© Aug, 2009
Revised:
Sept, 2009
Victory in Jesus
CALLED TO BE VICTORS
Jesus closed His
letters to the seven churches with theses words: “Overcome and be
victorious, just as I have!” (Rev. 3:21). Now I ask, is this
admonition, from the lips of Christ, any less powerful than the words “be ye perfect, just as your Father in heaven
is perfect”? (Matt. 5:48) Or is it any less of a divine command than “Go! In my power, teach and baptize!”?
(Matt. 28:18, 19) Clearly, Jesus’ admonition to “Conquer and be victorious!” should deserve the serious attention of
everyone who professes to follow Christ.
Think about the
following questions. Why do so many Christians downplay statements in the Bible
about total victory over sin? Is our salvation dependent on overcoming
temptation? (Rev. 21:7) Were Jesus’ words “Go,
and sin no more!” nothing more than an ethereal statement, an unreachable
goal? Were Jesus’ statements about our lack of faith designed to lay a
guilt-trip on us, in order that we might work harder at being “religious”?
(Matt. 6:30; 14:31; Luke 18:8) Am I truly a “witness” of Christ’s gospel if I’m
not experiencing ongoing victories in Him? (Luke 24:48)
It would be easy to
brush these questions—and the entire subject—aside. Many have. But I believe
that every one who professes that Jesus Christ is their Lord ought to know for
her or him self what biblical victory actually is and how to achieve it.
Let’s start at the
beginning.
VICTORY IS…
The theme of victory permeates the entire
book of Revelation. The word victory is translated from the Greek nikao, or nike (which
is why the popular shoe company selected this name). Depending on your version
of the Bible, nike may be translated as “overcome,” “prevail,”
“conquer,” “triumph” or “victory.”
Nike is also as a militant term—victory implies challenge, conflict or warfare.
It’s no wonder that John mentions the word often in Revelation. In the great
cosmic war, Christ is the Conqueror and Chief Commander (Rev. 6:2; 12:7-10;
17:14; 19:11-16). And the church is His vast army, that wears the “whole armor of God” (Eph. 6:11-18; Rev.
2-3; 12:11; 15:2). The Christian rally call may be best expressed in the
following lyrics:
Onward, Christian
soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master,
leads against the foe; Forward into battle see His
banners go!
Indeed, time is marching Christ’s church closer to “the battle of that great day of God Almighty…Armageddon” (Rev.
16:14, 16).
VICTORY THROUGH FAITH
The question that we all ask
at some point is “How do I
overcome?” I offer two simple steps.
First, like a powerless
addict, I—the carnal-minded sinner—must confess that I alone cannot overcome (1 Jn.
4:14, 15;
But it is precisely because of
our sinful nature that “God gives us the
victory through [His Son] Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57). Jesus
overcame Satan in our “flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16), through His self-less,
self-sacrificing life (Rev. 5:5). And it is His own triumphant power that He
now extends to you and me in order that we may also overcome (3:21).
Think about that for a moment.
That’s powerful!
Second, after acknowledging my
powerless condition, I must claim—by faith—Christ’s power as my own:
“The victory that overcomes the things of
this world is our faith [in Christ]!” (1 John 5:4; Heb. 10:38; Rom. 1:17)
True faith in Jesus—who He really is, what He has accomplished through His
life, death, and resurrection, and what He can perform in me—will give me
victory! (
Paul summarized the life of
faith when, at the end of his own life, he exclaimed: “I have fought the good fight of faith” (1
SURRENDER SELF
I have already demonstrated
that the “four horsemen of the Apocalypse” are symbolic portrayals of Christ’s
ministry and His relationship to His Church (Rev. 6:1-8). The first horseman represents Christ’s
victory; He has “overcome the world”
(Jn. 16:33). He extends His victorious power to us so that we may also overcome
Satan’s temptations. The second horseman
represents Christ’s sacrifice
and priesthood. He bids us to also accept the path of the “cross” also, by
surrendering our will—our hopes, desires, and plans—“daily” (Luke 9:23). In return,
I accept His will for my life and experience ongoing victories through His
power.
Being more specific, the cross
represents the death of self—the self-centered nature that
ruled my heart until I invited Christ to come in and reign over my life (Rev.
3:21). I’m not referring to the self-denial of certain pleasures, as if to
appease God through my “works,” but rather to the act of letting go of self and
permitting Christ’s Spirit to dwell within my heart (Eph. 4:30). Naturally,
self abhors submission, and it would gladly co-rule the throne of the heart. But this could
never be. God cannot accept a “patchwork” religion, composed of self-trust and
faith-trust. If self is not completely dispelled, it will ambush total
spiritual victory.
Believing in God’s power in my
life, I must now live—talking faith,
living faith and acting out my faith—as if self were truly “dead” and gone!
(Rom. 6:11) That’s real faith at work!
Self is the greatest foe we
well ever battle. My sinful, rebellious nature is always seeking an opportunity
to rise back up and regain control, so I can return to living my life “my” way.
But by dying at the foot of Jesus’ Cross daily, surrendering my entire life to
Him, self will remain dead and buried, by His power! (Rom. 12:1)
WILL POWER VS WILL
As unpleasant as this may
sound, many Christians have never reached the point of totally surrendering
their will
to Christ. Consequently, they are still trying to fend off Satan’s temptations
through their own efforts. Not only is sheer willpower futile, but by their actions they “deny [Christ’s] power” to overcome for
them (2 Tim. 3:5).
After assuming our human
nature, Jesus overcome by committing His will entirely to the Father’s (Matt.
6:9, 10: 26:42), even to the point of death (Rev. 5:5). In this, He is our
example. If we will surrender our will to God, He will mold and fashion it
according to His own. But this requires a deep trust, demonstrating that we
whole-heartedly believe that 1) His will is the best for my life, 2) that He
does indeed have the power to take care of me, 3) and that He will! That takes
faith!
For those of us who like to
have things spelled out, W.W. Prescott offers four simple but concrete steps
for accepting Christ into my life as Lord and exchanging my will for His:
1. I must admit that I
am lost and helpless to change that, and acknowledge my need for help from
outside of myself.
2. I must then choose
to submit my will entirely to Him.
3. Then, I commit my
life to His care.
4. And finally, I ask
Him to live out His life in and through me (Gal. 2:20; Col. 1:29).
VICTORY IN THE WORD
In this spiritual conflict,
the victor’s weapon is the “sword”
(Heb. 4:12) or the Word of God. It is the living
Word, proceeding from Christ’s “mouth”.
Rev. 19:15 (The word “inspiration” literally means God-breathed.) Jesus demonstrated the power of His Word when He
repeatedly overcame Satan by quoting from the (Old Testament) Scriptures: “It is written!” (Matt. 4:1-11)
In his hymn “Standing on the
Promises of God,” R. K. Carter aptly ties victory to God’s Word:
By the living word of God I shall prevail, standing on the Promises of
God…
Overcoming
daily with the Spirit's sword, standing on the promises of God.
Again, the Christian is not at
war with “flesh and blood,” but “against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil” (Eph. 6:12). He can not prevail
without the Sword.
THE KEY TO VICTORY
As Jesus’ life demonstrated
through His own life, prayer is the key to victory. The Sinless One—I
repeat, the Sinless One—began each
day in prayerful communion with the Father (Mark 1:35), being refreshed anew
within with the Spirit. How can we, then, who are prone to sin, possibly expect
to overcome the temptations of each day with anything less? Paul directs us to
“Live by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Gal. 5:16).
Through the merits of Jesus’
sacrifice we can draw near to God in prayer through faith (Heb. 11:6), knowing
with assurance that He will answer us (Mark 11:24). However, we must not
presume that God will answer our prayers if we are not fully converted, still clinging to sins. (This would be likened
to the request of an insincere child whose fingers are crossed behind his back!)
As God’s priests on earth (1 Pet. 2:9), we must approach Him in all sincerity.
As we “continue in prayer”
(Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17), abiding in His will, the door to every evil thought
and temptation will be closed. Prayer is the key to overcoming.
THE VICTORIOUS LIFE
In his book How to Be a Victorious Christian, Thomas
Davis shares a wonderful allegory that summarizes the Christian’s battle (I
paraphrase):
A tyrant ruler (self), and his followers (evil
habits and tendencies), has long ruled a very special kingdom (the sinner’s
heart). Tired of living under oppression and bondage, and unable to overcome
the ruler, the citizens of the realm (the sinner) turn to the kind and gracious
ruler (God the Father) of another kingdom, appealing to him for help. Asking
only for their cooperation and obedience, the citizens surrender everything to
him. In response, He sends his son (Jesus Christ) to overcome the tyrant ruler,
and assume the throne (the heart). Going further, he builds a fortress around
the kingdom to protect the citizen’s from guerilla-warfare attacks. Naturally,
the citizens are told to keep a vigilant watch and not let their guard down. To
no ones surprise, the tyrant ruler (self) makes numerous attempts to retake the
kingdom, and at times it appears that he will succeed. But each time the
citizens immediately turn to their new king, who readily routs him. Weakened,
the tyrant ruler loses nearly every fight, until he is unable to find any
further success. He is still alive, and still harassing. But he is a defeated
foe.
Now, if (we
don’t have to say “when”) the tyrant should cause us to taint our garments
(Rev. 3:4), we have an advocate,
a slain Lamb, who can wash us white as pure wool with His blood (Rev. 5:6; 1
Jn. 2:1-2; Rev. 1:5; 7:14). But more than just redeeming us from the guilt and
punishment of sin, the good news of the gospel is that the true believer can
experience victory over temptation and sin through Christ’s power! In Him, we
can have total victory
over doubt, fear, temperaments, aberrant behaviors, and weaknesses of
character, cultivated or inherited. In His letters to the seven churches (Rev.
2, 3), Jesus admonished every member to “overcome”
just as He “overcame” (3:21). Because
Christ’s commands are also His promises, every
one of us can have total victory through His resurrected power, the power
of His “blood” (12:11). Those who
overcome will inherit the new earth (21:7). It is the reality of the gospel
that causes us to sing “Oh glorious victory, that
overcomes the world!” (See 1 Jn. 5:4-5)
I want to close with a
personal note. Could it be that the reason why so few Christians ever lead
others to a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ is because of the lack of
real victory in their own life? Could it be that churches are not growing
because the world outside does not see anything different inside? Yes, these
questions are intended to bring the subject of victory down to the personal
level. And so I leave you with this question: Is there any sin today that is preventing you from having total victory
in Jesus? If so, He has given you a measure of faith to overcome it. And if
this study has unveiled any doubts about God’s promises or Christ’s power, then
I invite you to claim this simple prayer: “Lord I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark
9:24)
James L. Merrills, M. Div.
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Last updated: Jan. 2, 2009
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