Word Study of ἠλευθέρωσέν

Kenny Bass

As you read, “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law
of sin and death.” Romans 8:2 (ESV), one can notice the verb Paul is using to explain how a
person is set free from the bondage of sin and death. The verb in Romans 8:2 in english is free,
but in Greek the word used is ἠλευθέρωσέν. The root of ἠλευθέρωσέν, is ἐλευθερόω,
pronounced eleuthero. Eleuthero has a few different ways it is used in the original Greek. As
defined by the Logos program it means, free, set free, to set free, to release. As one does a word
study of eleuthero, there are other references to the meaning as; having been set free, since you
have been set free, to liberate, or to exempt. Clearly the base meaning of eleuthero expresses
some type of freedom from bondage of many sorts.

The context in which eleuthero has been written is in three slightly different ways.
Eleuthero is presented in the context involving a person who is being held captive as a slave and
eleuthero is describing that person can be set free from their slavery. In a different context
eleuthero can also be viewed as a person who was held captive, and eleuthero is describing the
person can have total freedom. In the final context, eleuthero is describing the person has been
totally set free and is now unrestrained from the bondage that was controlling them. Paul uses
eleuthero as a verb describing how the noun of the verse has offered freedom from sin and death,
because something has happened to set them free, and that is the work of Jesus.

Eleuthero is used in a total of seven passages, John 8:32, 8:36; Romans 6:18, 6:22, 8:2,
8:21; and Galatians 5:1. The way Paul uses eleuthero in Romans 8:2, is as a person who was held
captive by the law of sin and death, but because of what Christ has done, the person has been
totally set free. Paul expressed this freedom in John 8:36, and Romans 6:18. Romans 8:2 in the
ESV, eleuthero indicates total freedom just like the KJV version expresses it, “For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Jesus hath made
free, meaning it has been done and totally completed. The NLT translates; “And because you
belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads
to death.” Has freed you is showing once again the past tense version of this verb, just as the
MSG translation shows; “…those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to
live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud…” The freed person does not have to live under
continuous bondage, they are totally set free. Paul uses ἠλευθέρωσέν as the word choice in
Romans 8:2, to clearly show the freedom has happened and will continue to happen, because of
what Jesus did on the cross to free us from the bondage of sin, that brings salvation.