Prison Break

God is "funny". He takes a life that had been persecuting, imprisoning and killing believers in Christ and has him taste imprisonment and torture for Christ's sake as a converted believer - Paul. 

Prepositions are important so when I read Paul's letters to fellow believers from usually a prison cell, the words he selects to describe himself are interesting. In Ephesians 3:1 and 4:1, Paul portrays himself as "a prisoner of Christ Jesus" and "a prisoner for the Lord" - respectfully. In his second letter to his protege, Timothy, Paul deems himself "His [God's] prisoner" (2 Tim. 1:8). Then again in a letter to Philemon, he states - "a prisoner for Christ".

Although Paul writes from prison in many, if not all of these verses I have documented, as stated before, the prepositions "of" and "for" should be considered.

A "prisoner OF Christ" declares that you are somehow in some fashion imprisoned by Christ. The word "of" gives the sense of ownership and being imprisoned to the owner, Christ, gives the picture of being bound to one person and location.

A "prisoner FOR the Lord" describes one's life or behavior as captivated to His will, every moment of every day. To me this preposition implies a choice made by the prisoner to come under the The Lord in submission to His will and His plan for the prisoner's life.

Paul's life in particular was declared by God an imprisonment of suffering. When Paul was being converted, God spoke to Ananias concerning this very lifestyle Paul must live - 

"But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.'" (Acts 9:15-16)

Paul is not alone. There are many who have suffered, been imprisoned and been martyred for the cause of spreading the Good News of Christ. The suffering has occurred in many different ways, remaining in their own type of prison, but kept on being "a prisoner for the Lord". 

However, ever since man and woman disobeyed God the world has been imprisoned. Not only has sin or disobedience captivated humanity in general, but we have found and created multiple prisons to call our own whether they be mental, physical or spiritual in nature.

Enslaved by entrapping words of the enemy of our souls, humanity chose to accept a substitute concept from another source, we believed and acted on a lie from The Father of Lies to birth our Prison of Lies - sin.

Therefore, people are captivated by what can possibly bring them freedom next via self effort in any shape, form or fashion. The enemy's prideful nature has moved this agenda along throughout history sometimes injecting us with destructive ideas and other times nudging us as our own worst enemy.

The arrival of Jesus changed this captivity - or did it? The way Paul described his faith journey one might view going from the enemy's side to Christ is simply stepping out of one prison and into another. But Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." (John 10:10)

With the death, burial, resurrection and ascension to Heaven of Christ Jesus - Jesus has paid the full ransom price, His life, for everyone. Going forward, every human has the choice to come out of prison because "God so loved the world" (John 3:16).

In doing this, "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son." (Col. 1:13)

Notice the Prison of Lies or humanity's captivated status without Christ is what Scripture deems "the domain of darkness". Placing your faith in Christ, His sacrifice and lifestyle grants you deliverance from this domain and transference into citizens of His Son's kingdom.

One's salvation from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of light is immediate upon the authentic prayer of accepting Christ as personal Lord and Savior. The timing or full manifestation of one's freedom from other enemy induced or self-made prisons might be immediate or it could be lengthy, but there is no shadow of a doubt that God has planned for all believers a Prison Break -

"Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).