Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17
Paul here is emphasizing the close relationship between the Son and the Spirit. In Romans 8:9 (“You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.”) “the Spirit of God” and “the Spirit of Christ” appear to be interchangeable. But there is one other thing that Paul is emphasizing here and that is “where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom”. But what is this freedom that Paul is talking about? And that is what we are going to spend the rest of out time together finding out.
When Paul talks about freedom this is what he means. The freedom that comes through faith in and devotion to Christ rescues and liberates you from the guilt and slavery of sin and from the power and control of Satan. This freedom has two very important aspects. And the first one is this: true freedom begins when you accept God’s forgiveness, enter a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and receives the Holy Spirit. You continue to experience freedom from spiritual slavery through the power of the Holy Spirit living within you and through obedience to the Spirit’s direction.
And the second aspect of this freedom is this: the freedom provided by Christ is not a freedom for you to do whatever you want, but rather to do all you should. Spiritual freedom must never be used an excuse for questionable behavior, to cover up evil or to justify conflict with other Christians. Christian liberty frees you to do what Christ desires and to serve God and other people in ways that God determines are right. You are now Christ’s slaves-and even more, his willing servants-living to honor God with the Spirit’s help and enablement.
The world views freedom as having the ability to do whatever they want whenever they want, but the Christian view of freedom is completely different. Christians do believe that you have the ability to chose to do whatever you want whenever you want, but the difference is that Christians also believe that to make that choice you choosing to go back to living in the Spiritual bondage the Satan has and still wants to keep you in. Which means that those who chose to live their lives in that manner are choosing to ignore Jesus’ words in John 10:10, “A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”
John 10:10 is a contest between Satan’s purpose and Christ’s purpose. Satan and his forces serve only to destroy people and keep them from God. In contrast, Jesus has come to give people true life through a personal relationship with him. By accepting Christ’s forgiveness and new life, people can find and fulfill the highest purpose for which God created them. Which is what spiritual freedom is all about. And the only way you will ever find spiritual freedom is to surrender your life to Christ. If you are ready to do that then pray this simple prayer:
Dear God, I know that my sin has separated me from you. Thank you that Jesus Christ died in my place. I ask Jesus to forgive my sin and to come into my life. Please begin to direct my life. Thank you for giving me eternal life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.