In John 8:31-32, it says in the KJV, “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Jesus was speaking to believers. But as we may know, many believers aren’t free. They have received Jesus into their hearts and been born again, but it ended there for them. Their thinking may be that they have their ‘ticket’ (so to speak) to go to heaven, so everything is fine (or so they think). And they go on in life their own way or better put, the ways of the world, not the ways of the Lord. They haven’t been set free from things that have them bound and things that are hindering them from walking in victory the way GOD intended for them to walk.
So as we can see in these scriptures, just because someone has believed on the Lord and been born again, doesn’t mean they are automatically free. Their spirit man is made completely perfect just like Jesus’, but the soul has never been dealt with and freed from bondages and wrong thinking, etc.
None of us are totally free and we won’t be until we go to be with Jesus. But many of us can say God has started the process of setting us free to the degree He has because we are continuing, or abiding, in the Word of God.
The qualifications for getting set free are clarified in these two scriptures in John 8:31-32.
Many times you hear it quoted, ‘The truth shall make you free.’ But the previous verse (31) needs to be quoted along with verse 32, which says, “…..if you continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed;” and then verse 32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
The word continue means to abide and to abide in something is to dwell, endure, remain in it.
A disciple is a learner, a pupil, or one who follows one’s teachings. And according to this scripture, a disciple is one who continues or abides and dwells in the teachings of Jesus.
As stated above, verse 32 continues, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
To know the truth is to be aware , perceive, understand. Jesus said in John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 1:17 tells us the law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Jesus and the Word are one – John 1:14.
So simply put, if we abide or remain in the Word of God, we are His disciples, His followers. And it is then we shall know the truth of His Word and it will set us free. The more you renew your mind in the Word of God, the more truth you will be aware of and understanding and revelation will come. And the truth of His Word will set you free.
It will set your thinking right, it will set your actions right, it will restore your soul, it will set your life on a path that is a righteous path pleasing to God. It will set you free from bondages, free from lies, free from addictions, free from every hindrance that keeps you from walking in victory.
Thank God for the truth of His Word that sets us free as we continue in it!!