There's Freedom in Continuing

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32 (KJV)

This is such an encouraging verse. Most Christians like to quote it- and even some who are unsaved will try to use it. But, there are some nuances about it that many people either miss or ignore.

Notice that the verse begins with the word and. And is a conjunction, meaning it joins two things together. Since the verse begins with and, we can be sure that there is something prior to that verse that must be joined with it for the verse to be true. So let’s look at John 8:32 along with the verse that precedes it.

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. John 8:31-32 (KJV)

So we see that in order for us to be made free, we must first continue in God’s Word. While we like to say that salvation is unconditional, this promise has a condition- we must continue in the Word. Not only that, but we must know the truth before it can make us free.

The word continue in the original language is the Greek word meno, which means to stay, abide, dwell, continue, remain. We must remain in the Word. We have to continue in it. We cannot read something in the Word one day, claim it for our own and then close the book. We must be in the Word day after day after day. We cannot just get a drop of the truth and expect that it will make us free. We have to be filled to overflowing with the Word- so much so that we become one with the Word. Once the Word truly gets in our hearts and is as real to us as the things we see, touch, hear, smell, and taste, then it has the ability to transform us.

Notice that John 8:32 says that continuing in the Word causes us to know the truth. The word know is ginosko, which means to know, be aware of, to perceive, to be resolved, to be sure, to understand. In other words, the truth must be understood. We can’t just read it and say it by memory. We must be sure of it. Then, once we understand the truth and it is real to us, it makes us free.

It doesn’t just set us free, it makes us free. It is one thing for the prison door to be opened and for a prisoner to be able to walk out of the prison. It is another thing entirely for a prisoner to be declared free- to be made a free man. To be made free means it impacts our very identity. We go from being prisoners to being free people. Once you are decreed to be a free person, you cannot be imprisoned again with the same bondage because you are identified as free.

So, now John 8:32 takes on new meaning. We must live in the Word continually and we must understand it and become one with it. We will then be made into free people- never to be bound again.