Why is there no reference to the Jew in the prison epistles?
The prison epistles contain no reference to the Jew because everything has now flowed into the teaching of the Body of Christ, where there is no distinction. Jew and Gentile are no longer divided by background; all believers have become one as members of that Body, making these letters strictly church ground.
Les explains that Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon are called the prison epistles because Paul wrote them while imprisoned in Rome shortly before he was martyred. In these letters there is no single mention of the Old Testament and not one reference to the Jew, because everything has flowed into the teaching of the Body of Christ, in which there is no distinction. There is no Jew and no Gentile so far as a division of background; all have become one as members of the Body of Christ. Therefore these epistles are strictly church ground and are uniquely directed to the position of the church age believer. Les also notes that this emphasis is not found in the Old Testament, the four Gospels, Acts, or even in Romans and Corinthians, and that the phrase “in Him,” “in Christ,” or “in Whom” appears ninety-some times in just six chapters, depicting our position.