WHERE THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS THERE IS LIBERTY

“The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

The Lord Jesus Christ became a life-giving Spirit after rising from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:45). After his resurrection he came to his people by the Holy Spirit. He still comes to us today by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus. Jesus did not leave us alone as orphans, but he comes to us (John 14:15-21).

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of the Lord. The Lord is the Owner. The Lord bought us with his blood and now owns us, and we have become his property (Romans 6:22). Because God owns us, we are now free from all other owners, and we cannot be owned by any other master. To the extent that we obey our Lord Jesus, to that extent we will experience freedom from all other masters.

Freedom From What?

The Spirit of the Lord sets us free from slavery to sin (John 8:32-36). He sets us free from the penalty of sin, which is eternal damnation in hell. He sets us free from guilt and shame of sin, because he clothes us with his own righteousness. He frees us from tormenting thoughts and an accusing conscience because he forgives us of our sins. He frees us from the effects of sin because he is the healer of our souls and bodies.  He also frees us from slavery to sin, so that we can get the victory over sin (Romans 6:16). We do not have to keep on sinning. We can be free from the bondage of sin because of Jesus Christ.

The Spirit of the Lord also frees us from dead religion. Religious rituals bring death because they are based on human wisdom and therefore have no power to save. Religious liturgies prove the deadness of man-made religion because it is just saying the same thing over and over again. In any relationship, if we just say the same thing over and over again to the other person, this is not a very good relationship. We do not pull out our book of sayings in order to read someone else’s words repetitively to our spouse or good friend. Why would we pull out a book of liturgy in order to say rote things to God? To do this proves the deadness of our religious experience. We need life, and that comes from the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit of the Lord also frees us from slavery to the world. We don’t need the world anymore, we need God. We don’t have to be slaves of what the world can give us, because we know that the things in the world are empty and will not satisfy. We need God. When we have him, we have all that we need.

The Spirit of the Lord frees us from slavery to the flesh. Before, we were slaves to the flesh, and we lived in the flesh in order to satisfy its lusts. But after trusting in Christ our flesh has been crucified with Christ, and our old man is dead. We do not need to live for the lusts of the flesh anymore. We live in the Spirit, not in the flesh; we live for God, not ourselves.

The Spirit of the Lord frees us from fear of death (Hebrews 2:15). Jesus died in our place. He rose up again, conquering death and giving us eternal life. If our bodies die, our souls will go be with God. This is not something to fear. This is something to look forward to. Since we are freed from fear of death, we are freed from many other fears which are closely related to the fear of death such as the fears of lack, disease, persecution, etc.

Removing Spiritual Veils

Many Jews were in darkness because their minds were blinded (2 Corinthians 3:14). When they read the Bible, they could not see Jesus Christ was the Messiah, so they didn’t believe the gospel and become saved. This is because there was a spiritual veil on their heart. When there is a spiritual veil over a person, he cannot see Jesus clearly and he cannot get free.

We are set free by the truth (John 8:32). In order for the truth to operate in our lives and actually set us free, we need to know and believe the truth. The word of God is the truth (John 17:17). The Holy Spirit will lead us into ALL truth (John 16:13). He leads us into all truth because he wants us to be completely free. The more truth we see, the more truth we can obey; and the more truth we obey, the more freedom we will experience. Veils must be removed so we can see clearly.

The truth sets us free from lies. Lies produce spiritual veils that block us from seeing our inheritance in God and who we are in Christ.

The Spirit of the Lord has come to teach us the word of God. This sharp sword of God’s word will cleanse our minds from the cobwebs of lies, unbelief, the world, and dead religion. He will renew our minds to see and believe the truth of God to set us free.

Where is the Spirit of the Lord?

The Spirit of the Lord is within the church, which means a church should minister freedom to people. In a Biblical church, the truth of God is taught and this will bring freedom. Truth has differing levels. Some truth is basic, and some is deep. Some truth is like milk, and some is like meat. Some churches teach more truth than others. The more truth is taught in a church, the more freedom the people in that church can have. Some churches teach false doctrine. False doctrine throws a veil over people that blocks them from seeing aspects of truth and puts them in bondage. Some churches minister more veils than truth, which is why some churches produce a lot of bondage. Churches are in various spiritual positions in relation to the Lord because they have varying levels of truth acceptance. A church must always press into more realms of truth in order to mature. At the end of the age, the bride of Christ will accept a full revelation of truth and thereby become the glorious counterpart of Christ in the earth.

The Holy Spirit is within the heart of the individual believer. This indwelling Holy Spirit will set us free. The Holy Spirit will lead us. When the Holy Spirit leads us to do something, we should do it. As we walk in the Spirit, we will experience more freedom in increasing areas of our lives. Sometimes obedience to truth in one area will lead to deliverance in another, seemingly unrelated area of our lives. 

Jesus came to set us free. He sent his Spirit into his church and into our hearts in order to set us free. We need to stand in the liberty that we have already experienced in the Lord and not go back into bondage (Galatians 5:1). We must also continue to press into new realms of truth as long as we are on this earth.