What is the meaning of Ephesians 2:13? But now • Paul turns from what once was to what God has done. • The phrase signals a decisive change: “you were dead…BUT GOD made us alive” (Ephesians 2:4-5). • It reminds us that history, guilt, and distance do not get the final word—God’s intervention does (Romans 5:8). in Christ Jesus • Location matters. All the blessings named in Ephesians flow only “in Him” (Ephesians 1:3-14). • Union with Christ means: – His righteousness counted as ours (2 Corinthians 5:21). – His life becoming our life (Colossians 3:3-4). – His access to the Father granted to us (John 14:6). • Outside of Christ there is condemnation; “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). you who once were far away • Specifically Gentile believers (Ephesians 2:11-12), but the description fits every sinner: alienated, hopeless, and godless. • Distance was both relational and covenantal—“your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God” (Isaiah 59:2). • Even those raised in religious settings are naturally “strangers and enemies in your minds because of your evil deeds” (Colossians 1:21). have been brought near • God does the moving; we are acted upon. • Nearness means: – Adoption into God’s household (Ephesians 2:19). – Immediate access in prayer (Hebrews 4:16). – Fellowship with the living God (1 John 1:3). • The imperative that flows from nearness: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). through the blood of Christ • The only doorway to God is a sacrificial one. • Old-Testament shadows now find fulfillment: “for the life of the flesh is in the blood…to make atonement for your souls” (Leviticus 17:11). • Christ’s blood secures: – Forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7). – Peace (Colossians 1:20). – Eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12; 9:22). • The costliness of the remedy underscores the seriousness of sin—“you were redeemed…with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). summary Ephesians 2:13 celebrates a glorious reversal. Once cut off, we now stand welcomed; once hopeless, we now belong—all because Jesus shed His blood and united us to Himself. Our past distance is real, but God’s present nearness is greater, permanent, and joy-giving to every believer who is “in Christ Jesus.” |
    |