The Prison of Freedom

to Paul what he had wrote. Paul looked at me and said, “Continue Tychicus.” I hesitantly spoke again, “when we met Jesus we were created or completely transformed by Him. God in His graciousness had already ordained that we live honorable and upright lives. He created us, he transformed us, to walk as Jesus walked on this earth. He already planned for us to be like His Son. I think that we can do that because it is already done if we will only look to Him to fulfill it.” I stammered, then mumbled, “I am not sure that I have any idea what I am talking about.” Paul in a voice filled with kindness quietly said, “Yes, Tychicus, you do for God is revealing Himself to you even as I write these words. Remember, I am only one instrument that God may use. He is the teacher and He resides within you. He desires that each one of us to be taught by Him. Never sell yourself short Tychicus because you have been blessed with the Spirit of Christ. Those words that I wrote just a few moments ago the words created in Christ Jesus mean exactly that. We are in Christ and He is in us. We have been transformed and joined with Him to live as He lived His life here on earth. It has been ordained, it was decided in eternity.” He stopped and I knew what he was going to do. I also bowed my head and we both prayed in praise to the one who knows all things beforehand. We prayed that we would continue to yield our lives to what He has already done so that we would end up doing what He has already planned. Paul said, “Tychicus, I am now going to remind the Ephesians where they once were. I think it will be good for you also to see this.” He then began to write again.

  Next discussion,” Wherefore remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh who are called Un- Circumcision by that which is called Circumcision in the flesh made by hands. That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” Paul stopped, and said Tychicus, do you understand what I just wrote.” I answered, “I am not sure if I do or not but I think that you are saying that God chose the people of Israel to represent Him in this world. I also know that their boy babies get circumcised eight days after they are born. That’s about all I know.” Paul said to me, “let me explain just a little more. Yes, God did choose the people of Israel to carry on His work. He made a covenant with us, He gave us a promise. He said if we would obey His commands that He would bless us above all the nations on earth. We would benefit immensely from His blessing. He also wanted to draw the other nations to Himself and if we would follow Him then other nations would see His wonderful works and would want to know Him. Tychicus, you being a gentile knew nothing of these promises. You were a stranger, you were without any knowledge of theses promises that God made to us. Shamefully we failed and failed miserably as a people. Instead of showing you how much God loved us we turned our back on Him and made a show of rituals and commandments. What is worse Tychicus, we became so vain about these things they we thought we were better than everyone else. Because of our failure, God had to send His own Son here to be sacrificed.” Paul then choked up and looked up at me with tears in his eyes. “Tychicus, remember I said that someday I would tell you about the man I consider to be the chief of sinners. Tychicus, that man is me! Tychicus I was raised knowing all the laws, I was raised knowing the commandments and promises of God but instead of letting them sink down into my heart I became a self-righteous, proud, hypocrite of a man. Tychicus, one day I stood and held the cloaks of men while they took stones and over and over again pelted a young man named Stephen in the face. I watched the blood began to run down his face and into his eyes. I cheered as each stone made its mark. As they stoned him he looked up to heaven and said forgive them. Tychicus, I walked away from that feeling proud of what I had done. I then determined that I would do even more to stop these people who believed in this man who claimed to be their Savior.” Paul stopped talking and his shoulders began to shake with grief. I just sat down for I did not know what to do or say. After about ten minutes of silence Paul said, “Oh the glorious grace of God to send Jesus to save one such as I. Tychicus, I believe that I am the chief of sinners but maybe we should all feel that way for under the right conditions and circumstances I fear that these deceitful hearts of ours would lead us all to crucify our Savior.” When he said that I knew that he was right. I knew that without God’s mercy and His seeking us that each and every one of us were capable of the vilest acts imaginable. We both took a short break from the writing. I went over into one corner of the cell and Paul to the other to be alone with God. To thank Him for His mercy and kindness, to thank Him that in saving us He kept us from becoming even viler than we already were when He saved us.

  Next discussion, after a few minutes of silence Paul walked over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder and said, “I have something wonderful to write to down, come see.” As I read the next words that Paul wrote I thought this is wonderful. Here is what he wrote, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who were sometimes far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who hath made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” Paul and I both began to shake our heads at the same time. Paul wrote and God revealed it to me. In Jesus, He made both Jew and Gentile one, there was no more division between us. How did He do it? By His precious blood, by His precious sacrifice for us. Paul’s people had failed miserably for they never showed us the way to God. We failed miserably because God was showing Himself all the time. All we had to do was look at His creation and we would have been able to see His marvelous works. We all were so blind that the only way was for Him to put on this flesh and come to seek us, to save us for we would have never found Him without Him finding us first. Yes, as I read those words I knew what Paul was saying. Paul looked at me and he knew that I knew what he was saying. We both had no choice but to go to one another and hug for the middle wall had been broken down by the glorious blood of Jesus.

  Next discussion, Paul then said,” perhaps I should go into a little more detail about the things Jesus did when He broke down this wall between us for I fear that there has been such enmity between races and nationalities that all will not see that we are one.” Paul said to me, “As a matter of fact Tychicus that is already happening within the Christian fellowship.” Paul and I went back over to our seats and he began to write again to our brothers, our real brothers, our spiritual brothers. I read as he wrote, “Having abolished in His flesh the enmity even the law of commandments contained in the ordinances for to make in Himself of twain one new man so making peace. And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross having slain the enmity thereby.” Paul stopped and said, “Tychicus, what we Jews fail to see is that Jesus has done away with all of our laws and ordinances. He has done away with all of our rituals. He did this because of the hardness of our hearts. Tychicus it was not because the laws were no good it was because we failed to grasp the meaning of the grace in which they were given. So Jesus came in the flesh and by the cross He brought us back to a state of harmony with God. He brought both the Jew and the Gentile into this state of harmony by His cross. For us, the Jews He destroyed all of the old rituals but for you the Gentiles He came and preached peace.” Paul then said,” I like those words He came and preached peace let me write those down.”

  Next discussion, Paul then wrote the following, “And came and preached peace to you which were afar off and to them that were nigh. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Tychicus, is it not a fantastic thing that Jesus did for all of us. He came in the flesh and brought good tidings to you the Gentiles. You who were far away from God received the good tidings of His grace while we who should have been near also needed to hear of this grace. So, He also brought the good tidings to us the Jews. He is the one we have been waiting for all this time. He is our Messiah and now we all have access through His Spirit. Now we are acceptable to Him and can be sure that He is favorably disposed towards us. Is this not a glorious thing that our Savior has done Tychicus?” How could I respond in any ot
her way other than giving a loud Amen? Paul had taught me that this word Amen meant, “So be it” and after hearing of our access by the Spirit to our Father what else could I say other than, “So be it,” Amen!

  Next discussion, at this loud Amen, the gruff Roman guard just happened to be walking by and told me to quiet down. I thought to myself you may quiet my tongue but you cannot quiet my spirit. So I walked over to the window and look up at the portrait that God had painted on His blue canvas and said to myself “Amen”. I went back over to the table and looked down at the words Paul had been writing while I was saying my “Amen’s.” He had written, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints of the household of God. And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone.” Paul stopped and said, “Tychicus, how long have we known each other.” I replied this is only our third day of acquaintance.” Paul