B.Wee pointed out to me this past weekend that conquerors is a funny word. We’ve probably heard and read that we are more than conquerors before. Romans 8:37 says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
But what does that mean – that we are more than conquerors.
Conquerors is a word that we don’t use much any more. It’s one of those terms that makes us think of wars, violence, imperialism, conquistadors and overthrowing nations. We are much more comfortable with words like victory or winning. But conqueror is one of those terms that simply weighs more. It is not as slight and superficial as winning. It’s even stronger than the word victorious.
Conquer implies the use of force. A greater authority declaring control over a situation. To overcome something. And a conqueror is the one who does that. And so, what does that mean for us – what does it mean for us to be, as Paul writes, “more than conquerers.”
In greek, the phrase “more than conquerors” is ????????? (hoop-er-nik-ah’-o). And to give it a stronger feel, it’s not just being more than a conqueror. It’s probably better to say something like super-conqueror, or overwhelming-conqueror. It’s a sense that we are not just conquerors, meek and mild. Rather, we are CONQUERORS. Victorious to the nth degree.
It’s with this in mind that we begin to appreciate and understand who Jesus is, and who we are in Him. Christ is a conquering hero. He is the one who defeated not just sin and death, but evil itself. And in doing so he rescued us. A conquering champion who charges forth from the grave, and calling us to Him. Saying that we are now set free from a prison of sin, and that we are called to ride alongside the conquering Christ. He is Hero. He is King. He is Conqueror. He is Saviour.
And we ride alongside Him. We too ride free. We too ride as conquerors.
So then, what does it mean to be a conqueror? It means we have authority. To declare victory over sin. Over bad habits. Over depression. Over lust. Over hatred. Because Christ’s conquering voice declares victory over those things. So we join with his voice and cry victory and freedom.
Live as a conqueror. Alive with Christ.
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These were some thoughts from this past Sunday’s sermon, I the message or grab a related Bible Study on Romans 8:31-39.
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