LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
A Call for True Freedom
"Then Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him: If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free ... If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:31-32, 36).
The Lord's words in this passage of John are addressed to the Jews who had believed in him. They are not addressed to unbelievers. It is a word to believing Jews, and also to believing Gentiles. Here is pointed out a key to growth, to spiritual maturity.
It is not enough to believe in Christ, but one must abide in his word to be truly his disciples. Believing is the first step, but abiding is something sustained over time. By abiding in his word, one will know the truth (not just believe in the truth), and the truth will set us free. Believing and knowing are different things. Peter perceives this difference when he says: "We have believed and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Jn. 6:69).
The truth sets man free, for it lays bare the lies, deceptions and falsehoods of the heart, and allows Christ to occupy the central place in it. In verse 36 it is said that the one who sets free is the Son. So 'truth' and 'Son' are equivalent. To know the truth is to know the Son, because Christ is the truth.
In this passage of John freedom is spoken of as freedom from sin. From this it is inferred that the knowledge of the truth brings as a consequence freedom from sin. A clear distinction must therefore be made between 'believing' and 'knowing'. Believing' is the initial step, but 'knowing' is a process that comes about by abiding in the Word.
Paul, in several places in his epistles, prays for the brethren to know more. They have already believed, but they need to know more. This is the case in Colossians 1:9-10 and also in Philippians 1:9-10. The Greek word used in these two passages is epignosis, which can best be translated as "full knowledge". It is not mere mental knowledge, but spiritual knowledge. This is the knowledge that sets free.
The prophet Hosea says: "My people were destroyed, because they lacked knowledge" (4:6). And further on he says: "And we shall know, and shall continue to know the Lord" (6:3). Here the knowledge is the knowledge of God. If one does not have this knowledge, there is no spiritual progress; worse, there is nothing. As in John, it is the knowledge of the truth (Christ) that liberates.
Whether yesterday or today, the true knowledge, the knowledge par excellence, is this knowledge of God, through his word. If the children of God understood this marvelous truth, they would value the word of God much more. By successive acts of revelation of the Word, the chains of sin are broken, and the soul is set free. Truly, if the Son of God sets us free, we are free indeed.