Freedom in Christ
We’ve been making our way through the letter of 1 Corinthians this fall, and we have seen a church (a group of believers) that was confused on a number of issues. One of those issues is how they were to think about their freedom, specifically their freedom in Christ.
The theologian, Knox Chamblin, summarizes Paul’s thoughts on freedom in the letter of 1 Corinthians. He writes, “As Christ’s purchased possession, believers belong neither to themselves (1 Cor 6:20, “you were bought at a price”) nor to others (1 Cor 9:19, “free from all people”). Moreover, says Paul, “I myself am not under the Law” (9:20): the doulos (servants/slaves) of Christ cannot be under a second master, even the Law of God. Yet, Paul continues, “I am not free from God’s Law but in thrall to Christ’s law” (9:21). Life “in Christ” (en Christō) provides the essential context for law keeping (ennomos Christou). Persons united to Christ are subject to his law.”[1]
Ok, I realize this is a pretty academic statement, so let me summarize. Paul tells the Corinthian people, “you were bought with a price”, so that means you are now under (belong to) Christ. Because you belong to Christ, you are now free from sin and the ways of the world. But you are not free to give up on righteousness, so while the law doesn’t save you, you are called to obedience and to glorify Christ with your bodies. Freedom in Paul’s mind isn’t about individual liberty, but the freedom to glorify Christ and honor the people in your life in a way that declares the gospel.
Let’s personalize this idea a little more.
Do you remember the feeling of freedom at the moment you accepted Jesus as your savior? At that moment, you were ushered in from spiritual death to life. From being an enemy of God (one who is opposed to God and places themselves at the center of their universe) to a friend of God. Or, a John would tell us, one who was in the darkness to one who is in the light and has the true light shining through them. Even as I write those transitions that occur at the moment of salvation, my heart begins to feel lighter! How does your heart feel as you read them? Lighter, contented, secure, and hopeful? Or, do you feel a deep yearning and longing for those feelings?
The reality is that we too often live in the captivity of fear instead of the freshness of freedom. We fear what today will bring, let alone tomorrow or the next day. We fear our pasts and live under a weight of regret. We fear losing the ones we love or being rejected by them. All of these fears are understandable, and we have all experienced them at one point or another in our lives. Can I whisper the truth to you? To your heart? None of these fears have to be decisive in or over your life. Why? Because there is freedom and new life in Jesus! Brennan Manning expresses it like this,
“Yet none of this is decisive. The decisive thing is the freedom of the gospel in Jesus Christ. The ground and source of our freedom lies not in ourselves, who are by nature slaves to sin, but in the freedom of His grace setting us free in Christ by the Holy Spirit. We are free from the slavery of sin – for what? For the saving grace of the living God!”
In Jesus, we are free from having to be the center of our own universes or realities. We are free from determining our own standard of ethics or morality. We are free from the oppressive and exhausting work of trying to form and fashion ourselves and our broken world into something pleasing or presentable. We are set free so that the true light can start shining through us. We are free so that the love of the Father can be made perfect in our hearts. Yes, life on this side of heaven is not easy. And, it never will be. But we as Christians have experienced the freshness of freedom in Christ, and that experience should prompt an eternal perspective that buffers us from the fears of this life.
Today, you are likely facing challenges, hurts, and hurdles that seem impossible to overcome. John tells us that in Jesus, we have overcome the world, and we should look back at the moment of salvation and the fresh feeling of salvation to ground our hearts. That freshness of freedom was not a one-time experience; it is fresh and available every day because we know Him who is from the beginning. When we come to experience this freedom, we experience the relief that comes from the truth that, when God is God, I don’t have to be. That truth is truly freeing.
[1] J. Knox Chamblin, “Freedom/Liberty,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 314.