Eleutheros is the adjective form meaning free — not enslaved, not bound, not under compulsion. It appears 23 times in the NT and carries both social (free citizen vs. slave) and theological dimensions (free from sin, law, and death). Paul frequently uses the tension between freedom and slavery to explain the gospel.
1 Corinthians 7 uses eleutheros to navigate the social reality of slavery and freedom in the early church, while simultaneously spiritualizing both categories: 'He who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord's freed person; similarly, he who was free when called is Christ's slave' (7:22). This paradox — the slave is free, the free man is Christ's slave — defines NT freedom. Galatians 3:28 ('neither slave nor free') proclaims that in Christ, social hierarchies of freedom are transcended. John 8:36 is perhaps the most quoted use: 'So if the Son sets you free, you will be free [eleutheros] indeed' — setting Christ as the ultimate liberator.