Names of Jesus: One Who Sets Free

Jesus is the Word, and the Word is the One who sets free. We are set free through believing in the Word and are disciples of Jesus when we abide in the Word and the Word abides in us. To be His disciples, we not only believe in the One who sets free, but we continue to learn more about Him through His Word, grow in our faith and understanding, and become better examples of Jesus as we mature spiritually.

³¹ Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

John 8:31-32 NKJV

• Abide – G3306 – menō
  • not to depart, not to leave, to continue to be present
    • to persevere

• Disciples – G3101 – mathētēs
  • a learner, pupil, disciple
    • one who follows one’s teaching

If you hold to the Word, endure in it, continue in its instructions, and live your life according to the Word of God, you are a true follower of Jesus. If we abide in the Word, we will know the Truth. We must be in the Word, continuing to learn from it and live according to what we have learned, and in so doing we will find freedom through knowing the Truth from the Word of God.

• You shall know – G1097 – ginōskō
  • know and understand
    • the things which proceed from the Spirit
    • absolutely, of the knowledge of divine things
    • of the knowledge of things lawful for a Christian

• Will make you free – G1659 – eleutheroō
  • to make free, set at liberty
    • from the dominion of sin
    • one from another’s control

Faith leads to freedom from sin

The Truth sets us free from bondage to sin. When we are enslaved to sin, it has a hold on us and our lives. Our decisions are influenced by the pull, weight, and temptations of sin, and draw us away from God. Before we come to believe in Jesus as our Savior, we are living in our sin and are destined for destruction because death is the price for sin.

⁴ For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil ^[a]dwell with You.

Psalm 5:4 NKJV

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified ^[a]freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God set forth as a ^[b]propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, ²⁶ to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:23-26 NKJV

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the ^[a]gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 NKJV

When we believe in Jesus, we believe that His death was for our own personal sake, that He died the death we deserve so that we would not have to pay it ourselves. God does not want us to be separated from Him, but sin cannot dwell with God, and death for sin is separation from God. God wants a relationship with each of us, and Christ died in our place so that we could be in a relationship with God, and have His Spirit live in us to teach and guide us.

² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:2 NKJV

¹⁸ And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Romans 6:18 NKJV

²² But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit ^[a]to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

Romans 6:22 NKJV

Stand^[a] fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

Galatians 5:1 NKJV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1 NKJV

Without faith, we are enslaved to sin. By faith in Jesus, we believe the Word of Truth, repent of our sins, are set free from the power of sin over us, and have the power of Jesus Christ to conquer sin in our lives. To repent of our sins means we agree with God so deeply about our sins that we cannot help but turn away from our sins, look to Jesus for our salvation, and follow the conviction and guidance of God’s Holy Spirit.

To Abide in the Word, we must grow in the Word

As we come to know more of the Word, God reveals more of His Truth to us, which continues to sanctify us and strengthen us against temptation and sin. By knowing the Word deeper, we are able to go from the infant stages of faith to more mature stages of faith. It is like going from being bottle-fed milk to eating solid food. At newer stages of faith, we have a more basic understanding of the Word, which is like the milk, and as we abide in the Word we should be moving up to the meat, that is diving deeper into the Word and what God wants to reveal to each of us through it in order to grow our faith and glorify Him more.

² I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; ³ for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and ^[a]behaving like mere men?

1 Corinthians 3:2-3 NKJV

¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

1 Corinthians 13:11 NKJV

To grow in the Truth and abide in the Word, we must continuously learn more about the Word. The Word is given for our instruction and when we fail to learn from His Word, we fail to prepare and equip ourselves with the tools needed for spiritual warfare and the resisting of sin and temptation. Sin loses its hold on us and loses its appeal as we learn more about God and His righteousness, and our divine purpose to glorify Him in all things.

¹⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for ^[a]instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV

¹² For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12 NKJV

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

Proverbs 3:5 NKJV

Holy Spirit leads us to understand the Truth that sets free

When we remain as infants in our faith, we are lacking the knowledge of the Truth that sets us free from the bondage of sin. The more we know, the more there is to believe. The more we believe, the more we receive from God. The more we receive, the more we can bring God glory with what He has given. Just as Christ glorified God in all He has done and will do, we are to bring God glory as well. The more we know of the Truth, the more glory we can bring to our Father in Heaven.

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, ² as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He ^[a]should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ⁴ I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.

John 17:1-4 NKJV

When we have faith in Jesus, the One who sets us free, we are forgiven of our sins and enter into a personal relationship with God the Father through Jesus the Son. We are given the gift of the Holy Spirit, who guides all of us into all truth, reveals Jesus, declares what is to come, and reveals the truth about righteousness, condemnation, and sin. Once we come to believe the Truth that sets free, the Holy Spirit continues to work in us, guiding us in righteousness, and helping us to understand the Word and apply it to our lives at every stage of our faith.

⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He ^[a]will take of Mine and declare it to you.

John 16:7-15 NKJV

Freedom in Christ will be evident by your fruits

The One who sets free should have priority in our lives. The freedom we have in Christ should never be taken for granted, nor taken lightly, but honored, cherished, and put first in all we do. Christ died in our place so that those who believe in Him as the One who sets free would truly be free from the power of sin and the fate of eternal separation from God. To prioritize Jesus is to invest in His Word, learn from Him constantly, and apply what we learn to our lives. We should be guided by His Holy Spirit, and go through the growing pains of going deeper in our faith in order to bring God glory and reveal the Truth that set us free to others so they too may be free indeed.

¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Matthew 7:16-20 NKJV

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ^23 [a]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV

God’s Not Dead scene gives an explanation about being enslaved to sin

I don’t quote or reference movies and other media very often, but I find the God’s Not Dead movie series valuable as a Christian. Take a look at the following clip of a scene from God’s Not Dead that gives a chilling explanation of one way we become enslaved to sin, and why we need the One Who Sets Free.

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