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From Heaven With Love
and knowledge.”
Colossians 2:3
. “He that followeth Me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
When Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” the people could
not fail to recognize His claim to be the Messiah, the Promised
One. To the Pharisees and rulers this claim seemed arrogant. That
a man like themselves should make such pretensions they could
not tolerate. They demanded, “Who art Thou?” They were bent
upon forcing Him to declare Himself the Christ. His wily enemies
believed that His appearance and work were so at variance with the
expectations of the people that a direct announcement of Himself as
the Messiah would cause Him to be rejected as an impostor.
But Jesus replied, “Even what I have told you from the begin-
ning.” RSV. He was the embodiment of the truths He taught. “I do
nothing on My own authority,” He continued, “but speak thus as the
Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me.” He did not
attempt to prove His Messianic claim, but showed His unity with
God.
Among His hearers many were drawn to Him in faith, and to
them He said, “If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples
indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free.”
These words offended the Pharisees. “We be Abraham’s seed,
and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest Thou, ye shall be
made free?” Jesus looked on these men, slaves of malice, and sadly
answered, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin
is the servant of sin.” They were in the worst kind of bondage—ruled
by the spirit of evil.
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Every soul that refuses to give himself to God is under the control
of another power. He is in the most abject slavery, his mind under
the control of Satan. Christ came to break the shackles of sin-slavery
from the soul. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be
free indeed.”
In the work of redemption there is no compulsion. Man is left
free to choose whom he will serve. When the soul surrenders to
Christ, there is the highest sense of freedom. The expulsion of sin is
the act of the soul itself. When we desire to be set free from sin, and
cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the