THE LIBERTY OF THE SPIRIT

2 CORINTHIANS 3:1

A. WHERE THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS, THERE IS LIBERTY
  1. It is amazing how Paul chooses and dwells upon the highest and noblest thoughts:
    1. The subject "Liberty" occupies his mind
    2. He saw and experienced much of the opposite of liberty
  2. In our text:
    1. He points to the liberty of the Spirit
    2. And how its functions are a grand and glorious subject B. THE NATURE OF LIBERTY
  3. The negative:
    1. Liberty is not license - said Jesus to the woman he had just set free, "Go, and sin no more" - John 8:3-11; to the man he had healed He said, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" - John 5:14
    2. Antagonism to the perfect will of God expressed in His law is not liberty but the bondage of sin; it is carnality - "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin" - John 8:34; "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God; neither indeed can be" - Rom. 8:1-8; "To whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, His servants ye are to whom ye obey" - Rom. 6:16
  4. True liberty:
    1. Liberty is the fullest opportunity for man to be and to do the very best that is possible for him; I know of no better definition
    2. Liberty has been perverted and abused, but that is no way changes the nature of true liberty
    3. Liberty is but a means; woe unto you and to your future, should you ever regard it as the end
    4. Genuine liberty is found only in surrender to a higher will; Examples: It was when the persecuting Saul said, "Lord what wilt Thou have me to do?", that he entered the realm of true liberty - Acts 9:6; it was when the prodigal surrendered the true liberty - Luke 15:11-32; Jesus Christ exemplified the highest and most complete liberty in His own life; but He came not to do His own will, but the will of His Father - John 5:30
  5. The sphere of liberty - "Where the Spirit is there is liberty"
    1. The Spirit of Christ gives liberty in the sphere of thought; the mind is led into the truth - "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" - John 8:32; but this knowledge will take captive every thought that set itself against the will of God - 2 Cor. 10:3-5
    2. The Sprit of Christ gives liberty in the sphere of conduct - it implies deliverance from sin; that means full freedom of the will - Rom. 7:14-18; 1-7 C. O THE GLORIOUS LIBERTY OF THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD
  6. How it changes the outlook of all who have been made free from the bondage of sin:
    1. Their thoughts and aims in life are focused upon the highest and noblest concepts of life and purity - Phil 4:8
    2. They find their delight in the law of the living God which is the law of liberty - Ps. 40:8; Rom. 7:22; Jas. 2:8-11
  7. Harmony with the Divine will is their very life:
    1. That is the heart of the mission of the gospel of Jesus Christ - to bring complete harmony in the universe - no more discord - Eph. 1:6-14; 2:11-16
    2. This harmony was manifested in the life of the Son of God between Him and His heavenly Father - John 12:49-50; 5:19; 10:30; 17:21-23
    3. There can be no true and lasting harmony in the universe until the spirit of rebellion has been banished form the universe
  8. The liberty of the saints cannot and will not be fully realized:
    1. Until the creation that was made subject to the vanity of man, will have been freed from its subjugation too - Rom. 8:19-22
    2. Sin, disease and death will have to be banished before the saints will enjoy the full liberty
  9. Thus it becomes very clear:
    1. That liberty is not license
    2. Liberty is complete surrender to the higher will of God


Design © John Bryant 2011