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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Joh_8:34-38
34Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37I know that you are Abraham's descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father."
Joh_8:34 "everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin" Jesus was trying to lead them to the spiritual reality behind His previous phrase "make you free" in Joh_8:32, which the statement in Joh_8:33 shows they misunderstood. This statement is related to Jesus' strong accusations in Joh_8:21; Joh_8:24. His condemnations of these peripheral followers is consummated in Joh_8:44-47.
As Frank Stagg states in New Testament Theology, "the irony of man's plight is that bondage is the result of his attempt to be free" (p. 32).
The verb here is a present active participle, "doing," which denotes ongoing sin. Continuing sin is an evidence that one does not "know" the truth (Jesus). This same truth is expressed using the PRESENT TENSE verbs "sinning" in 1Jn_3:6; 1Jn_3:9!
The question is, "Do believers still sin?" The answer must be "yes" (cf. Romans 7; 1 John). Christians struggle with sin, but the lost revel in it and do not recognize it!
The NET Bible (p. 1921 #21) adds a good comment that the contextual sin in John is "unbelief" (the unpardonable sin). This is not an ethical context but a "believe unto salvation context." The "sin" in 1 John is also unbelief (sin unto death)!
Joh_8:35 This verse does not directly relate to Joh_8:34, but to Joh_8:36. Jesus, not the Moses of rabbinical Judaism, is the true son (cf. Heb_1:2; Heb_3:6; Heb_5:8; Heb_7:28). Only faith in Him, not the performance of endless rules and rituals, can set one free (cf. Joh_8:32).
▣ "forever" See Special Topic at Joh_6:58.
Joh_8:36 "if" This is a third class conditional sentence which speaks of potential action.
Joh_8:37 "yet you seek to kill Me" (cf. Joh_5:18; Joh_7:1; Joh_7:19; Joh_8:37; Joh_8:40; Joh_11:53).
▣ "because My word has no place in you" This phrase can be understood in several senses. A helpful study aid is The Bible in Twenty Six Translations.
1. "because my word hath not free course in you" - American Standard Version
2. "gaineth no ground in you" - The New Testament by Henry Alford
3. "makes no headway among you" - The New Testament: A New Translation by James Moffatt
4. "findeth no place in you" - The Emphasized New Testament: A New Translation by J. B. Rotherham
5. "because my words find no room in your hearts" - The Four Gospels by E. John 8 :Rieu
Again, the problem is receiving or not receiving the gospel. It is an issue of salvation, not moral progress.
Joh_8:38 "which I have seen" This is a perfect active indicative which relates to Jesus' pre-existence and current fellowship with the Father (cf. Joh_8:40; Joh_8:42).
▣ "you also do the things which you heard from your father" The first mention of "father" could be a reference to Jewish tradition (cf. Isa_29:13). However, in Joh_8:41-44 the subject is qualified to Satan/Devil. Their actions, motives, and words, supposedly supporting "Moses," clearly show their spiritual orientation. Humans do not/cannot initiate in the spiritual realm. There are two sources of influence (not a dualism) - God/Christ/Spirit or Satan/and His! How one responds to the gospel (cf. Joh_1:12; Joh_3:16; Joh_10:1-18; Joh_14:6) reveals the spiritual orientation!
There is some textual option related to this phrase.
1. both references to "father" could refer to YHWH (no pronoun "your")
2. the verb is an imperative, not an indicative
(see Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, p.225).