Why You're Still Wrapped After Being Set Free
October 30, 2026
Imagine walking out of a tomb. The stone has been rolled away. The voice of Jesus has called your name. You are alive. But your hands are still tied. Your feet are still bound. Your face is still wrapped in burial cloth. You are out of the grave, but you are not yet free. This was the reality of Lazarus after his resurrection, and if we are honest, it is the reality of many believers today. You have been saved. You have been raised to new life. But some of the old wrapping is still there, holding you back from walking in the fullness of what God has for you.
Today, we are going deeper into what it truly means to be unbound, unleashed, and set free to reflect the glory of God.
Unwrap Him and Let Him Go
When Lazarus walked out of the tomb in John 11:44, Jesus did not leave him to figure it out alone. He turned to the people around him and said:
"The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, 'Take off the grave clothes and let him go.'" John 11:44
Unbind him. Let him go. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but He also called for the removal of everything that still tied him to his old state. Salvation brings you out of the grave. But transformation removes what was wrapped around you in the grave.
This is such an important truth for every believer. Coming to Jesus is the beginning, not the end of the journey. There is a process of unlearning old habits, old mindsets, old traditions, and old ways of speaking and reacting that must happen after the resurrection moment. You need to unlearn the patterns of the world and relearn the ways of God.
Coming alive in Christ is the beginning. Being unbound is the ongoing journey.
Dead in Trespasses, Now Alive in Christ
The apostle Paul captures this beautifully in his letter to the Ephesians. He reminds us of where we came from and who we now are. In Ephesians, he says:
"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience." Ephesians 2:1-2
That was our old life. Following the course of this world. Thinking like the world. Living according to its patterns and limitations. Wrapped up in the linen of worldly desires, worldly fears, and worldly thinking. But then grace stepped in. In Ephesians 2:4-5, Paul continues:
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:4-5
And then verse 6 takes it even further:
"And God raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:6
You are not just alive. You are seated in heavenly places. That is your identity. That is your nature. You are called to live a supernatural life because you have the power and the likeness of Christ within you. You are no longer the son of disobedience. You are the son and daughter of the living God.
So when the world tells you that you will always struggle financially, that is old wrapping. When fear says your body cannot be healed, that is old linen. When the enemy whispers that your best days are behind you, that is a burial cloth over your face. And Jesus is saying today, unbind it and let it go.
You are not called to live like the world. You are called to reflect the glory of heaven.
The Veil Is Removed and Freedom Has Come
The process of unlearning and relearning is the work of the Word. This is why Paul writes in Romans 12:2 about renewing the mind. And this is why 2 Corinthians 3:16 declares:
"But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." 2 Corinthians 3:16
And in verse 17:
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17
Freedom from poverty. Freedom from sickness. Freedom from bondage. Freedom from the weight of past failures and old patterns of thinking. The Spirit of God is not a spirit of religion that ties you up in more rules. He is a Spirit of relationship that sets you free. Religion binds. Relationship unbinds.
And verse 18 reveals the glorious destination of this freedom:
"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18
When the burial clothes come off, when the veil is lifted, when the old ways of thinking are stripped away, something remarkable happens. You become like a mirror. You reflect the glory of God. You do not just carry a trace of His presence. You radiate it. When you walk into a room, the glory of God walks in with you. When you pray for someone, the resurrection power that raised Lazarus moves through your hands.
This is not pride. This is transformation. From one degree of glory to another. From strength to strength. From healing to healing. From victory to victory. You are being transfigured into the very image of the living Christ.
Unlearn the Tradition That Makes the Word Void
One of the greatest enemies of this transformation is tradition. Jesus was very clear about this in Mark 7:13:
"Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that." Mark 7:13
Traditions and religious doctrines of men can actually cancel out the power of the Word of God in your life. When you hold on to inherited limitations, generational mindsets, or religious rules that contradict the promises of Scripture, you are essentially wrapping yourself back in the burial clothes that Jesus commanded to be removed. The truth shall set you free, but you must be willing to let go of what contradicts that truth.
Delete the old program. Install the new one. How? By listening to and living in the life-giving Word of God. The Word does not just inform your mind. It penetrates your body, your bones, your soul. It shakes something loose inside of you. Something rises. Something shifts. The unbinding is happening right now, even as you read these words.
When the Son sets you free, you are free indeed, not partially free, not temporarily free, but free indeed.
Conclusion
You have been raised from the dead spiritually. Jesus has called your name and commanded you to come out. But now the invitation is to go further. Let Him unwrap you. Let Him remove the old thinking, the old fears, the old limitations, the traditions that bind. As you lean into the Word of God, the veil is lifted, the bondages fall off, and you begin to shine with the glory of the One who lives inside of you. You are going from glory to glory, from victory to victory. The transfiguration has already begun.
Reflect on This
What old ways of thinking, inherited traditions, or worldly patterns are still wrapped around you, keeping you from walking in the fullness of your identity in Christ?
How are you actively renewing your mind through the Word of God, and what practical step can you take today to deepen that process of unlearning and relearning?
Prayer
Father, I thank You that You have raised me to new life in Christ Jesus. Today I declare that every burial cloth of old thinking, fear, tradition, and worldly pattern is removed from my life. I am seated with Christ in heavenly places, and I walk in the freedom that the Spirit of God provides. I am a mirror that reflects Your glory, and I move from strength to strength and from glory to glory. Every dead thing in my family, my health, my finances, and my calling must come alive. I receive this transformation by faith. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Key Takeaways
Being raised to new life in Christ is only the beginning; true freedom comes through actively unlearning old mindsets and renewing the mind with God's Word.
The Spirit of the Lord brings genuine freedom from every form of bondage, and religion that binds must give way to relationship that liberates.
Human traditions, when they contradict the Word of God, can nullify His promises in your life and must be deliberately surrendered.
As the veils of old thinking are removed, you become a mirror that brightly reflects the glory of God and moves from one degree of glory to another.
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