Word of the Week
July 5, 2025
Eleutheria: Let Freedom Ring!
For you were called to freedom, brethren, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.
Galatians 5:13 NASB2020
People in our neighborhoods are enthusiastic about the Fourth of July. At least they blow up a lot of fireworks to celebrate. One of my friends commented, “It sounds like someone is starting World War III out there!”
And it is appropriate to celebrate freedom lavishly. Americans living 250 years ago considered it so important that they were willing to fight a war to gain freedom from control of their affairs by a regime on the other side of the Atlantic.
Our red-white-and-blue celebration focuses on freedom at the national level, but there are many other kinds of freedom. As we pick our way through the thicket of opinions on liberty, we will never go wrong by asking, “What does the Bible have to say about this?”
This week we will take the first step in exploring that topic by looking at the Greek word for freedom most often used in the New Testament.
Whenever you read the word “freedom” or “liberty” in your Bible, you are seeing a translation of the Greek word eleutheria [eh-loo-theh-REE-ah]. It occurs 11 times in the New Tetament.
Earlier Greek writers used the word for social and political freedom: (1) a country was free if it was not dominated by foreign powers; (2) a person was free if he or she was not a slave, owned by someone; and (3) a society was free if it guaranteed that its citizens could participate in government, speaking freely, unhindered in their behavior by arbitrary laws.
Stoic philosophers promoted freedom as an attitude. They taught that it was impossible to control circumstances, but the individual could control his response to any event. By choosing to restrict their desires, they could ensure that the problems of life would not control them; they were free to be themselves.
Come to the New Testament, however, and you find a different approach. Freedom is not an enemy nation or a grouchy slave owner. Let’s look at some of the forms of freedom:
- Freedom from the curse of sin – Mankind and the physical world are subject to the effects of sin (see Genesis 3), but God promises that even the physical universe will one day be freed from that slavery to decay and destruction (Romans 8:21).
- Freedom from the obligations of the Law – The Pharisees taught a religion that forced you to conform to all the regulations of the Law. Failure to observe the dietary restrictions, ceremonial prescriptions, and traditional obligations – any flaw would block your path to God. Jews were bound to an endless list of rules.
Christianity, however, proclaimed that you could come to the Lord by faith in the work of the risen Jesus. You could receive righteousness as a gift, not a requirement. When some self-appointed teachers tried to convince the new converts that they had to submit to the Jewish law-system, Paul exploded with rebuttal.
These people had “sneaked in to spy out our liberty” (Galatians 2:4).
Christ had set them free;, it was wrong to go back into bondage (Galatians 5:1).
Christ had invited them to freedom (Galatians 5:13).
- Freedom was not the same as license. We are free from the obligation to earn our salvation by right behavior, but we are not free to do anything we wish. Freedom is not an excuse for selfishness.
Paul urged, “Do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).
Peter added: “Do not use your freedom as a covering for sin, but use it as bondslaves of God” (1 Peter 2:16). It’s a marvelous paradox: we are totally free, but that means we are free to give ourselves to God as His slaves.
- Freedom comes from the new kind of law that Jesus brings. James twice mentions the “law of liberty” (James 1:25; 2:12). What does that mean? Let me suggest one idea: the old law forced you to obey, even if you were inwardly rebellious. The New Testament believer obeys because God has given them the desire to please Him. We do what the law requires instinctively, because the Holy Spirit works in our hearts to give us the desire to conform to His will. As Paul says, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.?
Study Hint:
You can expand your study of freedom by considering the related adjective eleutheros, “free,” which appears 23 times in the New Testament. Whereas our main word eleutheria is usually connected to spiritual freedom or bondage, the adjective almost always refers to human slavery. Slavery was an established part of the first century world. The Roman empire contained millions of slaves, and the economy of the empire depended on their services. Many slaves became followers of Jesus, and the New Testament writers often gave specific messages for both slaves and slave owners. See passages like Ephesians 5, Colossians 4, and 1 Peter 2. This literal slavery provided a background for understanding the New Testament references to spiritual bondage.
Coming Up
When we asked you for ideas for word studies, you came up with a lot of good ideas! In response to your suggestions, we are going to do something a little different next week. Instead of taking a single word, we will take a short passage and look at it through Greek eyes. Look for this, and let me know if you find it helpful!
Ezra Project 2025
One Response
Great article.