Calvary’s Victory
The life-walk of Paul illustrates his relationship to his Lord, Jesus Christ.
What a testimony of a changed life – what a celebration of Calvary’s victory.
Calvary’s victory was to be ratified through a small company who would stand firm.
Paul, throughout His life, envisioned the triumphal train of His Lord and Saviour - a victorious, divinely appointed procession, with the defeated enemy displayed – a celebration of Man’s great victory accompanied by His few faithful followers – even a testimony of Christ’s great and mighty conquest at Calvary’s cross.
Overcoming Victory
A prisoner in chains, stripped of all the liberties and freedoms we so much cherish.
This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith in Christ. 1John 5:4
Godly Focus
When Paul’s heart and soul and mind was set on the Lord Jesus, his life was one of victory, joy, faith and love... despite life’s circumstances.
Available Resources
Never forget that we have gained the victory by virtue of our co-crucifixion and co-resurrection with Christ.
We have the indwelling Holy Spirit and the Word of God to ensure our spiritual victory, if we will but yield to Him, walk by faith and appropriate all that God has provided, so that we can: abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Lasting peace will come when we rest in Calvary's conquest of sin and self, and allow that victory to be applied by the faithful Spirit of God.The Holy Spirit does not reason from what man is for God, but from what God is to man.
Spiritual Victory
Yet unbeknown to Job and evil’s cruel plan – Christ’s It Is Finished cry, would pierce the far reaches of creation’s extremity. A plan conceived in eternity past.
I am not struggling for victory; I am standing in victory.
He lifted me out; set my feet on the Rock and established my goings; and He bids me, Stand fast in the victory that I have gained for you.' Believe and rejoice in it, and you will know what it is to be free. -G.G.
Victory of Defeat
We all delight in the wonderful news that all our sins have been forgiven, past present and future, and rightly so – but new believers should also be trained up in the Christian life and understand about post-salvation sins, and all to often they can affect our relationship to God and our fellowship with Him.
If He did, you would not be free from your self-confidence; you would not learn to fight the good fight of faith and thus obtain the victory which the Master has won; you would not learn to say the Lord Jesus only,' but you would still continue to say Jesus and I.'
So it is that people find the Christian life burdensome; they long to know real victory, true deliverance and the joy of the Lord, whereas they experience the ups and downs of a constant struggle.
The Christian life depicted in the New Testament seems so different from their actual experience that the devil is never slow to pounce in with his suggestions that a life of constant victory is quite impossible, so that all their hopes are but unreal dreams.
While we stand on that fact, there has to be the daily working out of the victory which Christ has won for us; there has to be the daily dying to this old self.
The Shed Blood
Christ went to the cross not only to die for our sins – but to die unto SIN. His blood not only to paid the price FOR sin but it also broke the power OF sin in us. Many do not appreciate that Christ’s cross dealt with more than forgiven sins. The shed blood of Christ also gave us victory over the power of sin in our life,
It is a great blessing when a person gets into the seventh of Romans and begins to realise the awful conflict of its struggle and defeat; because the first step toward getting out of the struggle of the seventh chapter and into the victory of the eighth, is to get into Romans chapter seven.
Of all the needy classes of people, the neediest of this earth are not those who are having a heartbreaking, agonising struggle for victory, but those who are having no struggle at all, and no victory … and who do not know it, and who are satisfied and jogging along in a pitiable absence of almost all the possessions that belong to them in Christ.”
The Church will have all its work cut out in the end to stand, but its standing will be its victory.
Just to be able, through testing, trial, when everything is blowing round you like a blizzard; when everything is dark, mysterious, and even God seems far away and unreal, and faith is tested and you are being assailed on the right hand and on the left, and there is every reason outwardly for your moving, giving up, falling down, surrendering, lowering your standard, just to stand and not be moved in your faith is the greatest possible victory.... We are passing through deep experiences, the enemy is doing it and the Lord is not preventing him, but we are coming to a fuller knowledge of the power of our God and a deeper rooting beyond all previous shakeableness.
The Church IS in a mess and God’s character disgraced for lack of knowledge. Never let us forget the truth of Scripture – Jesus has already gained the victory.
Truth of Scripture
Jesus has already gained the victory.
God makes the facts and tells us to take the attitude that befits these facts; and when we obey, He increasingly works our experiential victory in and through us. -W.R.N.
They mistakenly think that they must have some part in overcoming the power of their sin; that their efforts, their will, their determination, strengthened and helped by the Holy Spirit, is the way of victory. -C.T.
Gateway to Life
Recently my own father exhaled his last gasp of air as death claimed its latest ‘victim.’ As I stood and looked at the empty shell that my father cast off… I was truly able to claim: Oh death where is your sting and victory…1 Corinthians 15:55 for to be absent from the body – is to be present with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:6 This truth is faithful and glorious to all who trust in His name.
Victory in Christ
O death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law – but thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Yes, the first revelation of the secret of victory also may constitute a real crisis in the life of the believer, but that crisis or experience can never, in itself, avail for the future.
We died with Christ. He died for us, and we died with Him. This is a great fact, true of all believers (Christian Victory, p.11)
In this phase, extravagant things are often said as to total deliverance and final victory.
Reginald Wallis:
“God says in effect, ‘My child, as you reckoned on the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation, now go a step farther and reckon on His representative work for your victory day by day.’ You believe that the Lord Jesus died for your sins because God said so.
Our reckoning it to be true only makes us begin to realise the fact in experience” (The Way of Victory, p.16).
who shall deliver me from this body of death? Then he finally understood that victory over his sin nature was found in Christ: but thanks be to God Who has given me the victory IN Christ Jesus my Lord.
Mighty Victory
Many people look to the cross of Christ and see a torn and broken man.
Yet in that life there resided wondrous courage; supreme bravery; a great and mighty victory.
Victory in Christ
He will strengthen with His power to enable us to face all situations of life.
He will give us the heart to step out into the unknown – fearless in Christ’s victory.
Be not afraid, neither be dismayed; for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:5
There are many complex vicissitudes for the sojourner through this mortal coil, victory and defeat; honour and humiliation; hope and despair; respect and scorn.
Your blessed Advocate has already claimed your answer, and you would grieve and disappoint Him if you were to give up the conflict, at the very moment when victory is on its way to meet you.
It is only natural to feel that our need requires immediate victory, but the truth is that we cannot come to maturity apart from the Holy Spirit's processing and development of our life, day by day.
A quick and easy victory would cripple our usefulness in these two ways: we would not understand the all-important principle of processing; we would not appreciate the needs of others.
So often in the battle we go to the Lord, and pray, and plead, and appeal for victory, for ascendancy, for mastery over the forces of evil and death, and our thought is that in some way the Lord is going to come in with a mighty exercise of power and put us into a place of spiritual maturity as in an act.
Earthly and Spiritual
The people of Israel marched around the walls of Jericho to gain victory – today we march a seventh time around the city gate of our spiritual Jericho.
Satan seeks to overcome every believer by exploiting strongholds in our lives, but there is a way to victory, and a way to overcome this enemy of the soul.
Encouraging Word
And down through the centuries, Christ’s words have spurred sagging saints on to victory: behold, I am coming quickly – hold fast to what you have, that no one may take your crown.
And only then do we find that we have learned the lesson of faith; to find our tiny craft of life rushing onward to a blessed victory of life and power and service undreamt of, in the days of our fleshly strength and self-reliance.
No ministry of the servant of Jesus Christ can be a triumphant ministry unless there is a deep, strong, abiding love.... Love is going to solve our problems and to bring us into victory; but apart from a sufficient love, the problems of human make-up, the many differences of disposition and character and all that goes to make up a company, and the continuous drain and strain, with all the pressure that comes from the enemy, will present a problem, a perplexity and a paralyzing task....
Open Secret
It was living his life, through the new-life in Christ, that was given to Paul – when he was born again, that was Paul’s open secret of how to live the victorious Christian life. It was living this new-life in Christ that broke the power of sin in Paul’s life. It was living this new-life in Christ that delivered Paul from the body of death. And it is living our Christian life, by means of the new born-again life of Christ in us, that will give you and me the victory over the power of sin in our lives too.
The self-life is surely our first and most bitter foe, and the believer who will serve God acceptably must learn His way of victory over this subtle and dangerous enemy.
You get a thing revealed to you as truth, perhaps something about the Cross of Christ, or victory over Satan, and you think you know it, and you say, This is beautiful!
And when you have got down as far as you can go, the flesh elements and the self elements have been dealt with, and you grimly hold on to the Lord in this matter of victory then it comes out, you have tested it right to the very bottom of your being that thing has become you, and then you can go to others in their grim conflict and their darkness, and say, I know I know this thing, and I know God is faithful, I know the victory.
We have to be unhesitatingly obedient to His Word, for victory over the foe.
Victory Strategies
Every soldier knows the foundational truths of victory. Victory lies in faithfulness to your leader. Triumph rests in knowing your enemy. Success is secured in obedience to the battle plan.
Scriptural Principles
That we recognise our position of victory and apply the word of God; that we only adopt scriptural principles of spiritual warfare; that we put on the full armour of God described in Ephesians 6 – for each piece of armoury points to Christ.
Zecharias the Priest
Without a doubt, this was a shout of victory, for the enemies of Israel were to be routed, and Israel was to be rescued from the hands of all that hate them… The walls of their enemies were to be broken asunder, as pictured in the walls of Jericho, so long before. Zecharias rejoiced that God’s promise to their father Abraham was to be realised, and his nation would be enabled to serve the Lord in freedom and without fear.
We shall never know the fact of the Lord Jesus' victory in our lives until we are prepared to count upon His work on the Cross as the source of our personal freedom from the dominion of sin and the old man within.
God our Strength
Do not grieve Him by giving up on the conflict in the moment of its victory. Do not disappoint Him by stopping when the goal is in sight. Do not pull back when the very victory you have fought for so long is in sight. He has gone into His inner chamber for you. He holds your earnest petition in the palms of His hands. He has dispatched His angelic messenger to bring you blessing.
Yet at the very point that He gave His spirit into the safekeeping of God He could cry out the greatest victory cry of all, it is finished. How could this be – How could this possibly be – How could He call It is Finished – if the work was yet to be completed?
And yet the sting and victory of death would remain forever, without the power of the resurrection.
His death and His resurrection combine, to complete His Work of Salvation in the victory of the Cross.
We too must day by day tread that same path that He trod, for the victory has already been won.
So it is necessary for us to be thoroughly instructed in the Word, and this is one of the things about which we must be perfectly clear in heart and mind, and assured in spirit, that Life, with all that it means the Life of an unveiled fellowship with the Lord, the Life which in itself sets forth victory over death and the abolishing of condemnation that Life is rooted in righteousness, a ministration of righteousness.
Through the victory won on Calvary we enter into newness of life; and as the old nature seeks to assert its supremacy, each uprising of it must be handed over to the Lord Jesus Christ, that He may deal with it.
˜Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Cor. 15:57).
Just remember this: any victory over the power of any sin whatsoever that you have to get by working for it is counterfeit.
Any victory that you have to get by trying for it is false.
Our hope for freedom from the power of sin is not Christ plus my efforts,' but Christ plus my receiving.' To receive victory from Him is to believe His Word that solely by grace He is, this moment, freeing us from the dominion of sin.
Christ’s Cross
And he trembles at the power of the victory of the Christ of Calvary, on His Cross. This is the area of spiritual work most feared by the principalities and power of evil. This is what the world’s dark rulers and wicked spirits in the heavenlies dread most.
Steadfast Faith
Now, no one can suppose for a moment that this loud shout caused the walls to fall. The vibration from their combined voices was insufficient to cause 1 stone to tumble, and yet the secret of their victory lay in their shout – for it was the shout of faith.
Promised Victory
The army of Israel raised their combined voices in obedience to God’s command: when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout; with a great shout, and the wall of the city shall fall down flat. They dared to shout, on the authority of God’s Word, to claim a promised victory.
Accomplished Victory
The towering walls of this fortified city of Jericho must have appeared impregnable, but though there was no sign of an accomplished victory – they trusted God’s word – and they shouted the shout of faith.
There is much prayer for revival,' and much effort for the deepening of the spiritual life.' The only answer to this is a new knowing of the Cross, not only as to sins and a life of victory over them, but as to Christ as supplanting the natural man. -T.
Overcoming Victory
Christ may be standing outside of the door of a weak and failing church, but to each individual, He continues to say.. 'Behold, I am standing at the door and knocking; if ANYONE hears and listens heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me. He who overcomes (is victorious), and I will grant him to sit beside Me on My throne, as I Myself overcame (and was victorious) and sat down beside My Father on His throne.
It cannot be too frequently emphasized that for the believer, the ground or basis of prayer is the death of Jesus Christ - the victory won by the Son of God on Calvary, just as the ground and basis of His intercession at this moment is His propitiation on the Cross.
Victory at Calvary
Remember the victory was won at Calvary. Remember the only way to overcome is through the blood of the Lamb. The way to overcome in any dispensation is described in Revelation 12 “They overcame him……….
Right Life
God knows the only way to newness of life and this will lead to a life of deliverance, power, and victory in this world – and in the world to come life everlasting, with an inheritance that passes understanding – all because we chose His way.
If we were so utterly and not one of us really is if we were so utterly consumed for the Lord's interests alone that no other interest in our lives had any precedence or power to govern us, we would be in victory all the time.
So we are called to live, by the Spirit, a life triumphant over all our weaknesses, a life where Christ is everything, and where His victory is our victory.
Miles Stamford
Miles Stamford puts it this way:- When you fight to get victory, then you have lost….
Your first instinct is to prepare yourself for a big battle and then pray to God to give you the victory in it!!!!!
All-Inclusive Victory
What then should we do when he attacks?
My enemy the devil has brought it about to compass my downfall, but I praise You that Your victory is an all-inclusive victory.
I praise You that I have already full victory in this matter” Remember... His teaching principle is based on an essential truth – the ‘SOURCE’ rule:- everything after its own kind – – flesh after flesh – – spiritual after spiritual.
for we know that the victory is already His, and so we know that the victory is already ours – for we are complete in Him.
There is something wrong if a Christian is miserable on spiritual matters, and it is either failure to apprehend the one great, absolute reality that the victory was God and that He won it in Christ, fully and finally, and we are not called to share at all in that battle; or the truth which has come subsequently has been misapprehended and has become something that is a burden grievous to be borne.
And if He is there within, He has come to stay, and victory is in faith; believing that, standing on that, holding to that; and we must carry that through to its final and full issue, that He is Lord of all, Head of all principality and power.
Thanks be to God who always leads me on from place to place in the train of His triumph to celebrate His victory over the enemies of Christ.2 Corinthians 2:14 (Conybeare)
God’s Purpose For Us
Telestai: Christ shouted in victory form the cross, and yet it is to be finished – for He must reign, ‘till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 1Cor.15:25 Praise God for the paradoxes of Scripture, for we see through a glass darkly.
The Christian's victory is not over others, but over himself.
His victory is not found in establishing his own cause but in establishing that of his fellow-men; the poor, the sick, the disinherited, the brokenhearted, the wayward, the lost.
Strategy For Victory
Miles Stamford puts it this way: “When you fight to get victory, then you have lost the battle at the very outset.
Well your first instinct is to prepare yourself for a big battle and then pray to God to give you the victory in it.
All-Inclusive Victory
Miles Stamford continues: “What then should you do when he attacks?
My enemy the devil has brought it about to compass my downfall, but I praise You that Your victory is an all-inclusive victory.
I praise You that I have already full victory in this matter”
so as we bring into captivity every thought, every imagination, and every word, we know that the victory is already His – for we know that we are complete in Him.
His death and His resurrection combine to complete His Work of Salvation in the victory of the cross.
gazing on the bloodied, beaten body of the Lord Jesus, after He gave up the ghost… WHO would have thought that His, was the greatest victory in the history of time and eternity? Your victory, is as sure as His – as you stand and wait and watch in loving, trusting obedience, even as He requires each of us, so to do.
Immediately you begin to contemplate or purpose a fuller prayer-life, the enemy launches a new scheme for keeping you more busy and occupied, heaping up the work and crowding in demands so that you will have no time or opportunity for prayer.... But we must recognize this: that the enemy will construct his best arguments about responsibility, duty and conscience to stop us praying, and there is a place where, if we see prayer is utterly ruled out, or brought down to such a limited place that it is completely inadequate for a life of spiritual ascendancy and victory, we have to say: Lord, I am going to trust the responsibility with You while I pray, that You will not allow my breaking away for this time to have detrimental results, and that You will protect this prayer-time which I seek for Your glory from the inroads of the enemy.
Trust in the Lord
And Paul’s cry of joy proclaims, but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ, for Paul knew, just as Job knew that my Redeemer Lives. .es- there are 5 things that Satan is using to demolish and utterly shatter Your own faith, and they are: infirmities..
Christ’s Victory
Then we read that Job came to the very end of himself and cried: Wherefore I abhor myself and repent. And after Paul had come to the end of himself he was able to proclaim - Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities; in reproaches; in needs; in persecutions – in distresses, for Christ’s sake.
Victory Versus Defeat
Apostolic teaching implies the possibility of Christian holiness and joyous living – championing the justification that the life of heaven has already begun on earth!! But while the pages of scripture emphasise an ideal Christian walk – actuality can be very far removed.
Some can testify as to how God cleared up adverse circumstances for the victory; but others can testify to the triumph God gave in the midst of difficult circumstances.
If there is a great trial in your life today, do not own it as a defeat, but continue, by faith, to claim the victory through Him who is able to make you more than conqueror, and a glorious triumph will soon be apparent.
Many think victory' means getting your circumstances put right.
Our Father allows the believer to struggle with self, not for victory, but for defeat.
It is to be dealt with by an attitude of death, not by ‘overcoming.’ The believer therefore is not to be spending his whole life in getting victory over sin, but understanding his position as having died unto sin.”
Paul pointed out that not one of the many spiritual principalities, power or demonic rulers of this age would have empowered and emboldened the religious leaders of the Jews or the civic channels of the Roman government to crucify the Lord of glory, if they had known the great and eternal victory that His death would have over the spiritual and natural realms.
In this verse, we are reminded that: When there is no guidance the people fall - however, in abundance of counsellors there is victory.
Similarly, there are other instances when victory has been secured, when decisions have been based on wise counsel, or rulings have reflected informed guidance: For in the abundance of counsellors there is victory.
However, we do need to be willing to LISTEN to His voice, whether it is internal or external - and we do need to respond when we receive prompting from His written Word so that we do not fall: For where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counsellors there is victory.
Maybe John realised the weight of his own sin could not be fully blotted out without the opening of the seals, for sin must be punished if victory over death and hell is to be accomplished.
But he was soon to be told that the Lamb on the throne was worthy to break the seals, for the eternal, invisible Son of God had become the visible sinless Son of Man and gained the ultimate victory on the Cross at Calvary.
A life with a passion for Christ gives rise to a life of victory, where the power of faith and the sufficiency of His grace, overcomes the difficulties of life and the sting of death.
Jesus told us that in this world we will have tribulation, for we are in the world but not of it, and He also assured us that His victory on the Cross is our victory too, but that victory may look very different from the soft, easy life and trouble-free existence they perceive this to mean.
Each time the enemy's subtle taunts, which were designed to cause Him to stumble in His mission, were countered with the proclamation, It is written... it is written... it is written… And it is the Word of God that is the weapon of victory that we must grasp in our hands and our hearts, for with it we can face every accusation of Satan and every doubt that is planted in our minds.
It shows how a believer can have victory over slavery to sin - how they can grow in mature in the faith and progress in their Christian walk.
When a believer finally realises - 'without Christ I can do nothing but in Christ I can do all things..' he is able to say thanks be to GOD Who gives me the victory in Jesus Christ my Lord.
But his defeat blossomed into the liberation of chapter 8 with a shout of victory and thankful praise: No condemnation!
But when as believers we submit to the Holy Spirit, we discover a higher law working within (the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus) that gives power to the new-life-of-Christ within which we received when we were born again, bringing us to certain victory.
There are so many passages in the wonderful book of Romans where we are reminded of our deliverance from bondage, our victory in Christ, and that there is absolutely no condemnation whatsoever to those that are in Christ Jesus, for every one that trusts in God's only beloved Son as Saviour, will never be condemned but receive life eternal.
Rather than starting to write from a position of weakness for fear of wicked men and enemies that encompass him round about, and allowing his spirits to be lifted as he reflects on the goodness and faithfulness of God, this Psalm begins from a point of victory, because God IS good, His mercy endures forever, and He is the God of our Salvation.
Christ’s triumphant victory over sin, death, Satan, and hell, becomes our triumphant victory too, and the filthy rags of our old life in Adam are replaced with the glorious garment of righteousness which are imputed to us because of our new life in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
Christ's gained a triumphant victory over sin and death on the Cross, which climaxed with His glorious resurrection from the dead, and this verse gives insight into what His glorious resurrection means for all who are in Christ.
Those who are in Christ will claim His full and final victory over sin and death, the grave and hell at the Rapture of the Church, when the dead in Christ are raised in incorruptible bodies.
The trump of God will sound and the voice of the archangel will be heard to shout, as the Body of Christ are summoned to their heavenly home: Thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The sting of death has been removed for all who trust in His name, and the grave has been robbed of its victory by the sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection of our God and Saviour.
Just as through one man's disobedience many people were made sinners, so also through one Man's obedience, many people will be made righteous: So thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The time is fast approaching when we will proclaim, Death has been swallowed up in victory.
O Death, where is your victory?
Thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Surely, our jubilant shout of triumphant thanksgiving and victory will resound throughout the eternal ages to come: Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
What a comfort to know that the good tidings of great joy, which spoke of the glorious gospel of Christ would not grind to a bitter halt at His departure, but that the Spirit of truth would come to guide them into the many truths that they were not yet ready to receive; truths that could not yet be manifest before the victory on the Cross had been finally won.
It was only after His Resurrection that it could be claimed throughout the universe: Death has been swallowed up in victory. It was only after Christ rose from the dead that the Father was able to declare, THIS DAY have I begotten Thee.
Our outstanding joy, eternal hope, and unassailable victory is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The end of the matter and the truth that must strike the chord of our inner being, is that Christ loves us and that in all these things we can have the victory because he is the eternal Victor Who identifies with us, and with Whom we have the right to be identified with Him.How often are we enjoined to abide in Christ, to rest in Him, and remain in Him!
This is a godly principle of faith – that when we abide in Christ during the inevitable disasters that flood our lives, faith increases, trust is amplified, hope is expanded, and our love of Jesus reaches even greater heights, as we grow in grace and in a knowledge of Him.Oh, such life victory has nothing to do with our own great strength, intellectual ability, or healthy bank balance, for of ourselves we would be overwhelmed by all these things rather than becoming a conqueror through Christ.
The incarnate WORD of God, gave us a very clear message that He has gained the victory over Satan and this world system.
These words were spoken to warn of the many tribulations and trials that inevitably stalk the paths of all God's blood-bought children, and to encourage each child of God, knowing that Christ has won the victory on our account, so that no matter what may happen, we are safe in the arms of Jesus.
All humanity is prey to degeneration, illness, and death, until our mortal puts on immortality, our corruption is dressed in incorruptibility, and our fallen frame becomes a resurrected and glorified body, when together we will cry: Oh death where is thy sting, oh grave where is thy victory?
And Christ's victory on the Cross becomes our victory, and His resurrected life becomes our new life in Christ, for we are one with Him and members of His Body.
He expresses delight that God has given him victory over his foes: The king rejoices in Your strength, O LORD.
In the previous Psalm, the Lord had promised to hear and answer the prayers of His servant, to fight for His people, and bring them to victory over their enemies, and here we read of king's thanksgiving and overflowing joy for their great deliverance and triumph over their foe.
Not only does the Lord give Israel victory on the battlefield, but their ultimate salvation is through Christ. The great victory about which David is rejoicing is not simply related to a past historical victory but reaches into a future, worldwide deliverance, when the enemies of God will be utterly destroyed from the face of the earth, those who seek to thwart Christ's coming kingdom will retreat in terror, and the Lord God of Israel will be highly exalted in all the earth.
After his tremendous victory, when he slaughtered the kings and rescued his nephew and the rest of the people, Abraham returned them and their stolen goods to their hometown.
And this mingling of the angelic with the human, was Satan's attempt to corrupt the DNA of humanity and eliminate the Seed of the woman Who was prophesied to destroy the works of the evil one.Although the vile influence of these fallen angels certainly aggravated the degenerate, pre-flood conditions, it was the unrelenting wickedness in the human heart and man's obsessive preoccupation with evil which was identified in this verse and demanded the destruction of mankind, through the flood of Noah.The sin nature that so corrupted the human race at the time of the flood, is the same evil disposition that is inherited from our fathers and imputed into the heart of every man who has descended from Adam – for the natural man is a sinner who is born under sin and is at enmity with God.The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually... and yet God, in His grace, purposed to redeem mankind and to destroy the works of the evil one.Although God's judgement rained down on the antediluvian world, and will do so once again during the Great Tribulation, it was at Calvary where complete victory was gained against mankind's unrelenting enemy.It was at the Cross, when Christ's blood was shed to pay the price for sin, that our Saviour triumphed over the evil enemy of our soul, and Satan's defeat will be fully realised when he is finally thrown into the fiery lake of God's everlasting judgement, after which, God will make a new heaven and a new earth.
And to this day the Jews remember Esther and her uncle every year in the feast of Purim, when they celebrate the great victory that was gained through her courage and wisdom.
He learned obedience by the things that He suffered and committed Himself into the hand of His God so that death could be swallowed up in victory for all who trust in Him.
As children of God, we have the permanently indwelling Holy Spirit of God, and it is in Him that we have complete victory over the world, with abiding and eternal results.
Indeed, the day was fast approaching when Christ's redeeming work on the Cross would result in the defeat of sin and victory over death for all who would believe on His name.
To a certain degree, Haggai's prophecy was partially fulfilled at Christ's first coming, at that pivotal point in earth's history when the Son of God gained the victory over sin, Satan, death, and hell.
'We' in this verse, distinguishes the saved from 'those' that are unsaved. 'We' separates genuine believers from 'those' that are false converts or apostates. 'We' are those that overcome - and John tells us that whoever is born of God overcomes the world - and this is the victory that has overcome the world - even our faith.
The saving the soul and our eternal victory in Christ is diametrically opposite of shrinking back to perdition and eternal destruction. Because we have been eternally redeemed by the blood of Christ, let us live by faith - to the saving of the soul so that we may reap a reward and not suffer loss of reward.
Their voices united together as they trudged towards the city of David, and the theme of many of their song touched on various areas of need as they collectively appealed to the Lord for the destruction of their enemies, victory over wicked men, beseeching God's protection, provision, prosperity, and restoration.
This was the choice that lay before this second generation of Israelites as they prepared to cross into the Promised Land and that day, Moses set before them life and prosperity, victory and honour - through living a life of faith, OR death and adversity, defeat and dishonour - through living a life of disobedience.
Praise God that this is not an evil fight but a good fight, for the battle has already been won by Christ’s victory on the Cross and we are to face all the challenges of life by maintaining an unfaltering faith in Him - trusting in His sufficiency to bring us through victoriously.We are to fight the good fight of faith by seizing hold of every opportunity, trusting His all-sufficient grace to bring us through by faith, rather than wilting at the enormity of a problem or caving in to the temptation that faces us.When we fight the fight of faith, we are trusting Him in all things and in so doing we are taking hold of eternal life.
By faith in Christ, we all face physical death... but have a sure knowledge that we will rise to life immortal in a resurrected body of flesh and bone like unto Christ's body... for flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable, but thanks be to God Who gives us the victory over Satan, sin, death, and hell through our risen Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Before Jesus could be enthroned as the eternal King of kings and Lord of lords, He must first die the cruel death of the Suffering Servant, so that by His sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection, He could smash Satan's spiritual authority over the earth and man, destroy the works of the evil one, crush the serpent's head as prophesied in Genesis, and claim victory over the current realm of Satan.
The Lord Jesus Christ has already gained the victory, and will one day return to finish all that He started and set up His heavenly kingdom on earth.
This was designed to strengthen their faith in God, Who would fulfil His promise by bringing them into a land flowing with milk and honey and giving them victory over their enemies.
Paul goes on to write: But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.'It was because the deathless Son of God, Who has eternal life within Himself, became the perfect Son of Man and gave Himself as a willing sacrifice for the sin of the whole world, that He broke the power of sin and death in the life of ALL who trust in His name.
Our assurance rests on His victory cry... it is finished, for we are accepted by God, in the Beloved, through time and into eternity - accepted through the merit of God's only begotten Son.
was Christ's cry of profound significance and ultimate joy, which must have resounded throughout the entire universe as the Lord Jesus pronounced His triumphant victory over sin, Satan, and death.
And when He completed all things He shouted in triumphant victory, It is Finished!
The day is coming when our mortal frame will have put on immortality and we will be saved: spirit, soul, AND body, when death is swallowed up in victory and together with all the saints we will sing: O death, where is your victory?
It was told to the people of Israel by Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon (who is remembered as the judge who laid out a fleece before God as a reassurance from God that His promise of Israel's victory over the Midianites and His pledge to be with them, was true).
We are called to trust the Lord our God Who has won the victory over sin, death, and Satan - and we have been promised that nothing can pluck us out of Christ's hand and nothing can snatch us out of our Father's hand, either.
We are urged to put on the whole armour of God and equip ourselves with the spiritual weaponry that is ours in Christ Jesus - Who alone is able to assure us of victory over the evils of this present age.
But if and when we do transgress, we are to quickly acknowledge our sin and make sure that our old sin nature is firmly nailed back on the Cross, for victory has been provided for all who are in Christ Jesus.
The tears of the Lord Jesus were tears of compassion for the wretchedness of these poor, mourning souls, whom He loved so dearly, yet who were under the condemnation of sin; for the wages of sin is death, and death is sin's ultimate victory over every fallen man.
It took over three years of patient instruction in the wonderful works of God, but finally the Lord Jesus was able to testify to the Father: Now they know and understand that all the things You have given to Me are from You. The Lord Jesus is indeed the express image of the invisible God and to Him is ascribed all the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty, for everything that is in the heavens and the earth is His: Yours is the dominion, O LORD our God, and You have exalted Christ Jesus our Lord as Head over all.
He recalled Israel's escape from Egypt, their entry into the land flowing with milk and honey, their victory over many foes, and God's grace and mercy towards them, despite their apostate ways, abominable sin, and outrageous idolatry.
And His victory over sin, death, and hell is an inescapable part of the whole story of our great salvation.
Let us never forget that the message of the Cross does not end with His death but integrates His glorious Resurrection and His victory over sin, death, and hell as an inescapable part of the good news of our great salvation.
In His grace, they were given victory over their enemies when they cried out to Him in their distress, and despite their compromise, God's people continue to celebrate the victory Mordecai and Esther were given, as each year they keep the feast of Purim and the book of Esther is included in the canon of Scripture.
May we, who live in a society that is deeply flawed, have the courage to stand fast in the faith to which we hold, and trust in the Lord to bring us through to victory, even when our circumstances appear to be hopeless; for God is able to make all grace abound unto each one of us and to provide His sufficiency in everything.
Promises of blessing for obedience and warnings of curses for disobedience had nothing to do with salvation, but had everything to do with victory and future rewards - or suffering defeat and the loss of rewards.
The blessings these faithful folk in Hebrews 11 are to enjoy, are still future, for their blessings are to flow to them through the Person of JESUS, His Office and His Ministry, His death on the Cross, His resurrected life, and His victory over Satan, sin, death, and hell.
It details the beautiful harmony of New Testament revelation with the Old, and identifies the Person of Christ; His work, His sacrifice, and His victory.
But we have His assurance that He has overcome this world and that His victory is our also victory, for His triumphant, resurrected life has become our new-life-in-Christ, and His perfect righteousness has been imputed to us.
Paul's first communication concentrated on correction, while the focus of this second message is on comfort, victory in the Cross, and the sufficient grace that is ours in Christ.
The promises of the New Covenant; victory over sin and death, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and all the privileges that come with our great salvation, were cut at Calvary - the promises were secured at the Cross.
Whoever's faith is credited with righteousness will be able to eat of its life-giving fruit: Whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.
Faith is like a muscle that needs to be exercised every day, and when faith is anchored on Christ, it will grow and be strengthened: And THIS is the victory that overcomes the world - even our faith.
He took part in the crossing of the Red Sea, ate manna in the wilderness, and was empowered to defeat the fearsome Amalekites, while Moses interceded for their victory.
Having laid out the amazing victory we have in Christ Whose sacrifice on the Cross became a sweet smelling fragrance to the Father, Paul announces that in Christ, we too have passed from death to life and have been commissioned by God to be epistles of Christ, declaring the truth of the gospel not with letters that are written with ink, but ones that have been inscribed, stamped, and sealed by the Holy Spirit Himself.
Indeed, the Bible teaches that ALL who believe on Christ are those that overcome... for Christ's victory over sin and death is our victory over sin and death, too.
This great city of Jerusalem is precious to our Father in heaven, for this is where the beloved Son of God honoured His Father's will and broke the power of sin, death, and Satan - winning the greatest victory the world will ever know - through His sacrificial offering of Himself.
Christ dismantled the principalities and powers that held us captive - and because we are identified with Him by faith, we are also identified with His victory over sin and death.
Seventy years after the Jewish exile and during the first year of his great victory over Babylon, Cyrus signed his prophetic proclamation into law, which permitted the Israelites to return to their land and rebuild their Temple.
It is after this glorious song of victory that highly exalts the Lord God of Israel, that we follow them setting out on their journey towards Sinai, where each step they take is filled with spiritual lessons for every child of God in every dispensation.
Following the great victory at the Red Sea, they set off across the 'Wilderness of Shur'.
We are to be of good cheer, knowing that His strength is sufficient to see us through every difficulty of life because He has already overcome sin and death – and we are united with Him and His victory.
Three times, he was instructed by the Lord to be strong and very courageous, for God promised to be with Him... to lead and guide him, and to bring him to a sure victory.
Joshua had to come to understand that the battle did not depend on his own skill and abilities - victory belongs to the Lord.
Our victory has already been won by Christ - we simply have to live by faith and not by sight.
The 'hour had come' for the Son of Man to be glorified, and His sacrifice on the Cross would honour the Father and bring His amazing plan of redemption to that climatic and pivotal point in history, when death would be swallowed up in victory: Little children, I am with you a little while longer, was our Lord's grave message: You will seek Me, and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.'
Peter and all who believe on Him will suffer persecution, but Christ won the victory at Calvary, and there is laid up for Peter and all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ a Crown of life which the Lord has promised to them that love Him.
Balak, the ungodly king of Moab, was fearful of Israel's great military might and sought out a diviner who would curse the nation and bring him victory over his enemies.
Three times, the Lord not only prevented Balaam from cursing Israel, but caused him to bless the people with great abundance and with victory over their enemies, which enraged the king of Moab!
Had she and the other disciples heeded Christ's words, they would have known that this darkest stain on the history of the world would break forth into the most brilliant eternal day of joy and rejoicing, in which death is swallowed up in victory.
The victory that Christ won on the Cross is a victory that is imputed to every child of God at the moment of salvation, for we are told by the apostle John himself: The one who overcomes the world, is the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Jesus gained the victory on behalf of all who trust in the name of the only begotten Son of God for salvation, because we cannot overcome the world, the flesh, our sin nature, or the strategies of the evil one in our own strength.
Christ's victory on the Cross has become our victory, and this is the finished and eternal state of all who are part of the Body of Christ.
Let it be our dear desire to live a victorious life knowing that our past, present, and future victory is secure in Christ.
Paul told Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel nor to be afraid to testify about our Lord Jesus, adding: And don't be ashamed of ME, Christ's prisoner! Paul had been imprisoned many times for the sake of the gospel and considered it an honour to suffer for the sake of his Saviour, while relying on God's sufficient strength to bring him through victory: It was for this gospel I was appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher, Paul reminded Timothy, as he urged him to imitate his way.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus increasingly demonstrated His power over sickness and diseases, demons and death, until that pivotal day in history when the sting of death was swallowed up in victory.
We are to remember that good will overcome evil, Satan and sin have been defeated, Christ has won the victory, and one day every wrong in this world will be put right.
John also records: It is finished, that great cry of victory when Satan, sin, death, and hell had been forever defeated, after Jesus had endured 3 hours of the most intense physical suffering, followed by three more hours of the most terrifying time, when He underwent spiritual separation from His Father and the Holy Spirit (i.e.
The Lord Jesus gained victory over death and hell through His own sacrifice on the Cross and His glorious Resurrection, but throughout His life He gave solemn warnings that an hour was coming when the tombs of all who were dead would hear His voice; some to the resurrection of life but others to the resurrection of condemnation.
We are been ransomed from death and destruction and rescued from defeat and decay, for Christ has won the victory on our account, by grace through faith in Him.
We live in a world that is filled with stresses and strains, and although we are not able to prevent the pressures of life, we have an assurance from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself that because HE overcame the world, the flesh, and the devil, we too are overcomers in Him, for THIS is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith in Christ.
God had brought them out of Egypt and was ready to give them great victory in the Promised Land, but disobedience caused their entrance into the land of promise to be delayed for forty years.
Despite witnessing God's amazing power in bringing them out of Egypt and in-spite of the destruction of their enemies in the Red Sea, Israel lost faith in God's power to defeat the giants of Canaan and the victory they could have enjoyed was forfeited forever.
While Jesus won the victory over Satan at the Cross, God in His grace is using the Church - which is the Body of Christ on earth today, to carry forward His plans and purposes, through spiritual warfare - for the weapons of our warfare are not physical, but spiritual.
Well, John, who wrote the book of Revelation, explains who will overcome in 1 John 5:4-5 For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.
We are engaged in a spiritual war, and in order to gain an inner victory of the soul during our earthly walk, we are to abstain from fleshly lusts and carnal desires which war against the soul.
In order to do so and to have victory over our fleshly lusts, we have to say NO to all that is from the old sin nature.
This insignificant little verse is a glorious example of Christ's victory over evil and His omnipotent ability to bring triumph from terrors and tragedies.
We have a great inheritance, which is reserved for us in heaven, and this glorious, future perspective is to encourage us and to lead us to a godly life and holy living, which will result in our internal victory.
It is not by our might nor by our power that we triumph in this war, but by the Holy Spirit working within, and His victory in us is what glorifies our Father, Who is in heaven.
Those who trust in Him must always remember that Christ won the victory at the Cross, when the burning fires of God's jealous anger was poured out in Him instead of on us so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
What assurance to know that Christ died for us, so that whether we wake or sleep, we will live together with Him. What a joy to know that whether we are alive at the Rapture or our bodies are resting in the grave we can proclaim, in ecstatic unison, Oh death, where is your sting! - Oh grave, where is your victory!
After Abraham's great victory in rescuing his nephew from his captors and rejecting the king of Sodom's sly, but tempting offer, we are introduced to an intriguing individual called Melchizedek, which means 'king of Righteousness'.
Abraham had just won a great victory over a number of pagan kingdoms and resisted the temptation to rely on the spoils of the battle for his supply.
It was as Abram was returning from his victory over a group of rebellious pagan kings who had kidnapped his nephew Lot, that Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine.
We are to be enabled by His mighty power, and we are to remember that His power is perfected by our weakness because it is rooted and grounded in Christ's victory on the Cross.
Following the Cross was the Resurrection when death was swallowed up in victory, and following Peter's denial was his restoration and commission to feed Christ's sheep and care for His lambs.
And having completed His work on earth, in spirit and truth, the Lord Jesus set His face as a flint towards His ultimate victory over sin, death, and the satanic forces of evil in heavenly places: the Cross of Calvary.
In the midst of this life we may be in death, but death for the Christian holds no fear, for the enemy of our soul was defeated at the Cross, and in Christ we have gained the eternal victory.
He gained a glorious victory over Satan, sin, death, hell, and the demonic forces of evil, through His sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection.
His victory caused God to place all authority and rule in heaven and earth under His feet, but because His own people was not ready to repent of their sins and receive their promised Messiah, the Lord Jesus returned to heavenly places for a season.
Although Christ gained an everlasting victory over His enemies, God's pan of redemption continues to unfold and the next event is the Rapture of the Christian Church.
Just as the work of the Cross provides salvation when we believe it to be true, the work of the Cross also provides victory over the old sin nature when it is believed.
We need to understand that the sin nature remains with us until our life on earth is ended - but the blood of Christ has given us victory over the functioning power of the sin nature within our life.
But when Christ died, He not only died FOR sin, paying the price of sin (the death penalty), but He died UNTO sin, providing victory over the dominating sin nature and permanently severing us from the power it has over us.
Paul discovered that the only way to victory over the principle of sin, was by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ - as he allowed His Holy Spirit to rule and reign within until he could say, it is not I that live, but Christ that lives in me.
Revelation gives believers a multi-pronged approach to victory over Satan: They overcame him by of the blood of the Lamb.
But we read that they gained victory over Satan because they were cleansed by the blood of Christ, and they defeated him by the word of their faithful witness.
Victory for them and for us is secure in the testimony of Christ.
Only those covered in the blood of the Lamb have victory over the evil principalities and powers.
Christ told us that victory is assured for those of us who are part of the Body of Christ, for He Himself has promised that the gates of hell will never prevail against His Church.
The foundational bedrock upon which all victory rests is the shed blood of Christ - the Lamb that was slain - the perfect Sacrifice, Who with one glorious cry of: IT IS FINISHED, pronounced sin, death, and hell, 'forever conquered'.
It contains a testimony that God is faithful to His people and to those who put their trust in Him, and it also gives the most comprehensive prophetic timeline of God's full and final victory over Satan's illegitimate earthly rule.
Jesus triumphed over thrones and authorities, making them a public spectacle and gaining victory over satanic principalities, powers, and the rulers of darkness in heavenly places.
Before the Cross, Israel was required to offer sacrifices to God in a copy of the heavenly sanctuary, but following His victory on the Cross, the veil of the temple was rent in two, removing the sin barrier between God and us forever.
And having outlined the gospel concerning Christ's victory over death and the certainty of our resurrection, we discover that the Church is the first group to be raised 'at His coming'.
The question is often asked: If Christ won the victory over Satan, sin, death, and hell, then why is he still at large and why do Christians still die if they have been saved from death and hell?
Although Christ won the victory over two thousand years ago, it will not be finalised until the end of His millennial rule.
The almighty strength of the Son of Man far outstripped the power of Legion, but it would be His death and Resurrection that would gain the full and final victory over Satan and the evil principalities, powers, demons, and devils that had enslaved man since the fall.
As the eternal, deathless Son of God, He would raise Himself up from the dead, having won the victory over sin, Satan, death, and hell - for ALL who believe on His name.
The power of sin was broken in the life of all who are identified with Christ by faith, because Jesus gained the victory over sin, death, and hell through the sacrifice of Himself.
He knew victory over sin, Satan, death, and hell, would be gained following His sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection, but first He had to face the terrors of the Cross when He would bear the sin of the world on His shoulders.
In the same way, the one who is not enslaved to keeping the Law, but justified by grace through faith in Christ, is the one who has reached the age of maturity and has received the promise - Christ Jesus our Lord Who gives us victory in this life and great reward in heaven.
He wanted these Corinthians Christians to understand that because Christ sacrificial death and glorious resurrection broke the power of sin and death, ALL who believe in Him have the same victory over sin and death and will also be raised to life in a new, incorruptible, resurrected body.
The Commander of the Lord's army Himself instructed Joshua to be strong and very courageous and promised him a great victory, but the battle-plan was far from conventional!
Rather, the entire congregation was to follow God's instructions if they were to win the victory.
They were to listen to the Lord, trust His Word, and obey His instructions, so that their faith might grow when victory was complete.
Throughout Israel's history, God's grace and mercy poured over His chosen people in a cleansing flood of refreshing streams, for the Lord longs to shower compassion, mercy, comfort, and grace onto His distressed people, and to bring them to victory in their lives.A succession of prophets had told Israel that by returning to Him and trusting in His Word they would be saved from their enemies and be blessed abundantly.
But it was a joyful day when Paul discovered, I can do all things through Christ, Who gives me the victory - because His grace is sufficient and His strength is perfected in our weaknesses.
Paul's bold confession of God's sufficient grace and victory over every issue he faced, gave witness to a life that had died to self and lived only for Christ.
The death and Resurrection of Christ was a complete and final victory over sin, for Christ not only died FOR our sins so that we might be reconciled to God and saved from the consequences of sin (which is eternal separation from God), but He also died UNTO sin so that His life would become our life, and the strangle-hold that sin held over us would be broken forever.
After salvation, Paul reminds us of Christ's complete and final victory over sin when God makes us alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions.
Praise God that the death and Resurrection of Christ was a complete and final victory over sin.
The wisdom of a believer and the weapons of a Christian's warfare, are rooted and grounded in Christ alone, and become increasingly effective as we stand on the promises of God, heed His instructions, and abide in our position in Christ - for He is our wisdom and in Him, we gain the victory.
The wisdom of the Cross is foolishness to those that are perishing, for had the satanic principalities and powers known the victory that would be wrought through Calvary, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.
The psalmist was so confident that God would judge the world in righteousness and equity, at His appointed time, that his praises resounded with a triumphant note of sure victory as he declared, And all the horns of the wicked He will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up. He rejoiced in the prophetic certainty that God would one day cut down the strength of the wicked, while the strength of the righteous would be lifted up.
The greatest enemy we encounter is death - but Christ won that battle on our account, and by faith in His death, burial, and resurrection, we too have victory over death, and will be resurrected from the dead - because all born again children of God are given eternal life.
He promised to provide their warriors with superhuman strength to defeat their foes and to give them inexplicable miracles, which would provide victory over the entire land.
Every piece of armour is required at all times if we are to be triumphant - for it is only as we yield to God, abide in Christ, and He in us, that we are empowered to resist the enemy and are assured a great spiritual victory.
The Lord had blessed His servant mightily, protected his life, and brought him victory over his enemies, and David desired to honour Him by building a magnificent Temple in which to house the Ark of the Covenant.
His victory at the Cross secured for us the power to overcome every anxiety, worry, fear, or fret, however large and however small.
The victory Christ gained at the Cross is our victory too, but do we listen to His instructions without believing His Word, like the leaders of Israel who listened to His Sermon on the Mount but did not hear what He said?
Numerous prophecies give details of His coming to earth as a babe in Bethlehem, His ministry on earth, His sacrificial death, His glorious Resurrection, and His victory over Satan.
As Israel raised weapons of war against their bitter foe, so Moses lifted high the Rod of the LORD against the principalities and powers in heavenly places. The earthly foe could only be overcome in the spiritual realm. Victory or defeat of Joshua's army would be determined by the effective prayer of Israel's faithful watchman..
The weary arms of Moses were held aloft until sunset, against spiritual wickedness in high places, for only as he interceded for Israel was Joshua's victory secure.
The enemy that confronts us may be as terrifying as those that Joshua and his army were to fight, but we are on the side of the Lord for He is our great Commander Who secured the victory through the shedding of His own blood.
Our victory has been secured, by Christ - our heavenly Commander. Our victory was secured at the Cross... for His truth is unchanging and His grace is sufficient for every eventuality that life may throw at us - for we are on the Lord’s side and He is our God and Saviour.
We have been called and chosen to be His soldiers in an alien land, but we know that when Christ is in control, no foe that can harm us and no fear should alarm us - because victory has already been won.
As our representative Man, Christ's victory in the wilderness and His triumph on the Cross became the victory and triumph for all who believe on His name for salvation.
Having laid the indestructible foundation that sinful man is irrefutably lost and at enmity with God through rebellion and sin, and having proved that all humanity have fallen far short of the glorious perfection that God expects from His creation, Paul jubilantly proclaims the triumphant victory of Christ's finished work on the Cross, over Adam's sin and our inherent sin nature.
In this passage, Paul gives an expanded teaching on the glorious truth he wrote about in Corinthians, that this fallen, decaying body of ours will put on incorruption: But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' And Paul encourages us to comfort one another with these words, to encourage each other as we watch and wait for the return of the Lord Jesus in the clouds, to take us to be with Himself.
What a comfort to know that Christ won the victory over sin, Satan, death, and hell, and that HE is the STONE, cut without hands, that is going to destroy the kingdoms of this world and set up the kingdom of God on earth.
He goes on to say, Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?
He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
So, my dear brothers, since future victory is sure, be strong and steady, always abounding in the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever wasted as it would be if there were no resurrection.
It was Jewish legalism that required all Gentile believers to be circumcised, arguing that without participation in this ritual, no-one was able to be redeemed by Christ's death and would have no part in His Resurrection victory.
At the Cross of Calvary, our Saviour victoriously and irreversibly pronounced, it is finished! Victory has been secured, and the evil enemy of our soul is already defeated.
Under the shadow of His wings, we can cry, I will not fear, what can man do to me, nor will I fear what the devil is trying to do to me either, for we are on the victory side.
On that day the saying that is written in Scripture will be fulfilled: Death has been swallowed up in victory.
But thanks be to God, for on that day, death is overcome by life. Death is consumed into victory.
This is indeed a blessed hope for everyone who has been born of God and positioned in Christ, for on that day we will be able to say: Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Although Joshua had won a resounding victory at Jericho, Israel's defeat at Ai, through disobedience, must have caused Joshua some trepidation.
We read that the Lord threw the enemy into confusion, giving Joshua a great victory - but there is one intriguing verse which tells us that on the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua said, in the sight of Israel, “Sun, be silent and stand still at Gibeon, and you, moon, stay in the Valley of Ajalon.
In order to establish a resounding victory over the Amorites, Joshua realised that there was insufficient daylight to complete the task and so he made this astonishing command that the sun and moon stopped moving across the sky and God honoured his prayer: The sun stood still, and the moon stopped. until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.
And although we are witnessing a satanically-inspired hatred for the things of God, an utter contempt and disdain for the glorious gospel of Christ, and a Church that is deceiving and being deceived in so many ways... we need not be afraid, for Christ has won the victory on our behalf and we have this promise, the Lord will rescue me from every evil deed.
The only way the eternal Son of God could achieve this tremendous victory over sin, Satan, death, and hell, on behalf of the fallen race of man, was to become a Man Himself.
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.... for, THEN will come about the saying that is written, 'death is swallowed up in victory. 'O death, where is your victory?
Although Christ won the victory over Satan at the Cross, his full, final, and forever defeat, takes place at the end of the Millennial Kingdom, when he will be flung into the eternal lake of fire.
Throughout our life the enemy of our soul causes much suffering, pain, persecution, and distress to believers, but the Bible tells us that suffering is part of the Christian course and in Christ we can become victorious, no matter what difficulties and hardships are strewn in our path, for no matter how fierce the trial and how severe the test, the full and final victory is already ours in Christ.