32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth”. What then, is “the truth” that we shall know? In the Gospel of John, the word “truth” frequently refers to Christ and His words. John wrote about Christ in John 1:14 that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Again, he affirmed in John 1:17 that “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” When Jesus spoke concerning John the Baptist who had prepared the way for Him, He said that “he bare witness unto the truth” (John 5:33). The truth that John the Baptist bore witness unto was Christ. Jesus Himself said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”.
The words of the Lord Jesus Christ are also referred to as “the truth”. Just before assuring the believing Jews that “ye shall know the truth”, He had told them in v. 31, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed”. Hence, it is continuing in Christ’s words that help believers to know the truth. Christ is the Truth, the truth personified! He is the source of all truth, the embodiment of the truth, and His words grant His people the knowledge of His truth.
Continuing in Christ’s words brings us into a relationship with Him as His disciples, which enables us to truly know Him who is “the truth”. As true disciples of Christ, we are to walk in the truth (3 John 1:3), love the truth, and believe the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). We are also to speak “the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). When we abide in the knowledge of Christ and His words, we possess the truth that shall make us free.
Later in His conversation with the Jewish hearers, Jesus told them that they needed freedom for they were under the shackles of sin. In no uncertain terms, Jesus told them in John 8:34, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” The servitude to sin is the most grievous bondage, far worse than any other kind of political or social servitude (cf. v. 33). Hence, freedom from sin’s influence and guilt is the greatest freedom.
As we abide in Christ and His truth, we shall experience true freedom from the slavery of sinful cravings, inordinate passions, degrading vices and all carnal propensities. Our yielding to the truth of Christ will grant us deliverance and freedom from all awful errors that once subjugated us.