Today we continue our mini-series entitled “A New Dimension of Glory!” This series is under the overall theme for the year: “GREAT FREEDOM.” We have been looking at a passage in 2 Corinthians 3 for a while. Let’s get back to it today.
(2 Corinthians 3:7-11, 17&18 Easy to Read Version)
7 The old agreement that brought death, written with words on stone, came with God’s glory. In fact, the face of Moses was so bright with glory (a glory that was ending) that the people of Israel could not continue looking at his face.
8 So surely the new agreement that comes from the life-giving Spirit has even more glory.
9 This is what I mean: That old agreement judged people guilty of sin, but it had glory. So surely the new agreement that makes people right with God has much greater glory.
10 That old agreement had glory. But it really loses its glory when it is compared to the much greater glory of the new agreement.
11 If the agreement that was brought to an end came with glory, then the agreement that never ends has much greater glory.
17 The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And our faces are not covered. We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings more and more glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
So what does this mean for you today? A will share a few thoughts around this line: “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
1. The Holy Spirit makes us free, but many believers don’t realize it.
Think about the picture the Apostle Paul paints for us in 2 Corinthians 3. Paul went to painstaking detail to compare and contrast the glory of God associated to the Old Covenant (a glory that faded, connected to a Covenant that ended), with the glory of God associated with the New Covenant (a glory that will never fade, connected to a Covenant that will never end). The key to this glory is the Holy Spirit. Wherever God is, His glory is present. You cannot disconnect God from His glory. The Holy Spirit is God. Therefore, wherever the Holy Spirit is, God’s glory is present.
If the glory associated with the Old Covenant was great, then this one is much greater. The glory of the Old caused Moses’ face to emanate God’s presence. So think about how much greater the glory of God is that is actually INSIDE of you! If you are Born-Again, you are carrying around God’s presence and His glory. When you realize this, you also realize what you are FREE FROM! You are no longer bound. The power and glory of God are INSIDE of you. You are actually FREE! But many people don’t realize it. And if you don’t know you are FREE, you won’t walk in your FREEDOM!
Many believers are struggling to attempt to become free from things because they don’t recognize or realize that God already made them free. They are asking God to do something He has already done. Whenever you get a revelation of something God has ALREADY provided, your job, at that point, is no longer to attempt to make it happen. Your part is to simply receive, by faith, what God has already provided, by grace.
Your freedom has ALREADY been provided! God made you FREE! You are walking around with God on the inside of you. Wherever the Holy Spirit is, there is FREEDOM! It’s time for you to walk in the FREEDOM He has already provided.
2. The Holy Spirit makes you FREE from all bondage.
The definition of bondage from the Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language (1828) reads: slavery or involuntary servitude; captivity; imprisonment; restraint of a person’s liberty by compulsion.
Once you are Born-Again and the Holy Spirit lives in you, the power of God is present INSIDE of you. If you tap into that power by faith, nothing can keep you bound.
a) You are free from the power of sin. The Bible says, “We know that our old life was put to death on the cross with Christ. This happened so that our sinful selves would have no power over us. Then we would not be slaves to sin. Anyone who has died is made free from sin’s control.” (Romans 6:6,7 ERV). Grace does not make you free TO sin. But it surely makes you free FROM sin. Sin has no power over you. The Holy Spirit gives you the power to live free from sin.
b) You are free from the bondage of fear. The Bible tells us that Jesus “freed those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Heb 2:15 NIV). The fear of death is the ‘mother of all fears,’ and once you are in Christ, you are no longer a slave (or bound) to the fear of death. You are dead in Christ and you have done all the dying you are going to do. So you are FREE to LIVE the life God called you to live!
c) You are free from the pressure to perform. The Apostle Paul taught us that we are saved by grace and not by our works (Eph 2:8,9). Therefore, we have nothing to boast about. If we are going to boast, our boast should be about God and what He has done for us. Grace is a gift. You cannot work for a gift. All you can do with a gift is receive it. In Romans 11:6 Paul makes this clear. He said, “Since it is by God’s grace, it can’t be a matter of their good works; otherwise, it wouldn’t be a gift of grace, but earned by human effort.” Once you are Born-Again and filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will reassure you that your salvation is secure IN HIM. You don’t have to stress anymore about going to heaven. Your life no longer has to be about performing to earn heaven or earn God’s goodness. You are FREE to simply be led by the Holy Spirit to do whatever He leads you to do. This is how you become the man/woman God has called you to be. And this is how you will leave a mark in this world that will not easily be erased.
That’s enough for today. I will continue to flow in this vein tomorrow.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I realize the fact that I am FREE! I am not free because of what I do or what I fail to do. I am FREE because of what Jesus did. And I am FREE because You placed Your Spirit INSIDE of me. Your Spirit brings with Him Your power and glory! This is a glory that will never fade away. And this glory breaks through all bondage. I am free from the bondage of sin. I am free from the debilitating power of the fear of death. I am free from the stress associated with the pressure to perform. I AM FREE and I will never allow myself to be bound again! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
