Study 16 – Don't You Know?

Jesus said, 'You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free' (John 8:32). A knowledge of the truth is the starting point to being released from sin.

God is doing some remarkable things these days. Christians are having mighty encounters with Him and are doing extraordinary works for Him. I praise God for every new experience and for the zeal and commitment of His people. But I sense that Christians are in danger of seeking experiences or relying on will-power to set them free. We are not released through experiences or will-power but by knowing the truth.

John frequently uses the words 'We know…' in his epistles and Paul uses the phrase, 'Don't you know…?' In Romans 6:3, he says, 'Don't you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death?' Here he is questioning our understanding of our identity in Christ. How we perceive ourselves drastically affects the way we live.

When the Israelites arrived at Canaan, Moses sent our twelve leaders to spy out the land. On their return, ten of them reported that although the land was very fruitful, the enemy was far too strong. 'We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them,' they said (Num. 13:33). They couldn't press into the land and win it because they had already concluded, 'It's hopeless. We're losers.'

Bondage was all they had known in Egypt. For years they had no possessions, no promotion, nothing to give them any sense of self-worth. 'Cary this,' they were told. 'Do that.' Then one day God not only delivered them from slavery, He allowed them to plunder the Egyptians as well (Exod. 12:36). He was saying, 'I'm not just rescuing you, I'm giving you back your dignity.' The problem was that although they were out of slavery, slavery was not out of them. They peered into the Promised Land and declared in despair, 'We can't possibly go in there. We're grasshoppers.'

Many of us are like that. 'I'm just a slave of sin really,' we say. 'I've always been mastered by this. It's been going on for years. I can't help it.' We see ourselves as slaves. But this is not true. 'Don't you know you were baptised into Christ's death?' says Paul. Don't you know your identity? If you want to be free from sin you must change your perspective about who you are.

To Meditate On

God wants you to live by the truth.

'For this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me' (John 18:37).

'But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God' (John 3:21).

Food For Thought

READ THROUGH 1 JOHN and highlight all the 'we know' and 'you know' references,

e.g. 1 John 2:3 – 'We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.'

LOOK THROUGH them and satisfy yourself that you really do know these truths.

Be Inspired

A child of God is not a worm. If God had wanted you to be a worm, He could have very easily made you one! He's very good at worms, you know … But a worm? Useless? Unimportant? Spineless? Meaningless? No, not that. God declared us righteous. He lifted us out of the miry clay and set us upon a rock. He invites us to approach Him with boldness. And He means it!
CHARLES SWINDOLL

To Consider

HOW do we correctly handle the word of truth? (2 Tim. 2:15)

To Challenge

GIVE EXAMPLES of things people do which stand against the truth.

• Thoughts
• Words
• Actions

ARE YOU guilty of untruthfulness? If so, confess it to God now and, if necessary, make restitution.

'The Spirit of truth … will guide you into all truth' (John 16:13)