Abide: The Word Sets Us Free
Pastor Rollan Fisher
Focus: Jesus is from the Father and speaks his words, and always pleases Him. Those who abide in Jesus’ words are truly his disciples. They will know the truth, and the truth will set them free from their sins.
Abide is an “experiential” word.
We don’t use it often, but it’s a word that really means “LIVE IN.”
e.g., I live in the U.S. and I am able to tell you what America is like:
The weather
The culture
The people
etc…
Abide is an experiential word where one gets to be embedded, wrapped around, and feels that particular “world.”
Typically, when and where you abide, you abound.
e.g., when you abide in fear, you abound in fear.
The series is meant to help us not just cognitively, but emotionally and in a heartfelt manner, bring us to “what it means if we were to LIVE IN that world of GOD’S WORD.”
Psalm 119 gives us a description of what we experience when we “ABIDE” in the Word.
The Word:
Guides
Keeps us from sin
Preserves our lives
Comforts Us
Makes us wise
Is a lamp unto our feet
Is the joy in our hearts
In the New Testament, the WORD becomes even more real, because it is now the door to RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST.
John 8:23–36
He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” As he was saying these things, many believed in him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
The book of John helps us to BELIEVE that Jesus is the Son of God and that in him we may have life (John 20:31).
Jesus in the past few chapters uses different festivals to reveal who he is to the people.
This is one of them where he reveals that he is the TRUTH that sets one free.
Four Jewish Sacred Days:
John 5–10 is a recollection of stories that happened on four different Jewish sacred days.
Sabbath—Healing a man on the Sabbath (John 5)
Passover—Miraculously providing food for thousands (John 6)
Tabernacles—Recollection of the wilderness wanderings and Jesus at the temple courts (John 7–10)
Hanukkah—Rededication of the temple (John 10)
Although not stated, John 8:23–36 may have taken place shortly after the close of the Feast of Tabernacles while Jesus was still in the city.
Jesus’ Seven “I Am” Statements:
“I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51)
“I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12)
“I am the door of the sheep.” (John 10:7, 9)
“I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11, 14)
“I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25)
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)
“I am the true vine.” (John 15:1, 5)
John 8:23–36 takes place after Jesus’ proclamation of the second great “I am”—“I am the light of the world.”
Jesus professes to be the genuine light by which truth and falsehood can be distinguished and by which direction can be established.
Here the Pharisees were challenging the claims of Jesus, as legally, a testimony concerning oneself would be unacceptable because it would presumably be biased.
Yet Jesus claimed to be an adequate and authoritative representative.
Chapter 8 begins with Jesus at the temple setting the woman caught in adultery free, displaying both truth and grace while exposing the “darkness” in her accusers’ lives.
Using that as a launching pad, he declares, “I AM the LIGHT of the world,” who delivers us from the power of darkness.
The Pharisees then have a debate with Jesus about his credibility, while Jesus used this to show his divine side desiring to strengthen the belief that others have in him.
The passage that we are dealing with is part of the ongoing conversation Jesus has with the Pharisees to help them see that Jesus’ version of truth and freedom is of a different level and quality.
Characteristic of the Truth:
In John 8, “the Truth” was not merely referring to the law but the living Son of God.
Heavenly versus Earthly (v. 23)
Jesus claimed that he belonged to a totally different world from that of his questioners.
To him the difference was natural; to them it was unnatural—something they could explain only by assuming that he belonged to the realm of the dead.
But Jesus had come from the presence of God, and he asserted that only by faith could they attain his level.
Relating versus Reasoning
Jesus demonstrated a relationship with the Father through the conversation with the crowd:
v. 18—The Father sent Jesus.
v. 28—The Father taught Jesus.
v. 29—The Father is with Jesus.
v. 29—Jesus does what is pleasing to the Father.
The Pharisees, however, took the approach of mere reasoning:
v. 19—“Where is your Father?”
v. 22—“Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
v. 25—“Who are you?”
Through their reasoning, the Pharisees failed to understand that Jesus was speaking to them of God and they missed the point of his unique relationship to the Father.
Not only did they repudiate his claims, they completely rejected his person.
To discover and embrace the truth that is Jesus Christ requires more than reasoning.
It requires starting a relationship with him.
Son versus Slave
Sin in this passage is in a verb tense indicating a habitual, continual action.
The person in habitual sin is a slave of sin.
A slave has no security, for he can claim no family ties that entail an obligation toward him.
The son of a family has permanent status within it.
Jesus enlarged this analogy by stating that while a son is rightfully a partaker of family privileges, the Son can confer such privileges.
As the Jews thought they were descendants of Abraham with whom God had established a permanent covenant, they considered themselves exempt from any spiritual danger.
The hope for real freedom does not lie in the ancestry of Abraham but in the action of Christ.
How to Respond to the Truth:
Accept it.
v. 30—“many believed in him”
The first response to truth is to believe and accept.
When the Pharisees heard Jesus speak they became more opposed to him.
Yet there were many who heard the same words and believed in him.
They believed despite the evident opposition of the religious leaders.
The conversation shifts as Jesus starts speaking to those who believe.
Though there were still gaps of understanding in the crowd, Jesus spent time revealing more about himself to them.
There will be gaps in our understanding as we choose to believe in him, yet these will be revealed more and more to us as we journey with him.
The first step is to ACCEPT.
Act on it.
v. 32—“know the truth”
know—γινώσκω (ginōskō)
Ginōskō is when you experientially learn something.
Knowledge possessed through the intellectual process of learning is one thing.
Knowledge gained by experience, by an active relationship between the one who knows and the person or thing known, is far superior to the former.
Ginōskō is that knowledge that comes not just by reading and listening, but by action and obeying the Lord.
You may intellectually know some truth but you don’t really "know" it experientially until you surrender and obey the truth.
A person must be determined to obey the Word if he expects to understand it.
Abide in it.
v. 31—“abide in my word”
abide—μένω (menō)
In simple terms, “abide” means to remain in the same place or position over a period of time.
Jesus was implying the maintenance of a stable and consistent fellowship with God.
To abide in Christ means to depend completely on him for all that we need in order to live for him and serve him.
It is a living relationship.
As he lives out his life through us, we are able to follow his example and walk as he did.
There is nothing between us and our Savior, no sin unjudged and not put away.
This is how the truth sets us free.
Our response today:
Pray
For those who do not know God, repent of your sin and put your faith in Jesus, the Truth.
Practice
For those who already believe in God, continue in your belief and because it’s not just a one-time activity. Practice abiding in Christ.
Point to Jesus
Everyone should reach out to others.
Truth not only sets us free.
When we have received Christ’s joy and freedom, it compels us to help others be set free.
No wonder John used one phrase from Jesus in John 20:21—“As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher