Ephesians 2:13 Meaning and Explanation

'But now' -- the great turn again. Those who 'were far off' have been 'made nigh.' The distance Paul just described as hopeless has been crossed. The outsiders are brought in, not by their own pilgrimage toward God but by being placed 'in Christ Jesus.'

The means is 'the blood of Christ.' Nearness to God is not cheap sentiment but costly reconciliation, purchased by the Lord's own self-offering. What the old distinctions could never do, the cross has done: it has brought the far-off near and opened the door of the covenant to all who are in Christ.