“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Corinthians 3:17
When Christ comes to the heart, seeking entrance so that He can cleanse the soul, and direct the attention and energy of one’s life to devotion to Him, He comes with a promise: “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36) The promise of freedom is first and foremost one of the heart and soul, for Christ comes bearing the truth of the Gospel, those blessed, eternal truths, by which He will work to save the soul, and sanctify the life. With the power of His truth, He comes to reveal the love of God for a dying world, and for every individual on the face of the earth. He comes to speak Life into that which is dead, and healing to the soul crushed by the power and effects of sin, self, and Satan. He comes to deliver the soul from the downward pull of the “world” system, with its pursuit of pleasure, power, and position, to bring the eternal soul of every individual into the glorious liberty of the children of God. It is a liberty which He alone can accomplish in the heart, but accomplish it He will for the one who is willing, first of all, to come to Him, then hear Him, trusting Him for grace, and the power, to turn from one’s sinful, independent ways from him, to surrender all that one is and has to the One who has loved him with an everlasting love. The liberty which Christ promises, and which He will bring about in the life, is one where He comes into the heart and soul, to first cleanse the soul from all sin, its effects and consequences, to bring healing and a new life. It is a liberty also from the tyranny of Satan, the god of this world, who holds the sinner in helpless slavery, until the Great Savior breaks the bonds and bondage. Just as Christ deals with all sins, to forgive, forget, and to cleanse fully, so He provides a “declaration of independence” from Satan’s tyranny over the life, having defeated perfectly and entirely this foe, this enemy of God and man. With the declaration of His truth comes the power of the Son to set the soul free. But this is not all that Christ does. Up to this point, the freedom that He brings, and the liberty that He gives, is for the loosing of the captive, the opening of the prison to the one who is bound. The “much more” of liberty and freedom is to come, and come it will, manifesting itself by the first fruits of the Spirit of God, that testimony of another Life in the heart, one of power, love, and soundness of mind.
The purpose of Christ revealing the truth, then providing the power, to rise from the dust, and shake oneself of an old life of sin, shame, and Satan’s manipulation, is to give to the soul, LIFE, His life, first of all by the power and demonstration of the Spirit of God. Light begins to dawn on the soul, and the warmth of the sun’s light begins to be felt by this new creation in Christ. The more the soul learns of the truths in the Gospel, which direct all of one’s attention to Christ his power, the more he comes into a greater experience of Christ as one’s Light, Life, and Love. The foul stench of the prison is left behind to begin to know the freshness of Christ’s presence, purity, goodness, and love. Then comes the question: How much can one know of this liberating, fresh Life of the Spirit of Christ, even though the believer is still in this world?
The answer lies in Jesus’s words: “…out of his heart shall flow RIVERS of living water.” (Jn. 7:38) Later in John’s gospel, the Lord declares that He has come to give “life…abundantly,” and this “according to the power that works in us.”
Dear Father, Grant us Your freedom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.