Lecture 4 — Freedom in Christ

^8:31^ Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him: if you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples. [n. 1195]

^8:32^ And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. [n. 1198]

^8:33^ They answered him: we are the seed of Abraham, and we have never been slaves to anyone: how can you say, you will be free? [n. 1200]

^8:34^ Jesus answered them: amen, amen I say to you: whoever commits sin is the slave of sin. [n. 1203]

^8:35^ Now the servant does not abide in the house forever, but the son abides forever. [n. 1205]

^8:36^ If therefore the Son makes you free, you will truly be free. [n. 1207]

^8:37^ I know that you are the sons of Abraham, but you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you. [n. 1211]

^8:38^ I speak that which I have seen with my Father, and you do the things that you have seen with your father. [n. 1216]

1194. After he had shown the remedy for escaping from the darkness, he now shows the effectiveness of this remedy.

First, he shows the effectiveness of this remedy;

then their need for remedy, at they answered him, we are the seed of Abraham.

He does two things about the first.

First, he shows what is required from those to whom the remedy is granted, and this concerns merit;

second, he shows what is given for this, and this concerns their reward, at you will truly be my disciples.

1195. He says first: it was said that many believe in him, and so he told them, the Jews who believed in him, what they had to do, which was to remain in his word. So he says, if you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples. He is saying in effect: you will not be my disciples if you just believe superficially, but if you remain in my word.

We need three things with respect to the word of God. A concern to hear it: let every man be quick to hear (Jas 1:19). Then we need faith to believe it: faith comes by hearing (Rom 10:17). And also perseverance in continuing with it: how exceedingly bitter is wisdom to the unlearned. The foolish will not continue with her (Sir 6:21). And so he says, if you remain, that is, by a firm faith, through continual meditation: he will meditate on his law day and night (Ps 1:2); and by your ardent love: his will is the law of the Lord (Ps 1:2). Thus Augustine says that those who remain in the word of our Lord are those who do not give in to temptations.

1196. He mentions what will be given to those who do remain when he says, you will truly be my disciples, and with three characteristics. First, they will have the excellence of being disciples of Christ; second, they will have a knowledge of the truth; and then, they will be free.

1197. Indeed, it is a great privilege to be a disciple of Christ: children of Zion, rejoice and delight in the Lord your God, because he has given you a teacher of justice (Joel 2:23). Concerning this he says, you will truly be my disciples; for the greater the master, the more honorable or excellent it is to be his disciple. But Christ is the greatest and most excellent of teachers; therefore, his disciples will be of the highest dignity.

Three things are required to be a disciple. The first is understanding, to grasp the words of the teacher: are you also still without understanding? (Matt 15:16). But it is only Christ who can open the ears of the understanding: then he opened their minds so that they could understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45); the Lord opened my ears (Isa 50:5). Second, a disciple needs to assent, so as to believe the doctrine of his teacher, for the disciple is not above his teacher (Luke 6:40), and thus he should not contradict him: do not speak against the truth in any way (Sir 4:30). And Isaiah continues in the same verse, I do not resist. Third, a disciple needs to be stable, in order to persevere. As we read above: **after this many of his disciples departed and did not walk anymore with him **(John 6:67); and Isaiah adds: I did not turn back (Isa 50:5).

1198. But it is a greater thing to know the truth, since this is the end of a disciple. And our Lord also gives this to those who believe; thus he says, and you will know the truth, the truth, that is of the doctrine that I am teaching: **for this I was born, and for this I came into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth **(John 18:37); and they will know the truth of the grace that I produce: grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17)—in contrast to the figures of the old law—and they will know the truth of the eternity in which I remain: O Lord, your word remains forever, your truth endures from generation to generation (Ps 118:89).

1199. Yet the greatest thing is the acquisition of freedom, which the knowledge of the truth produces in those who believe. Thus he says, and the truth will set you free.

In this context, to free does not mean a release from some confinement, as the Latin language suggests, but rather a being made free; and this is from three things. The truth of this doctrine will free us from the error of falsity: my mouth will speak the truth; my lips will hate wickedness (Prov 8:7). The truth of grace will free us from the slavery to sin: the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and of death (Rom 8:2). And the truth of eternity, in Christ Jesus, will free us from corruption: the creature will be freed from its slavery to corruption (Rom 8:21).

1200. Next, at they answered him: we are the seed of Abraham, he shows that the Jews need this remedy.

First, he amplifies on their presumption in denying that they need any such remedy;

second, he shows in what respect they need this remedy, at Jesus answered them: amen, amen I say to you.

1201. The presumption of the Jews is shown by their disdainful question: they answered him: we are the seed of Abraham, and we have never been slaves to anyone: how can you say, you will be free? First, they affirm one thing; then deny another; and third, pose their question.

They assert that they are the descendants of Abraham: we are of the seed of Abraham. This shows their vainglory, because they glory only in the origin of their flesh: do not think of saying: we have Abraham as our Father (Matt 2:9). Those who seek to be praised for their noble birth act in the same way: their glory is from their birth, from the womb and from their conception (Hos 9:11).

Further, they deny their slavery; thus they say, and we have never been slaves to anyone. This reveals them as dull in mind and as liars. It shows them as dull because while our Lord is speaking of spiritual freedom, they are thinking of physical freedom: the sensual person does not perceive what pertains to the Spirit of God (1 Cor 2:14). It shows them as liars because if they mean their statement as, we have never been the slaves of anyone, to apply to physical slavery, then they are either speaking generally of the entire Jewish people, or in particular of themselves. If they are speaking generally, they are obviously lying: for Joseph was sold into slavery and their ancestors were slaves in Egypt (Gen 40; Exod 3). Thus Augustine says: ungrateful! Why does the Lord so often remind you that he freed you from the house of bondage, if you have never been slaves to anyone? For we read: I have called you out of Egypt, from the house of your slavery (Deut 13:10). But even if they are speaking of themselves, they are still guilty of lying, because they were at that time paying taxes to the Romans. Thus they asked: is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? (Matt 22:17).

They ask him about the kind of freedom he is talking about when they say, how can you say, you will be free? Our Lord had promised them two things: freedom and knowledge of the truth, when he said, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. The Jews took this to mean that our Lord regarded them as ignorant slaves. And although it is more harmful to lack knowledge than freedom, yet because they were carnal they pass over the truth part and ask about the kind of freedom: they have set their eyes, lowering themselves to the earth (Ps 16:11).

1202. Our Lord ignores their presumption and shows them that they do need the remedy he mentioned.

First, he mentions their slavery;

second, he treats of their freedom, at now the servant does not abide in the house forever; and

third, of their origin, at I know that you are the sons of Abraham.

1203. He shows that they are slaves, not in the physical sense they thought he meant, but spiritually, that is, slaves of sin. And in order to make this clear he starts with two things. The first is a solemn affirmation that he repeats, saying, amen, amen, I say to you. Amen is a Hebrew word which means truly, or may it be this way. According to Augustine, neither the Greeks nor the Latins translated it so that it might be honored and veiled as something sacred. This was not done to hide it, but to prevent it from becoming commonplace if its meaning were stated. It was done especially out of reverence from our Lord who frequently used it. Our Lord makes use of it here as a kind of oath, and he repeats it to reinforce his statement: he interposed an oath, so that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have the strongest comfort (Heb 6:17).

Second, he makes a general statement when he says, whoever, whether Jew or Greek, rich or poor, emperor or beggar: there is no difference between Jews and Greeks: all have sinned (Rom 3:22). He mentions slavery when he says, whoever commits sin is the slave of sin.

1204. But one might argue against this in the following way: a slave does not act by his own judgment, but by that of his master; but one who commits sin is acting by his own judgment; therefore, he is not a slave.

I answer by saying that a thing is whatever is appropriate to it according to its nature, it acts of itself; but when it is moved by something exterior, it does not act of itself, but by the influence of that other: and this is a kind of slavery. Now according to his nature, man is rational. And thus when he acts according to reason, he is acting by his own proper motion and is acting of himself; and this is a characteristic of freedom. But when he sins, he is acting outside reason; and then he is moved by another, being held back by the limitations imposed by that other. Therefore, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin: whatever overcomes a person, is that to which he is a slave (2 Pet 2:19). And to the extent that someone is moved by something exterior, to that extent he is brought into slavery; and the more one is overcome by sin, the less he acts by his own proper motion, that is, by reason, and the more he is made a slave. Thus, the more freely one does the perverse things he wills, and the less the difficulty he has in doing them, the more he is subjected to the slavery of sin, as Gregory says. This kind of slavery is the worst, because it cannot be escaped from: for wherever a person goes, he carries his sin with him, even though its act and pleasure may pass: God will give you rest from your harsh slavery (that is, to sin) to which you were subjected before (Isa 14:3). Physical slavery, on the other hand, can be escaped, at least by running away. Thus Augustine says: what a wretched slavery (that is, slavery to sin). A slave of man, when worn out by the harsh commands of his master, can find relief in flight; but a slave of sin drags his sin with him, wherever he flees: for the sin he did is within him. The pleasure passes, the sin (the act of sin) passes; what gave pleasure has gone, what wounds have remained.

1205. Then, at now the servant does not abide in the house forever, he considers their liberation from slavery; for since all have sinned, all were slaves to sin. Now the hope of liberation is held out by the one who is free of sin, and this is the Son.

Thus he does three things with respect to this.

First, he mentions the status of a slave as distinguished from that one who is free;

second, he shows that the status of the Son is different from that of a slave; and

third, he concludes that the Son has the power to set us free.

1206. The status of a slave is transient and unstable; so he says, the servant does not abide in the house forever. This house is the Church: so you may know how to act in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God (1 Tim 3:15). In this house some who are spiritually slaves remain only for a time, just as in a household those who are physically slaves remain only for a while. But the former will not remain forever, for although those who are evil are not now separated from the faithful in a separate group, but only by merit, in the future they will be separated in both ways: cast out the slave and her son: for the son of the slave woman will not inherit with the son of the free woman (Gal 4:30).

1207. On the other hand, the status of the Son is everlasting and stable; so he says, but the Son, that is, Christ, abides forever, namely, in the Church, as in his own house. Christ is described as a son in his own house (Heb 3:6). And indeed, it is of himself that Christ remains in his house forever, because he is immune from sin. As for us, just as we are freed from sin through him, so it is through him that we remain in his house.

1208. The Son has the power to free us; so he adds, if therefore the Son makes you free, you will truly be free: we are not the children of the slave woman, but of the free, by whose freedom Christ has freed us (Gal 4:31). For as the Apostle says, he paid a price not in silver, but of his own blood, for he came in the likeness of sinful flesh although he had no sin; and so he became a true sacrifice for sin. Thus, through him, we are freed, not from barbarians, but from the devil.

1209. Note that there are several kinds of freedom. There is a perverted freedom, when one abuses his freedom in order to sin; there is a freedom from justice, a freedom that no one is compelled to keep: be free, and do not make your freedom a cloak for evil (1 Pet 2:16). Then there is a vain freedom, which is temporal or bodily: a slave, free from his master (Job 3:19). Then we have true and spiritual freedom, which is the freedom of grace, and consists in the absence of sin. This freedom is imperfect because the flesh lusts against the spirit, and we do what we do not want to do (Gal 5:17). Then there is the freedom of glory; this is a perfect and full freedom, which we will have in our homeland: the creature will be delivered from its slavery (Rom 8:21), and this will be so because there will be nothing there to incline us to evil, nothing to oppress us, for then there will be freedom from sin and punishment.

1210. Chrysostom explains this in another way: since he had said, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin, then lest the Jews anticipate him and say, that even though we are slaves to sin, we can be freed by the sacrifices and ceremonies of the law, our Lord shows that they cannot be freed by these, but only by the Son. Hence he says, a slave, i.e., Moses and the priests of the Old Testament, does not remain in the household forever: Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant (Heb 3:5). Furthermore, the ceremonies are not eternal; therefore they cannot confer a freedom which will continue forever.

1211. Then he considers their origin, at I know that you are the sons of Abraham. First, he gives their origin according to the flesh; second, he inquires into their origin according to the spirit, at but you seek to kill me.

1212. He traces their origin in the flesh to Abraham. I know that you are sons of Abraham, by carnal origin only, and not by resembling him in faith: look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you (Isa 51:2).

1213. He inquires into their spiritual origin when he says, but you seek to kill me.

First he shows that they have a spiritual origin;

second, he rejects what they presume to be their origin, at **they answered him and said to him: Abraham is our father **(John 8:39);

third, he shows them their true origin, at **you are of your father the devil **(John 8:44).

As to the first he does two things:

first, he points out their guilt;

second, he infers their spiritual origin, at and you do the things that you have seen with your father.

As to the first he does three things:

first, he lays on them the guilt of murder;

second, the sin of unbelief; and

third, he anticipates an excuse they might give.

1214. Our Lord shows that they have their spiritual origins from an evil root. Hence he expressly accuses them of sin and passing over all the other crimes in which the Jews were implicated, he mentions only the one which they continued to nurture in their minds, the sin of murder, because, as was said, they wished to kill him. This is why he says, you seek to kill me, which is against your law: you shall not kill (Exod 20:13); from that day forward they devised to put him to death (John 11:53).

1215. Because they might say that to kill someone for his crime is not a sin, our Lord says that the cause of this murder is not any crime committed by Christ or their own righteousness, but rather their unbelief. As if to say: you seek to kill me not because of your own righteousness but because of your unbelief: because my word has no place in you: not all men can receive this message, but only those to whom it is given (Matt 19:11).

Our Lord uses this way of speaking, first of all, to show the excellence of his message. As if to say: my message transcends your ability, for it is concerned with spiritual things, whereas you have a sensual understanding, that is why you do not grasp it: the sensual man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God (1 Cor 2:14). He speaks this way also to recall a certain similarity: for as Augustine says, the Lord’s message to unbelievers is what a hook is to a fish, it does not grasp unless it is grasped. And so he says my word has no place in you because his message does not grasp them in their hearts, because it is not grasped by them, as Peter was grasped: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (John 6:69). Yet it does not harm those who are grasped, for they are grasped to salvation, and left uninjured. We read that a prophet who speaks, as coming from the mouth of the Lord, things that the Lord did not say, should be killed (Deut 18:20).

1216. So, lest the Jews say that he should be killed for speaking from himself, and not from the mouth of the Lord, he adds, I speak that which I have seen with my Father. As if to say: I cannot be accused of speaking things that I have not heard, for I speak not only what I have heard, but what is more, I speak of what I have seen. Other prophets spoke the things they heard, whereas I speak the things I have seen: no man has ever seen God: the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has made him known (John 1:18); that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you (1 John 1:3).

This must be understood of a vision which gives the most certain knowledge, because the Son knows the Father as he knows himself: no one knows the Father except the Son (Matt 11:27).

1217. He then infers their spiritual origin when he says, and you do the things that you have seen with your father. As if to say: I speak things that are in accord with my origin; but you do the things that are done by your father, namely, the devil, whose children they were, according to Augustine, not insofar as they were men, but insofar as they were evil. You do those things, I say, which you see, at the devil’s suggestion: through the devil’s envy death entered the world (Wis 2:24).

Chrysostom uses another text: do what you have seen with your father. As if to say: just as I reveal my Father in truth by my words, so you, reveal the father of our origin, namely, Abraham, by your deeds. Thus he says: do what you see your father doing, you who are taught by the law and the prophets.