John Calvin Commentary John 8:36

"If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." — John 8:36 (ASV)

If then the Son shall make you free. By these words He means that the right of freedom belongs to Himself alone, and that all others, being born slaves, cannot be delivered except by His grace. For what He possesses as His own by nature He imparts to us by adoption, when we are ingrafted by faith into His body, and become His members.

Thus, we ought to remember what I said previously: the Gospel is the instrument by which we obtain our freedom. Our freedom, then, is a benefit conferred by Christ, but we obtain it by faith, and as a consequence, Christ also regenerates us by His Spirit. When He says that they shall be truly free, there is an emphasis on the word truly; for we must recognize the contrast with the foolish persuasion by which the Jews were swelled with pride, just as the greater part of the world imagines they possess a kingdom while they are in the most wretched bondage.