“If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the Truth and the truth shall make you free.”
—John 8:31-32
THE WHOLE WORLD is under the sway of the wicked one. It believes the lie and worships the creature rather than the Creator. The world is in rebellion to Christ and therefore dwells in death, darkness, and under the dominion of Satan and sin. “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19). In other words, a certain spiritual power of sin and death always operates in the fallen world.
HOWEVER, JESUS SAID His disciples will know the truth and the truth shall make them free –free from death, darkness, and the dominion of Satan and sin. Therefore, a person is truly free when Satan and sin no longer reigns over him, but rather the Word of Christ now dominates his heart and life. A person is truly free not when he can do whatever he pleases but when he desires to do and can do what he ought to do –obey God. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
DEAR ONES, THE truth of God’s Word liberates us from the lies in our own heart. The truth liberates us from the lies of Satan that dominate the realm of humanity in rebellion against the Lord –a realm that we all dwelt in until Christ set us free. The Apostle Paul wrote, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others” (Eph. 2:1-3).
WHAT’S AMAZING IS that the Jews said to Jesus in John 8:33 that they had never been in bondage to anyone. They thought they were in submission to the commandments of God. They thought they were in a right relationship to God because they were Abraham’s descendants. But Jesus said in John 8:44 that they were children of the devil. They were in bondage to Satan and sin and were not the sons of God, and we can think the same way. Maybe you think that since you grew up in the church and belong to a certain family that you are right with God. But Jesus said, “If you continue in My Word, then you are My disciples.” So, are you one who continues to study, hear, and follow Christ’s Word? Have you truly been set free from the dominion of Satan and sin? Do you follow Christ by submitting to His Word? This is how we show ourselves as the redeemed of Jesus Christ.
Friday Devotional: October 3, 2025
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
