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Tag: John 8:32

Truth will set you free

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in John, What’s new?.

What does it mean that “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32)?

“The truth will set you free” is a common saying in academic circles that want to promote academic freedom and the power of learning. Many universities have this statement emblazoned on a sign near the entrance of a building. But “the truth will set you free” did not originate in academia; Jesus said it in John 8:32. In context, Jesus’ statement has nothing to do with classroom learning. In fact, John 8:32 speaks of a higher form of knowledge than is capable of being learned in a classroom.

Jesus had just finished a speech at the temple where He delineated differences between Himself and His listeners. “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins” (John 8:23–24). The result of Jesus’ message was that “even as he spoke, many believed in him” (verse 30). Then, in verse 31, Jesus begins to speak just to those who had believed.

“Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples’” (John 8:31). True discipleship is more than intellectual assent; those who are “really” followers of Christ will “hold to” His Word. That means they will not only accept His teachings as truth, but they will also obey His teachings. Action is proof of faith (cf. James 2:17).

True disciples of Jesus believe that He speaks the truth about God and the Scriptures. They also know that He is who He claims to be. Back in verse 25, the people asked Jesus who He was, and He responded, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.” There may be a tinge of exasperation in His response; He had repeatedly made known that He was the Messiah, the one they had anticipated for many years.

Verse 32 begins with, “Then you will know the truth.” “You” refers to those who are true disciples of Jesus. True disciples will know the truth. More than that, their eyes are opened to a greater understanding of the truth (cf. 1 John 5:20).

The truth Jesus’ disciples receive brings with it freedom. Jesus continues, “And the truth will set you free” (verse 32). At that point in history, the Jews were under the rule of the Roman government. Even though Rome gave them an exceptional amount of autonomy, they were keenly aware of the Roman presence around them in the form of soldiers, governors, and empirically appointed kings. When Jesus said the truth would set them free, however, He was not talking about political freedom (though the following verses indicate that’s how the Jews took it). Jesus provides the best commentary for His own statement in verse 34. Jesus explains, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” Being a slave to sin is the ultimate bondage.

The freedom Jesus offers is a spiritual freedom from the bondage of sin—that is, release from the lifestyle of habitual lawlessness. He continues with an analogy: “Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever” (verse 35). The people would have understood Jesus to mean that they were not members of God’s family, despite their biological relationship to Abraham (verse 37), because they were slaves to sin. If they were to become disciples of Jesus, they would know the truth of their condition and the truth about Christ, and Jesus would set them free. Believers would be freed from their bondage and brought into the family of God.

Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6). Knowing the Truth will set one at liberty—free from sin, free from condemnation, and free from death (Romans 6:22; 8:1–2). Jesus came to proclaim liberty to the captives (Luke 4:18). “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16, ESV).

You will know the truth

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in John, What’s new?.

What does it mean that you will know the truth in John 8:32?

Jesus stated plainly that the mark of a true disciple of Christ is that he remains faithful to His teachings. He told the Jews who believed in Him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32, ESV).

The word know in John 8:32 is translated from a Greek verb that means “to know experientially.” Understanding something with the mind or intellect, often called “head knowledge,” is different than knowing something experientially. We can know that something is bad for us yet still do it. But when we take Jesus at His word and practice “the truth that comes from him,” then we will “throw off [our] old sinful nature and [our] former way of life” and “let the Spirit renew [our] thoughts and attitudes” so that the truth we live by sets us free “to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:20–24).

We shall know the truth in a way that sets us free from our old sinful way of life when we know Jesus experientially, in word, deed, and truth (see Colossians 3:17; 1 John 3:18). “Our actions will show that we belong to the truth” (1 John 3:19, NLT).

Knowing the truth means experiencing Jesus Christ by accepting His teachings as absolute truth and then living in faithful obedience to them. We receive the message of the gospel and the teachings of Christ, and then we abide by them. The apostle John often framed the concept of true discipleship as knowing the truth of Christ experientially: “And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments” (1 John 2:3, NLT; see also 1 John 2:29; 3:16, 24).

Knowing the truth is a rock-steady way of life. John 8:32 upholds the biblical concept that truth is the only dependable foundation for constructing one’s life (see also Psalm 26:3). Jesus taught, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash” (Matthew 7:24–27, NLT). If we plant our feet firmly on Christ’s truth and follow the path of His teachings, nothing can shake, derail, or destroy us.

Jesus is the personification of truth (John 14:6). Only He embodies the truth that sets us free (Galatians 5:1; Romans 6:18; John 8:36). Those who know the truth are born-again believers who live in fellowship with God through a relationship with Jesus Christ: “And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life” (1 John 5:20, NLT).

You will know the truth also expresses the moral commitment of genuine disciples to do the will of God (John 7:17; 14:21, 23; James 1:25). We know the truth in the person of Jesus Christ, who prayed to the Father for us to be “made holy” by His truth and gave His own life as the sacrifice that made it possible for us to live out that truth (see John 17:14–19). Moreover, Jesus asked the Father to send us “the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth” (John 14:16–17, NLT; see also Ephesians 1:13).

When Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,” He was telling His followers that obedience to God is the only way to experience true liberation—spiritual freedom from sin. The freedom Jesus offers is restored fellowship with the Father, who is the source of all true life. And the mark of one who has received this life is to remain faithful to His teachings.