Is There Anything Like Standing In The Gap In The New Testament?

"For God is one, and the mediator of God and men one, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, the testimony to be rendered in its own times". 1st Timothy 2:5-6.

It is very important to note that this inspired truth of scripture is written in the context of intercession for all men(Please read vs 1-4).

The word translated as "Intercession" in the text(vs. 1) is "enteuxis"(ent'-yook-sis) in the original Greek, and it means a falling in with, it also means a petition or supplication.

To fall in with, is to act in accordance with someone, to agree to something.

In intercession we are making a petition/supplication(request) to God for men, to the end that they may fall in with or align with God, however, the tendency to assume the place of a go-between/mediator between God & men is more in intercessory ministry; it is so easy to cross the line & begin to see one's self as a go-between in what is commonly known as "standing in the gap." The apostle speaking of Intercession for all men, emphatically states that there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

There is thus intercession in the new testament and the believer is admonished to make intercession for all men but intercession in the new testament is never portrayed as mediatory or standing in the gap but as making petition or supplication to God for men, to the end that they might fall in line with what God has wrought for them already in Christ. It is not standing in any gap as bridging the gap but standing on the ground of Christ, the already filled in gap/ground/bridge of God for all men which is Christ. 

In your supplications & intercessions for all men you must keep in mind that there is One who gave himself a ransom for all & you're not the one.
You must also keep in mind that in the new testament there is no more gap between God & the people for in the One mediator Christ Jesus, God & man has been brought into an eternal embrace & oneness. 
Ephesians 2:13-18.

Christ is the One mediator between God and Men in whom the gap that existed in the old testament between God and man has been bridged once and for all. 

Scripture in Isaiah 59:1-2 portrays sin as that which brought a gap, separating man from God, and this testimony is consistent with what happened in the garden of Eden on the eve of man's fall, when man fled/hid himself from God's presence on account of sin.

Concerning his own people(the house of Israel) in the old covenant, God said in Ezekiel 22:30 "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

In the new testament, God is no longer seeking for a man among men, that can make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before him, as in Ezekiel 22:30.

He has found for himself a perfect man, in whom all men are perfectly represented before him, a man who is at the righthand of God having bridged the gap for all men, once & for all - Hebrews 7:23-27.

We have in Christ a perfect mediator who has once & for all, bridged that gap. There is One God & One Mediator between God & Men, the Man Christ Jesus. True men of God espouse men to that one mediator.

Sadly, there are many who, in ministry today, make themselves mediators between God & men; they preach themselves & not Christ, sit in the seat of Moses, affirming themselves to be deliverers & prophets sent to lead the people out of captivity into their promised land/destiny in God.
They are impostors & not men of God. 

A weak and man-centered christian profession loves & always tends to have some super 'man of God' or prayer warrior that stands in the gap as a mediator and go between.

The truth that there is One Mediator between God & men is just as serious & sacred as the truth that there is One God, for Christ who is the One Mediator is not just a man but God, so the One mediator is also the One God. 
This highlights the grievousness of a man/minister making himself a mediator between men and God.

The One Mediator is One who gave himself a ransom for all, so if there be none else who gave himself a ransom for all, then there cannot be another mediator between God and men. As there cannot be another God(true God) other than the one true God, there cannot be another mediator other than the one mediator, which is Christ.

All the unbeliever, who feels estranged & alienated from God due to sin, needs is to believe in this Christ. 
All that the weak believer, who feels far away from God on account of spiritual immaturity, needs is to live by the faith of this Christ, in whom God & man is now one, distinct yet inseparable. 

We need no spiritual superman to stand in the gap or represent us before God as our priest.
A mortal man cannot in anyway become your priest who goes into the presence of God to represent you before God, bearing your name on his chest as the Highpriest of old bore the 12 tribes before God. 

Your pastor or spiritual leader is just a priest like you, as Christ has made all who believe in him, kings & priests consecrated to his God & Father. Scripture in Revelation 1:6 says he has made us Kingdom Priests.
We have One great Highpriest in whom we are perfectly & livingly represented before God, as seated together in heavenly places in Him.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hello brother. Thank you for emphasizing Christ our one and only mediator, and for showing that all believers are priests in the New Testament. But I want to ask if you can distinguish between our position as priests and positions of leadership in the church. Since all believers are priests are they also church leaders? What is the role of church leaders in the midst of priests?
29 July 2025 at 06:44
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