“TRUE FREEDOM”

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

2 Corinthians 3:17

Our verse of the day is a great place to learn about freedom in Christ. This second letter of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians is a follow-up to the initial message that addressed several issues within their congregation. In this epistle, Paul defends his apostleship and counters criticisms and attacks against his personality and ministry.

In chapter 3, Paul makes it clear that he is not promoting himself; instead, he proves to the Corinthians that their own lives serve as the substantial evidence of his calling. They are Paul’s living “letters of commendation” for him as well as his ministry partners.

Paul makes a comparison of the glory of God in both the Old and New Covenants, explaining that the latter is far more glorious since Christ Himself made it possible. Those who come to Jesus through faith are forgiven of their sins and delivered from sin and bondage.

Israel had a spiritual veil over their minds and hearts. That is why, even though they spend their lives going through the pages of Scripture, they never saw Christ as their Messiah. As a result, they have become prisoners of their religion—deprived of spiritual conviction.

One of the problems in the Corinthian church was that they allowed false teachers, otherwise known as the Judaizers, to blind them from the truth. Those men taught that true spirituality comes from having faith in Christ plus observance to the Old Testament Law. Paul refuted that heretical teaching and underscored that faith alone could save.

This verse teaches that the Holy Spirit is God and is the only One who can bring spiritual transformation. He is the same as Yahweh of the Old Testament and the minister of both the Old and New Covenants. He is the source of true freedom from sin.

Understanding this truth is essential to our transformation as well as our usefulness in the ministry. A person cannot be spiritually productive unless he completely understands that he is no longer in bondage with sin. He also needs to realize that Jesus had already paid for his crimes against God on the Cross. Paul stressed that Christians are no longer condemned (Romans 8:1).

The freedom that you have in Christ should cause you to live in constant amazement and gratitude to Him. You do not have to be enslaved by your past and blinded by the lies of Satan. The Deceiver has no hold on you because you are safe in the hands of God. 

But the question is this: What are you going to do with your freedom? Will you live for God and be an inspiration to others? Will you motivate them to believe that true freedom is real and is available only through Christ?

Pursue the Saviour today!