Ephesians: Eternal Boldness and Confident Access
Ephesians 3:11-13 - We should not lose heart at tribulations that may occur.
“This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.”
Ephesians 3:11-13 NASB1995
Paul explains that all of the mystery and revelation he just described in the previous verses were done in accordance with the eternal purpose which God carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord. Through Jesus we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
Let’s do a word study in the Blue Letter Bible lexicon:
Access comes from the Greek noun προσαγωγή or prosagōgḗ (Strong’s G4318), with the following Biblical usages:
the act of bringing to, a moving to
access, approach
to God, i.e. that relationship with God whereby we are acceptable to him and have assurance that he is favourably disposed towards us
This is an extraordinary confidence, that we can be acceptable to God and have assurance that He is favorably disposed towards us! This is through Christ Jesus.
Precept Austin has a wonderful example of this confidence, quoting from Ray Stedman:
"There is a beautiful picture in the book of Esther that illustrates this: Remember Esther, that lovely Jewish maiden, a captive in the land of Persia? The king, seeking a bride, found her and made her his queen. After Esther ascended to the throne as queen, a plot was hatched against the Jews. The king, unwittingly, signed a decree that meant death for all Jews in the land of Persia. Esther's godly uncle, Mordecai, said it would be necessary for her to go to the king and tell him what he had unwittingly done. Esther knew that was a dangerous thing, because it was the law of the Medes and Persians that no one could come before the king without first being summoned by him. It meant death for anyone to dare come before the king in that manner. There were no exceptions -- even for a queen -- for this was the law of the Medes and the Persians and could not be changed. Unless the king extended his golden scepter to that person, he must die. Yet Esther knew that she had to dare to take her life in her hands and go before the king. The story tells us that she fasted for three days and three nights before she went. I am sure that was to prepare her heart and her courage. It doesn't say what else she did during that time, when she was getting ready to come before the king. With a wife, four daughters, and a mother-in-law in my home, I've observed women getting themselves ready for some years now. I'm sure that what Esther was doing was fixing her hair. It probably took three days and three nights to get ready! Then we are told that she dressed herself in robes of beauty and glory. When she was all ready, she stepped into the audience hall of the king, appearing all alone before him. The king was so smitten with her beauty that his heart went out to her. He stretched forth his scepter and accepted her. She had access to the king. Dressed in robes of beauty and glory that do not belong to us -- for they are the garments of Jesus -- we have access to the King, to receive from him all that we need to handle any threat that has come into our lives. We have continual acceptance before him." (excerpt from Rejoicing in Hope)
The “scepter has been stretched forth” and we are accepted, just like Queen Esther was before her king! I did have to chuckle a little bit about the “getting ready” aspect of Esther’s appearance; I’m notoriously casual about things like hair and makeup and dress, so I probably would have gone in to the King in an improper state of readiness. But, we have confident access to the Creator of the Universe through wearing the garments of beauty and glory that come from Jesus!
Paul is concerned that the saints at Ephesus would lose heart hearing about his tribulations. He wants them to know that those are for their glory. Enduring Word has this commentary on verse 13:
a. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart: Though under arrest for the sake of the gospel, Paul asked his readers to not lose heart. Paul didn’t want them to be discouraged for his sake, because Paul was still being used in the service of God’s eternal plan.
b. My tribulations for you: Paul wrote the Letter to the Ephesians from prison, and it is useful to remember why Paul was in prison. He lived his whole life with the passion to bring salvation to his own people, the Jews (Romans 9:1-3). On a strategic visit to Jerusalem he had the opportunity to preach to a vast crowd on or near the temple mount (Acts 21:39-22:22), but the opportunity ended in disaster because the Jewish crowd could not stand the idea of the good news of the Messiah being extended to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21-22). The ensuing riot put Paul in a legal dilemma, from which he used his right as a Roman citizen and appealed to Caesar. Now Paul was imprisoned in Rome, waiting for his trial before Caesar – and there because he knew God wanted Gentiles to share in the good news of the Messiah, and he wasn’t afraid to preach that truth.
c. Which is your glory: Paul was being used, and probably in a greater way than he ever imagined. This Roman imprisonment produced the letters of Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. They all certainly have a place in God’s eternal plan.
i. In the same manner, each of us has a place in the service of God’s eternal plan. Knowing this and working towards it is a great guard against losing heart in the midst of tribulation.
Paul’s unfortunate turn of events in speaking the truth led to the very fortuitous opportunity to put together some of the most beautiful epistles in the New Testament, including Ephesians.
My next devotional examines Ephesians 3:14-19 - Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord: I am so grateful that I can have confident access to You through the garments of beauty and glory that Jesus has provided! Amen.
Citations and Credits:
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.
“G4318 - prosagōgē - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (NASB95).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 22 Apr, 2026. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4318/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/>.
Precept Austin was accessed on 04/22/2026 to review commentary for Ephesians 3:11-13.
Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com.