MORE THAN A CONQUEROR!

ROMANS 8:37: “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” NKJV ‭‭ OBSERVATION: What does it mean to be more than a conqueror? As I read this familiar verse I look over my life and it seems that all of my past victories are merely tarnished memories. To win the momentary battle is important and gratifying – yet there must be something more!

I NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE “MORE!”

The context of Paul’s statement is our battle against sin and our call to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our new life in Christ is contrasted with our old life in the flesh. The flesh does not refer to our physical life, although it does include this. The flesh refers to our old sinful nature. This is our life before Christ and any effort we make without Christ.

There are always two laws at work in our life. There is the law of sin and death and there is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. One law is always pulling at our old nature trying to get it to fall. The other is always pulling us toward God enabling us to overcome the power of sin and death. As we walk after the Spirit we experience victory over the power of sin. Yet, we are not delivered from the struggle completely.

WE LONG FOR SOMETHING MORE!

If we are simply left here it would be a very disappointing existence. All of us have experienced the mountain-top of victory, only to fall once again to defeat. The endless cycle at times seems without purpose. We desire to live in victory. Yet, much like sailing, the winds of life change, and we sometimes miss its direction. So what does it mean to be more than a conqueror?

God, in His graciousness, and His love, has peeled back the veil to show us the reality of life. We are not merely caught in a revolving door – we are moving forward to the fulfillment of His divine purpose and will. Life is not a purposeless game of chance. It has been redeemed from the hands of chance into the certainty of God’s will and purpose. We are no longer living aimlessly with no direction. Our purpose and direction are made sure in Christ Jesus!

• “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” Romans‬ ‭8:28-30‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Note the certainty! Note the promise! Note the progression!

God has called us in Christ Jesus with a purpose. He is working and redeeming every situation in our life toward the fulfillment of this purpose. It is not a haphazard plan. It is a plan with a destiny. This destiny is to become like Jesus Christ and to share in His glory. This is not merely eternal life but it also speaks to the quality of life. It is life in its fulness as God originally intended. It is a life that is free from the power of sin and death. It is a life fulfilled in the presence of God for all eternity. It is a destiny fulfilled.

WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS BECAUSE HE IS NOT FINISHED WITH US YET!

While we do not see this promised outcome with our natural eye we are assured of it through the presence and power of God’s love in our lives. Paul looks straight in the face of every trial and tribulation that he has faced and will face, and with confidence proclaims…

• “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Romans‬ ‭8:31-32‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The journey and the battle may not be over – but the outcome is assured! God is for us! Jesus lives in us! Everything we need along this journey has been promised to us in Christ Jesus! Our victories are not merely tarnished memories of our past. Rather, they are the normal experience of our life as we move from one degree of glory to the next. We move from victory to victory as we walk in the promised completion of the good work He has begun in us.

We are called by His grace, saved by His mercy, filled with His Spirit, and sealed in the love of Christ. There is nothing and no one that can break this bond. It is the indwelling power of God’s love through the Holy Spirit that gives us wings to soar above every adversary in this life to our final outcome of victory in Christ – the fulfillment of His promises and the resurrection of our bodies!

WE TRULY ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM WHO LOVES US!

• “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans‬ ‭8:38-39‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Heavenly Father, grant me the grace to walk in the power of Your love and the promise of Your completed work in Christ Jesus. Help me to live today as – MORE THAN A CONQUEROR!

In Jesus’ Name!