My question:
Give me all the verses in the Bible which talk about access to God and the verses about the reconciliation of humanity and His invitation to be reconciled individually or to participate in the new creation through belief in Jesus…
ChatGPT response:
Alright—deep breath first 🙂
What you’re really asking for is the Bible’s unified witness on two tightly linked ideas:
Access to God (nearness, approach, dwelling, coming into God’s presence)
Reconciliation of humanity already accomplished by God and the personal invitation to step into that reality through allegiance/belief in Jesus and thus participate in the new creation
No single list can literally include every verse that touches these themes implicitly, so what I’m giving you below is the full canonical spine—the explicit, direct, unambiguous passages that clearly teach access and reconciliation, arranged so you can see the theological flow from Torah → Prophets → Jesus → Apostles → New Creation.
I. ACCESS TO GOD (NEARNESS, APPROACH, DWELLING)
A. Hebrew Bible / Old Testament
1. God’s Desire to Dwell With Humanity
Genesis 1:26–28 – Humanity created to rule with God
Genesis 3:8 – God walking among humans
Exodus 25:8 – “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them”
Leviticus 26:11–12 – God walking among His people
Deuteronomy 4:7 – “What nation has a god so near…?”
Deuteronomy 12:5–7 – God choosing a place for His name
1 Kings 8:27–30 – Heaven cannot contain God, yet He hears prayer
Psalm 65:4 – “Blessed is the one You choose and bring near”
Psalm 73:28 – “The nearness of God is my good”
Psalm 84:1–4, 10 – Dwelling in God’s presence
Isaiah 57:15 – God dwells with the contrite
Isaiah 56:6–7 – God’s house as a house of prayer for all nations
Jeremiah 31:33–34 – God dwelling with a forgiven people
Ezekiel 37:26–28 – God’s sanctuary among humanity forever
Zechariah 2:10–11 – God dwelling among many nations
Key OT insight: Access is not about appeasing God—it is about maintaining sacred space so God can remain near.
B. Jesus and the Gospels
2. Jesus as the New Access Point
Matthew 11:27–28 – “Come to Me…”
John 1:14 – God tabernacling among us
John 2:19–21 – Jesus as the true Temple
John 4:21–24 – Worship no longer tied to geography
John 6:35 – Coming to Jesus for life
John 10:9 – “I am the door”
John 14:6 – “No one comes to the Father except through Me”
John 15:1–7 – Abiding as ongoing access
John 17:20–23 – Humanity brought into divine fellowship
Matthew 27:51 – The veil torn (access opened)
C. The Apostolic Witness (Access Now Open)
Acts 17:24–28 – God is not far from any of us
Romans 5:1–2 – “Through Him we have access by faith”
Ephesians 2:18 – “Through Him we both have access in one Spirit”
Ephesians 3:12 – Bold and confident access
Hebrews 4:16 – Approach the throne with confidence
Hebrews 7:19 – A better hope by which we draw near
Hebrews 10:19–22 – Enter the holy place with confidence
James 4:8 – “Draw near to God”
1 Peter 2:5 – Living stones forming God’s dwelling
Revelation 21:3 – God dwelling with humanity again
II. RECONCILIATION OF HUMANITY (DONE BY GOD)
A. God as the Reconciling Agent
Hebrew Bible Foundations
Leviticus 16 – Cleansing sacred space so God remains near
Psalm 103:10–12 –
God removing transgressions
Isaiah 53:5–6 – Humanity healed and restored
Isaiah 59:1–2 – Sin as separation, not divine weakness
Daniel 9:24 – Atonement bringing restoration
B. Reconciliation Accomplished in Christ
These are the clearest reconciliation texts in the Bible:
Romans 5:10–11 – “While we were enemies, we were reconciled”
2 Corinthians 5:18–19 – God reconciling the world to Himself
Colossians 1:19–20 – All things reconciled through the cross
Ephesians 2:14–16 – Hostility killed; humanity unified
1 Timothy 2:5–6 – One mediator for all humanity
Hebrews 2:14–17 – Jesus restoring human vocation
1 John 2:2 – Jesus for the whole world
Critical note: Reconciliation is stated as an objective act of God, not a potential one.
III. THE INVITATION: PERSONAL PARTICIPATION
This is where your distinction really matters.
A. Invitation to Be Reconciled
Isaiah 55:1–7 – “Come… return to Yahweh”
Matthew 22:1–14 – Many invited, response required
Matthew 23:37 – God desires gathering, humanity resists
John 1:12–13 – Receiving grants new identity
John 3:16–18 – Belief determines participation
John 5:24 – Passing from death to life
Acts 2:38–39 – Response to reconciliation
Acts 17:30 – God now commands all to repent
Romans 10:9–13 – Confession and allegiance
2 Corinthians 5:20 – “Be reconciled to God”
Colossians 1:21–23 – Reconciled if you remain faithful
Hebrews 3:6, 14 – Participation requires perseverance
Revelation 3:20 – The door opened from the human side
B. Participation in the New Creation
John 5:29 – Resurrection tied to allegiance
Romans 6:4–5 – Walking in newness of life
Romans 8:1–11 – Life of the Spirit
2 Corinthians 5:17 – New creation reality
Galatians 6:15 – New creation over religious markers
Ephesians 1:9–10 – All things summed up in Christ
Philippians 3:20–21 – Citizenship in the coming kingdom
Hebrews 12:22–24 – Already approaching the heavenly reality
Revelation 21–22 – Full participation realized
IV. THE BIBLICAL PATTERN (ONE-SENTENCE SUMMARY)
God has reconciled the world to Himself, reopened access through Jesus, and now invites each person to step into that reconciliation through allegiance—thereby participating in the new creation already breaking into the present age.
That one-sentence summary from ChatGPT makes me think of this…
John 10:9 (HCSB) – I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.
Godspeed, to the brethren!
Check out my book!
theidolbabbler.com 