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2 Corinthians 3:17 - True Freedom

2 Corinthians 3:17 (NIV) Now the Lord is the 
Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there 
is freedom. 

INTRODUCTION

Paul recalled the stone tablets on which God 
had written the old covenant. "The old written 
covenant ends in death," which means that trying to 
be saved by keeping the Old Testament laws is a 
misuse of its purpose (2 Corinthians 3: 6). The 
people were not made right with God by keeping 
God's law. They were made right by trusting him to 
shape them through it - like a tool.  
With the new covenant, the Holy Spirit gives 
new life to all who believe in Christ. He is 
working from within, unlike the old covenant. This 
is what God promised. "I will put my 
instructions deep within them, and I will write them on 
their hearts" (Jeremiah 31:33). "I will take away 
their stony, stubborn heart and give them a 
tender, responsive heart" (Ezekiel 11:19).  
Today the old covenant and the new covenant 
work together. God's law in the Old Testament 
still points out sin and shows us what obedience 
should involve, while God's Spirit works within us 
"giving you the desire and the power to do what 
pleases him. (Philippians 2:13).  
Dont discard God's laws. They are the 
revelation of God. But live by God's Spirit, trusting 
him by responding to his guidance. [One Year NLT 
SB] 

COMMENTARY PEARL

I was in college when the ground-breaking TV 
mini-series Roots premiered in 1977. My friends and I 
gathered around the television on eight consecutive 
nights, riveted by the story based on author Alex 
Haley's family history that detailed the enslavement 
of Haley's African ancestor Kunta Kinte to his 
descendants' liberation. 
While Roots was unsettling to me and my 
African-American friends, it gave us a real appreciation of 
our ancestors and all they overcame to survive. 
The characters in Haley's story talked about the 
Lord and called on Him for help and protection 
throughout their trials. Although they were in bondage, 
they dreamed of freedom. But when I stop to think 
about it, many of these people were already 
experiencing freedom in their minds and hearts because 
they knew Jesus. 
I believe my own enslaved ancestors' faith 
in God and the presence of the Holy Spirit is 
what sustained them during dark times. They, too, 
believed they would be free someday. I'm not shackled 
in physical chains as my ancestors were, but 
from time to time I still battle things that try 
to hold me captive: fear of failure, guilt for 
sins past and present, and more. But as one who 
knows Jesus and the power of His spirit, I am 
free. 
Unlike many of the enslaved people who had 
to wait to get word of their freedom long after 
their official emancipation, I have been free ever 
since the day I gave my life to Jesus. He gives 
on-the-spot liberation to all believers, and that's the 
main reason to celebrate today. Barbianda 
Lumpkins Walls 
Faith Step: What is holding you captive? 
Your job? Financial worries? A past sin? Know 
that there is freedom in Jesus. [Mornings With 
Jesus 2022 Devotional by Guideposts and 
Zondervan] 

COMMENTARY

One of the most beautiful by-products of the 
Presence of the Lord is freedom. The reason it's so 
beautiful is that so many people have been enslaved. 
All of us start out in that condition as 
captives of a fallen world and the sin that plagues 
us, but many of us continue in that condition as 
believers. Why? Because we address our former captivity 
with relentless attempts at developing new 
behavior patterns. New behavior is part of the 
gospel, of course, but not as the result of a 
religious system or even "biblical" principles to 
which we try to conform. External constraints can 
never free us from sin; they can only clean up our 
appearance. Real freedom comes when we are transformed 
from within, actually experience a new nature, 
and then act "naturally."  
Many Christians don't experience freedom 
because they don't know what kind of freedom the 
Spirit gives. Not only does the gospel free us from 
sin, it also frees us from anything that defines 
our relationship with God as something other 
than a relationship with Him. From systems of 
belief or behavior rather than living interaction 
with Him. From laws about righteousness rather 
than the righteousness that results from His 
Presence in us. From the dictates of a constrained 
heart rather than a transformed heart. Anything 
less than this is bondage.  
Refuse to be bound by sin, by religious 
systems, or by false principles of "spiritual" 
behavior, even if those principles are derived from 
parts of the Bible. The Bible tells us what a new 
creation looks like, but it also tells us that the 
only way to become new is by God's supernatural 
power working within us, not by standards imposed 
from outside of us. The only "obedience" now 
required of us is obedience to the impulses and 
movements of the Spirit Himself. When we follow Him 
freely, we freely become who we were meant to be.  
Holy Spirit, You are my only law because You 
are my life. Thank You for setting me free! [The 
One Year Experiencing Gods Presence 
Devotional by Chris Tiegreen] 

CLOSING THOUGHT

You Think I'm In Jail...... is what the 
young man asked, and it seemed like it from where 
I sat - for he was on the other side of the 
bars. 
His life story was one continual conflict 
with the law. He was sent to reform school as 
soon as he was old enough. He was an "alumnus" of 
the advanced school for incorrigible youth. Now 
he had matriculated into the "big house" - his 
entrance examination came by way of an armed 
robbery. 
Sitting in the gray atmosphere of prison, he 
was seeking some way of escape - then found it 
in the Bible. Now, as he expressed it, he was 
no longer in prison; he was free in Jesus 
Christ. So he emphatically stated, "You think I'm in 
jail? No way! You want to know who's in jail?" He 
swept his hands in a wide circle. "I'll tell you. 
All those people who don't know Christ - they're 
the ones in jail." [SDA Stewardship Devotional] 

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

I designed you to live in union with Me. 
This union does not negate who you are; it 
actually makes you more fully yourself. When you try 
to live independently of Me, you experience 
emptiness and dissatisfaction. You may gain the whole 
world and yet lose everything that really counts. 
 
Find fulfillment through living close to Me, 
yielding to My purposes for you. Though I may lead 
you along paths that feel alien to you, trust 
that I know what I am doing. If you follow Me 
wholeheartedly, you will discover facets of yourself that 
were previously hidden. I know you intimately-far 
better than you know yourself. In union with Me, 
you are complete. In closeness to Me, you are 
transformed more and more into the one I designed you to 
be. (Mark 8:36; Psalm 139:13-16; 2 Corinthians 
3:17-18) [Jesus Calling by Sarah Young] 

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

2 Corinthians 3:17 - True Freedom.

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2005/20050704-0924.html 

John 8:36 - Freedom Like No Other!

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220519-0918.html 

YOUR COMMENTS

If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or 
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either 
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in 
hearing from you.  Thanks in advance and let's keep 
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred 
Gibbs  

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

Most Important Decision in Life: 
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0 

A Man without Equal by Bill Bright: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo 

Steps to Peace by Billy Graham: 
https://stepstopeace.org/ 

Seeking God Made Real: 
http://vimeo.com/31489782 

Prayer Made Real: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE 

LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES 

Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: 
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/ 

Amazing Facts Bible Studies: 
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx  

Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Study 
Guides: 
https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/study/discover 

Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: 
http://www.bibleresearch.info/ 

LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS

Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of 
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible 

Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug 
Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/  

Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW: 
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens 

Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657