jesus Christ. The fire does not consume us because it consumed Christ who bore our sins. This is the beauty of justification by faith. Now we are righteouss and we can dwell with God.

God makes a beautiful promise in Jeremiah 50: “In those days at that time, declares the Lord, search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, search will be made, but none will be found. I will forgive the remnant I spare” (Jer. 50:20). I do not think God does the searching, but the devil may, and our own conscience may. But God forgives us. (PGM) We are the remnant that God spares. He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, spared us. That is why we can have peace with God and are ushered by Christ into his presence. Does he bring us before God to convict us of our sins and judge us? No, we are already justified. Why, then, are we brought to God? To enjoy glorious fellowship with the Father and the Son. Jesus said, “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Knowing God means we love God and he loves us. This knowledge will calm all our fears.

Paul writes, “In him and through faith in him we may approach God” (Eph. 3:12). All blockades are lifted. The veil is torn from top to bottom. A new and living way has been established through the body of Christ for us to enter straight into the room of God. We can do so because our sin problem has been dealt with once for all. Because Christ died for our sins, we are reconciled to God and God to us. The door is opened. With freedom and confidence we draw near.

As Paul wrote this, he was in prison, experiencing pain, misery, and all kinds of problems. But he had this wonderful privilege of going into the presence of God and learned to be content despite his circumstances. We all have problems in this world. Some have more; some less. But like Paul, we should learn the secret of being content. As we draw near to God, he will draw near to us. Paul therefore tells the Ephesians, “I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory” (Eph. 3:13). Note the plural: “sufferings.” Then he continues, “For this reason I kneel before the Father” (Eph. 3:14). Because we are justified, we have peace with God, we are in the presence of God, we pray to God, and he hears our prayers. Just like an earthly father hears his children’s cries, even more so will our heavenly Father will hear and answer our prayers and meet our every need by giving us more grace-grace that is greater than all our sin, sufferings, and misery.

In effect, Paul is saying, “Do not feel sorry for me. I enjoy God’s presence in prison. I pray to him and fellowship with him, and I am comforted by him.” Elsewhere he says, “Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles” (2 Cor. 1:3, author’s translation). God gives us with an abundance of mercies and fills us with overflowing comfort so we can comfort others.

Yes, we were once enemies, but our status has changed: “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). God has become our heavenly Father; as children, it is now natural for us to speak to him about all kinds of things. We have a right, therefore, not only as citizens of God’s kingdom, but also as children of God to come into his presence and pray in faith, knowing that our Father will hear our prayers and give us grace.

The king’s children have free access to the king’s presence, just like my children and grandchildren always have access to my presence. They run to my door and knock until I open it. I am happy to see them. If this is true of us, how much more is our heavenly Father interested in seeing us, whom he loves as he loves his own Son.

3. Access to Prayer

The third blessing is access to prayer. We pray to the heavenly Father in Jesus’ name by the Holy Spirit. The greatest blessing on this side of heaven is to be able to pray to the infinite, eternal, all-wise, all-compassionate God. We should make use of this privilege at all times, not only when we have troubles. Paul says, “I bow my knees before the Father” (Eph. 3:14). Paul speaks of his prayers for the churches throughout his epistles. For example, he writes to Philemon, “I remember you in my prayers” (Philemon 4).

Prayer by the Spirit is the sign that we are alive and have been brought into relationship with our heavenly Father. As God’s children, we lack nothing. We merely have to cry and God will take care of us, just as young parents rush to care for their baby whenever the child cries. In Romans 8 Paul declares, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear. But you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.'”

As soon as a person is born of God, the Spirit of God comes in and causes that person to cry, “Abba, Father.” We pray in the power of the Spirit and by his guidance because we are heirs with God and joint-heirs with Christ. We exercise our right to come into God’s presence and pray boldly. All believers, young or old, can pray. Those experiencing temptation can pray and God will set you free. We can rejoice in tribulations because we can pray and fellowship with God in the midst of all problems.

While he was in prison, Paul reveals his secret that transcended all his troubles: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything with prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). God’s grace is greater than all our troubles.

That is why we should pray boldly, for we stand firmly in God’s grace of justification, on the rock-solid foundation of God’s free and unmerited favor. We are not under law; we are under the government of grace. Paul exhorts, “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand” (1 Cor. 15:1). We stand in grace and in the promises of God, who cannot lie or die or change. He remains true to his promises. Paul also admonishes, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (Rom. 14:14-15). We do not stand in our strength; God enables us to stand.

Our Master will see to it that we stand until the day we die. Jude writes, “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence and without fault and with great joy, to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 24-25). The psalmist declares, “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment” (Ps. 1:5). This means the righteous will stand. Elsewhere he states: “The arrogant cannot stand in your presence” (Ps. 5:5). There is no greater judgment than not standing in God’s presence. Those who mock Christ, God, and God’s word are proud. But they will not stand. God will see to it that they fall in due time.

Not only do we stand, but we are also seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). Think of our condition when we were outside: we were helpless, ungodly sinners, enemies. But now we are inside: justified, sons of God, the company of the redeemed, the children of the heavenly Father, heirs of God, rich and famous in the whole universe.

I urge you to pray boldly and often because our heavenly Father delights in our prayers. Jesus says, “In that day, you will no longer ask me anything. I tell the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now, you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete. . . . In that day, you will ask in my name and I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. The Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father” (John 16:23-24, 26-27). Jesus also says, “I in them and you in me-may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and that they may know you have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:23). God loves us even as he loved his eternal Son. We must never doubt this, even when you sin.

Jesus introduces us to the Father and we are given access to him. We stand before him on the foundation of grace abounding. We are secure forever; we shall never fall. As children of God, we must exercise our right to fellowship with God and pray prevailingly. Our God joyfully hears our prayers and answers them even as he answered the prayers of Jesus, for God loves us even as he loves Jesus.

Therefore, pray! Pray in faith. Pray in the will of God. Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray wrestling, prevailing prayer as Jacob did, saying, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” Jacob had received a blessing from his father by cheating, but he received a blessing from God by confessing. Paul speaks about the Asian minister Epaphras who was always wrestling in prayer (Col. 4:12). He did not pray for two minutes, say something quickly, and then run off. Pray until God answers your prayer and gives you grace to overcome all your troubles. Pray with fasting.

Martin Luther was a man who prevailed in prayer because he had so many problems. In 1540 Luther’s dear friend and fellow soldier, Frederick Myconius, became ill and was dying. So he wrote a letter to Luther anticipating his imminent homegoing to God’s presence. Immediately Luther wrote back: “Frederick, I earnestly admonish you to pray to dear God to preserve you the longer to profit the church and to defeat the devil. This shall be my petition. This is my desire and my will be done. Amen. For my will seeks the honor of the divine Name, not my own honor and pleasure. Farewell, dear Frederick, and may the Lord not let me hear that you have died but may God cause you to survive me.” After the letter was read to Myconius, he revived, and lived six years and two months more, outliving Luther by two months. This is prevailing, powerful prayer, because our will is the will of God.

Are You Standing in God’s Presence?

What about you? Are you still outside, or have you come to enjoy the blessing of being in God’s presence? If you are outside, let me remind you of the prodigal son. This man hated God, his father, and everyone else. He went to a far place to sin. But finally his money ran out and he found himself without a job and without food. Luke writes,

When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'” So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick, bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and was found.” So they began to celebrate. (Luke 15:17-24)

This is what happened to us. God’s Son came and sought us, found us, and brought us to the very presence of the Father. Justification brings us to our heavenly Father, who is eagerly waiting to welcome us, bless us, kiss us, embrace us, and forgive us. We are received, not as hired servants, but as sons. What a joy!

Thank God that, “having been justified by faith, we now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” This means we will never go out of God’s presence again. The prodigal was cured of all his wanderlust. He found out the pasture was not greener elsewhere. It is in the house of the Father we find everything. God brought us home, as David did Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 9). This crippled son of Jonathan should have been killed. But David said, “No, I will show kindness to him.” They brought this cripple to David, who said, “From now on you will eat with me as one of my sons.” That is what God has done for us. In God’s presence we will always eat with him.

May God help us to grasp this message so that no matter what troubles we will experience, we will learn the secret of going into the presence of God to receive mercy and to find grace for the time of our need.

¹ John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 161.