ACCESS (προσαγωγή, G4643). A word which, in the RSV, is found only once in the OT (Zech 3:7) and three times in the NT (Rom 5:2; Eph 2:18; 3:12). Commentators are not agreed as to whether the word should be taken in the transitive sense, meaning “introduction,” or in the intransitive sense, meaning “access, or personal approach.” In the NT it is always used of the work of Christ. He introduces a person into the royal presence of God. The redemptive blessings that belong to the believer are made possible through Christ, by faith.

Bibliography W. Barclay, A New Testament Wordbook (1955), 104-107; E. F. Harrison, Baker’s Dictionary of Theology (1960), 21.