In a brief but profound statement in his first epistle, the Apostle Peter declared that Christ brings Christians to God. He said, “For 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” (1 Peter 3:18). The son of God came on earth to mend man’s broken relationship with God and thus unite those who obey him to God.

  

The word “bring” translates the Greek term “prosago” which conveys the idea of admitting a person to an audience with a king. The Greek expression is a root word from which comes the word translated “access” in Ephesians 2:18 and Romans 5:2. Christians can see how privileged they are as they have access to the throne of Almighty God. 

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Jesus brings us to God because we need to be brought to Him. Also implied is the fact that we need God. Man depends on God in the same way the stream of water is dependent on the fountain. For instance, the food we eat, which sustains our life and gives us strength, comes from Him. In the latter part of Matthew 6, the Lord testifies that God provides for our everyday physical needs. Paul summed up man’s dependence on God saying, “For in him [God] we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). But these blessings are guaranteed to all creatures of God whether they are in fellowship with Him or not. Matthews said that God “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). 

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However, upon submission to Christ men enjoy blessings which alien sinners cannot receive so long as they remain in sin. These blessings are spiritual in nature and only found in Christ. Paul said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). We were created by God for us to live in communion with Him. Then sin entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden of Eden. Consequently, the human-deity relation broke down. Since then, people's individual sins have destroyed the relationship between them and God (Isaiah 59:1-2, cf. Ephesians 2:1-2). But God restored it by extending His mercy and grace to guilty sinners.

  

For that restoration to take place, an adequate payment for sin was necessary (Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ’s death on the cross at Golgotha served the purpose of satisfying the penalty imposed by the Law on offenders. And suffering was involved in the Messiah's atoning work. The Son of God innocently gave himself a sacrifice for sinners, enduring agony and trauma, because He loved people. His death therefore is the most powerful appeal God could make to call man to return to Him. Jesus Himself said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). His words there in the gospel of John were a reference to His crucifixion. The crucifixion of Christ works as magnet to influence sinners and draw them to God. 

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Constant Coulibaly