17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
The title “Lord” here, according to the immediate context (vv. 14, 16, 18) refers to the Lord Jesus. The apostle Paul’s words, “the Lord is that Spirit”, do not confuse those two Persons of the Godhead. Instead, they affirm the Holy Spirit’s deity. In this short verse, Paul uses short clauses and simple, unsophisticated words to convey to us a very profound message.
Paul has been communicating in the preceding text the plainness and clarity that Christ gives to those who come to Him concerning the divine righteousness and glory that He grants to them. The apostle said that like the veil which Moses put on that obscured the glory of God that shone on his face, there appeared a veil of unbelief in most of the Jews that obscured their view of Christ. But like Moses who removed his veil whenever he entered the presence of God, Christ will now remove the veil of unbelief from all who come to Him (v. 14b). Their veil of unbelief is now removed by the Spirit of the Lord. The Holy Spirit carries out the will and purposes of Christ and reveals Him and His purposes to His people (John 15:26; 16:6-15).
All those who come to Christ will have their veil of unbelief removed by the Holy Spirit. And with that obscuring veil removed, believers will receive a clear view of Christ of the Scriptures. Paul views the Lord to be the Spirit at work in giving the believers the correct understanding of God’s revelation. Through the Word, the Spirit changes a person’s heart, gives him life and understanding, and leads him to freedom in Christ.
The Spirit of the Lord will grant believers freedom from dark and false thinking about God’s righteousness, freedom from their prejudices and superstitions, freedom from slavery and bondage of sin, and freedom from fear of death and condemnation. The Spirit will lead them to the full measure of their freedom as God’s children.
Moreover, under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, Paul and other apostles expounded the glory of Christ with openness and boldness, so much so that many unbelieving Jews and Gentiles came to the full knowledge of Christ. Let us pray that preachers of our time will be filled with the Spirit to expound Christ of the Scriptures to bring many to the saving knowledge of the glory of our Saviour.