Pastor Skip helps you see that in Christ, old divisions lose their power—and why your truest identity is not in any label but in being a follower of Jesus.
This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Thanks for joining us today. Here at Connect with Skip, we love to help you know God’s Word better and apply it to your life through clear, practical Bible teaching and real encouragement. And if you’d like to keep growing in your walk with Jesus, sign up for Pastor Skip’s free weekly devotional. You’ll receive biblical insight, teaching highlights, and exclusive resource offers designed to help you stay strong in your faith, all delivered right to your inbox. Signing up is quick and easy, and you’ll be glad you did. Go to connectwithskip.com and join the list today. That’s connectwithskip.com. Now, let’s dive into today’s teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig.
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Once Paul arrives at Rome, it says that he was chained to a soldier, but that he was allowed to live in his own rented house for two years. So he had to pay the rent on… whatever flat house apartment he was in, but he was under house arrest. He was chained to a guard 24 hours a day, but he had a certain amount of freedom. It says he could receive all those who came to visit him. And he was preaching the kingdom of God and teaching things concerning Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him. That’s how Acts chapter 28 closes out. Well, while he is in Rome and he is receiving visitors and he is preaching the kingdom of God and he is teaching things about Jesus Christ, he is also writing letters. And the four letters that he writes are this letter, Ephesians. He writes the book of Philippians. He writes the book of Colossians. And he writes that tiny little letter to Philemon. Those four books he writes from prison. So he’s going to mention in chapter 3 his incarceration in a Roman prison and the fact that this bothered some of these believers in Ephesus, that their faithful leader was suffering in prison and it bothered them. It became sort of an embarrassment even to them. You know, how could this powerful God of heaven and earth take the most prominent leader of the early Christian community and let him suffer for so long a time in prison for things he didn’t do? And so when he writes the book of Philippians, I love what he says. He goes, I want you to know, brethren, that the things that have happened to me, Being arrested, being thrown in jail, staying in jail for two years. The things which have happened to me have actually happened for the furtherance of the gospel. This is God’s will for my life to be shut up in prison. And I’ll just say tonight how glad I am that Paul went to jail. Had he not gone to jail, you and I wouldn’t be sharing the book of Philippians or the book of Ephesians and then Philippians and then Colossians and then Philemon. So we get to enjoy the benefits of the teaching, the richness that he writes. Now, concerning this book, Ephesians, when Paul writes his letters, you have noticed that he has a pattern to it. He always front loads his letters with doctrine And then he concludes this last part of it with application. So the first part is doctrinal. The last part is applicational. He follows this pattern in a number of his letters, most all of his letters. For example, Romans, the first 11 chapters are doctrinal. It’s not till we get to chapter 12 that he decides to take all that he has taught them and begin to apply it. I beseech you, therefore, chapter 12 of Romans, verse 1, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, which is your reasonable service. So in Ephesians, the first three chapters are doctrinal. The second three chapters are applicational. So the first three chapters, it’s about God’s story, the gospel. The second half of the letter is about how his story should affect our story. The application of those truths lived out in our lives. So doctrinal, applicational. Chapter 1 through 3 doctrinal, 4, 5, and 6 applicational. But there’s more. The letter can be divided by topic so that the first few chapters are the wealth of We are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So that’s the wealth of the believer, all the benefits, all the blessings, followed by the walk of the believer, what to do with it, beginning in chapter 4, followed by the warfare of the believer. He’ll talk about spiritual warfare. So in this book, he teaches us how to grow spiritually, how to walk, how to fight as believers, all very important practical things. He begins, as I said in chapter 1, noting that we are seated in heavenly places in Christ. Then in chapter 4, that’s chapters 1, 2, and 3, and we’re going to finish chapter 3, God willing. But by the time we get to chapter 4, he moves from being seated with Christ to now walking with One of the problems I find in many churches, and I have found generally over the years in many churches, is they want to move right into and immediately telling people how to walk. And we need to know how to walk in faith and walk in our spiritual experience, walk following the Lord, etc. But we first need to sit down before we can walk. A child learns to sit before a child learns to walk. When my son was born, the first week I didn’t say, now get up, start walking. The poor thing’s got to learn to sit and then crawl and then get steady and then eventually walk. Let alone fight. So you need to learn to sit and enjoy the nourishment and the blessings, followed by the walk, followed by the warfare. So that is the pattern of this book. He introduces something in chapter 2 I just want to go back to. He introduces what he will explain in chapter 3 as a mystery. I just want you to get a hold of that word. You’re going to read it in a minute. But he uses that word here, mystery. He uses it also in the book of Colossians, a few other places. He speaks about the mystery. And we hear the word mystery and we think like a mystery novel or a mystery movie, you know. Who did the murder? Was it done by that person or this person in that place or that place? What weapon was used? It’s the mystery. But that’s not the meaning of the New Testament term for mystery. The Greek word that Paul uses, musterion, where we get the word mystery, means something that was hidden but is now in the open, revealed for all to see. And I think Paul used the term mystery on purpose because in Ephesus, this very pagan Gentile territory, the group that he’s writing to, there were mystery religions. Mystery religions and the mysteries of these religious experiences were only given to the initiates of that religion. You have to go through certain rituals and certain incantations, etc. And once you get initiated, they reveal the secret only to you. So he uses a very popular term, a very… often used term for the Ephesians, but he puts a different spin on it. And what he means is this is something that was undisclosed in the Old Testament. The prophets didn’t see it coming, but it is now wide open for everybody to see. Everybody can experience it. And what is that? It is that both Jew and non-Jew, Jew and Gentile, are in the same body. Now that is the theme of this book. The theme of the book of Ephesians, I think I told you whenever we started this book, that it’s God’s new society. God’s new society. It’s filled with people who experience new life, have new values, have new relationships with God and with each other. They’re a brand new society. And that new society we call the church. The church, the called out ones. Now, in the past, there were divisions between Jews and non-Jews. And as you know, Jewish people in New Testament times and before didn’t particularly like to hang out with non-Jews. Even Peter had a hard time hanging out with non-Jews. Even the apostle Peter, after the resurrection, in the house of Cornelius, in the book of Acts, goes into Cornelius’ house and he says, you know that it’s unlawful for me, a Jew, to even be in your house. I don’t even know why I’m hanging out with you guys. But God has shown me that I should not call common or unclean what God has cleansed. But it was a difficult lesson for Peter to learn, but he is learning it. So you’ll notice back in chapter 2, in verse 13, but now in Christ Jesus, you are who once were far off, you Gentiles, not under the covenant of the Jewish people, not under the same method of dealing that God dealt and promises that God gave to the Jewish people. Now in Christ, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace, who has made both one. Who are the both? Jew and Gentile. Gentile. Both won. So that’s the new society. And has broken down the middle wall of separation. Remember we told you that there was an actual wall, oh, about that big, four feet tall, in the temple complex. And it separated the court of the Gentiles from the Jewish women, the Jewish men, the priests. The Gentiles could go to the temple, but they had the nosebleed section. They were way off in left field. They couldn’t get very near. Those who were near were the Jewish people because they had a covenant with God through the Old Testament, through the law of Moses, etc., the sacrifices.
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You’re listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Every day, the generosity of friends like you helps make clear verse-by-verse Bible teaching available to people searching for truth, purpose, and hope. And this month, we want to thank you with a pair of powerful resources to help you understand your identity in Christ and God’s design for your life and relationships. When you give, you’ll receive the Expound Ephesians 9 CD series with digital download, along with Pastor Skip’s book, Beyond the Summer of Love. Together, these resources explore the richness of the gospel, reveal your place in God’s family, and show how biblical truth brings strength, restoration, and lasting hope to your relationships. We’ll send both resources as our thanks when you give $50 or more to support Connect with Skip Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com slash offer. Now let’s return to today’s teaching.
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So Gentiles could be there, but there was a wall of separation that had a sign that said, if you cross this line and you get killed, it’s your fault. You did it to yourself. So, you know, take your chances, suffer the consequences, but there’s a wall. In Christ, the wall is taken away. In Christ, there’s no division of Jew versus non-Jew. There’s not like, I’m a Jewish believer versus I’m a non-Jewish believer. You know what? You’re just a believer. You’re a follower of Christ. You’re a follower of Yeshua. And that’s enough. And one isn’t better than the other. So, having abolished, the next verse, in his flesh, the enmity that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances so as to create in himself one new man from the two, thus making peace. So that’s the mystery he’s about to drill down with. So we get to verse 1, chapter 3. For this reason, he says, and I wanted to read those verses to you because He begins chapter 3 saying, for this reason. For what reason? For the reason that I just mentioned, that there’s no separation, no division. God is making one new entity. Christians. Not Jew versus non-Jew. Not two different camps. For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. Now notice this. Does your Bible have a dash after the word Gentiles? Yeah, mine does too. The New King James, maybe whatever version you have, does too. And that is because Paul begins a thought and then immediately digresses. And he digresses for 13 verses. In fact, these 13 verses are one long sentence in the original language. So I just want you to notice verse 1, for this reason I, Paul, then go down to verse 14, for this reason. So those two are connected, but he inserts something before he begins this, I bow my knee, I start, I want to pray this prayer. He begins, and then he digresses. So for this reason, for the reason that I just mentioned, that God has broken down the separation and brought a unity, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. I find it fascinating that Paul the apostle didn’t say, I, Paul, the prisoner of Rome, or I, Paul, the prisoner of Caesar Nero, but I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ. He didn’t regard himself as being a victim of Roman justice or injustice. He saw himself being controlled by the sovereign, mighty hand of God. You know, he could have said, here I am in prison. I’ve been unjustly accused for something I didn’t do. This is a miscarriage of justice. He saw that this was… the will of God for his life. I’m a prisoner of Christ. Now let me give you a little bit of background again of how he got to jail to begin with. You remember he goes back to Jerusalem and he has a monetary gift. The monetary gift were offerings of the different Gentile congregations. They took up an offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem. Remember that? It’s all over the epistles in the New Testament. He’s taking a collection for the mother church, the mothership that has now fallen on hard times, and he wants to bring support and encouragement to them. So he brings this offering that he has gotten from all over Asia Minor. He goes to Jerusalem. When he gets there, James, the leader of the church, says, you know, Paul, people are talking smack about you and saying that you’re trying to speak against the law of Moses and against the old covenant. Well, we encourage that you put those arguments against you to bed by doing something. There are four men who have taken a Nazarite vow. You go to the temple and you pay for their expenses. And then people say, oh, he is keeping the law of Moses. He is actually helping people who have taken this Jewish vow to complete the vow. We think it would look good, be good optics, if you’re the guy who pays their bill. Paul says, okay, I’ll do it. Well, when he gets to the temple… Some of the Orthodox Jewish people who knew him, he had been a Pharisee, they spotted Paul. And they knew his reputation. They knew that he was going out to Gentile areas, telling them to believe in this Jewish God. And they had the same kind of standing by faith that Abraham had. And it ticked them off. And they made up an accusation that Paul had brought a Gentile into the temple, into the Jewish part of the temple, beyond the wall of separation. An Ephesian by the name of Trophimus. It wasn’t true, but they made it up. So a riot broke out in the temple area, and they got a hold of Paul, and they were going to tear him limb from limb. They hated him so much. Well, the Roman soldiers in the Antonia Fortress, that large garrison that overlooked the temple, saw what was happening and they rushed down to give Paul protective custody. So they got a hold of Paul and protected him from the Jewish crowd that was going to tear him apart. And Paul said to the captain of the Roman guard, hey, let me talk to these people. And he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, the Jewish leader, so he is protected by the Romans And by the Roman garrison, he goes up a few steps at the Antonia Fortress and speaks down in that temple area to the crowd that wanted to kill him. And he started telling his testimony. You know, I was on the road to Damascus, and you guys know my background, that I was a Jew, a Pharisee, you all know me. But this is what happened to me on the Damascus road. And God got a hold of my life, and I saw the heavens open, and the Lord spoke to me, and it was Jesus. And he told me to go share the truth of this message, this gospel, this good news to the Gentiles. Well, they were tracking with Paul through his testimony up until that word. As soon as he mentioned that God had commissioned him, which he had, to go to the Gentiles, you remember what happened? They threw dust in the air. They put it in their hair. They tore their clothes. And they said, away with this man. He’s not fit to live on the earth. They wanted to kill him. I mean, it’s like pouring gas or putting a match into a puddle of gasoline. Just the riot got worse. So they brought him in to the Antonia Fortress, and they were going to beat him to find out what he said that angered the crowd. And Paul said, you’re going to beat a Roman citizen? So he got out of that, but a conspiracy developed. to assassinate Paul. Find the right time. A whole bunch of men signed an oath. We’re going to kill the apostle Paul. Well, Paul found out about this oath that they had taken by his nephew. And so Paul is taken from Jerusalem, based on that information, under heavy security to Caesarea by the sea. where he spends the next two years going through three separate trials before Festus, before Felix, and before King Agrippa. Finally, he knows he’s just getting the runaround. He’s not getting a fair trial, and he, as a Roman citizen, pulls out the citizen card, and he could do this. If you felt like you weren’t getting a fair trial, you could personally appeal to Caesar himself, and you could stand before Caesar and adjudicate your own case. So he finally said, you know what, I’ve had enough of this stuff. These people are lying about me. I appeal to Caesar. So the King Herod Agrippus said, you know, this man probably would have gone free, but he appealed to Caesar. To Caesar he will go. So he went on that boat ride in Acts 27, made it all the way to Rome. Now he is in Rome. Why is he in prison? Because he has been commissioned to go to the Gentiles. And as a consequence of obedience to Jesus Christ, he’s in jail. That’s why he says, I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ. Can I encourage you? If you feel you are incarcerated by some circumstance, some person, been married to this gal for 40 years, she’s a ball and chain person. Or I’ve been stuck with this gal my whole life. Man, I feel like I’m just shut up in prison with her. Why not say, I, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, why not see your life as under the sovereign control of God? Nobody’s more powerful than God, than Christ. Or some disease has befallen you. All sorts of things happen to all of us. The best way to view life, good or bad, is this way. It’s the most freeing. That’s why one time Paul, when he’s writing from prison, he goes, I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, although he said the Word of God is not bound, and the Word of God wasn’t bound. He was able to teach people who came to him, preach those who came to speak to him and see him, and write letters. The word of God was inbound. So for this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, for you Gentiles, that’s why he is there in prison. If indeed, boy, I’m going slow. If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which was given to me for you. Now, I know the translation says dispensation. That’s just sort of a big fancy word. You read that, a lot of us go, what is he talking about? It’s a translation of the Greek word oikonomia. We get the word economy from it. And it means stewardship or responsibility or calling.
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Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember, your generosity helps share God’s Word with people around the world, offering truth, hope, and encouragement where it’s needed most. And this month, we’d love to thank you for your gift of $50 or more by sending you the Expound Ephesians 9 CD series with digital download, along with Pastor Skip’s book, Beyond the Summer of Love. These resources will help you understand your identity in Christ and see how God’s design brings strength and restoration to your relationships. Give today at connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. See you next time on Connect with Skip Heitzig.
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Make a connection. Make a connection at the foot of the crossing.
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Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God’s never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
