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Volume. XXII, No. 25 More Than Conquerors “…We are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Romans 8:37) This is one of the most well known scriptures from the Bible and is found in Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans. Millions of Christians quote this verse, especially when going through tumultuous times. Some songs and hymns have also been composed with this verse in them. I find this verse very encouraging and quote it to myself when facing challenging situations.
Now what does it mean to be “more than conquerors”? We have heard of many great conquerors in history, both in the distant and recent past. The Bible itself talks about many great kings who conquered many kingdoms, like King Nebuchadnezar & King Darius who conquered most of the Middle Eastern countries. Alexander the Great conquered many parts of Europe and West Asia, then the Roman Emperors conquered almost all of Europe, North Africa and West Asia. In the recent past, a tiny country like Great Britain conquered nations in almost every part of the world. So these were all mighty conquerors. However, as far as I have heard, no one in all history was ever described as “more than conquerors”. In this particular passage, the Apostle Paul compares the Christian believers to the mighty conquerors of the world. Though these great people conquered many nations and peoples, yet none of them could conquer sin and death. Only Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God conquered sin and death and He has given this victory to those of us who believe in Him. And because of the victory we have through Jesus Christ our Lord, we are more or greater than the mighty conquerors of this world. These conquerors will die and their kingdoms will also pass away. However, we who believe in Jesus shall never die, and we shall be given a Kingdom that shall never pass away. Shouldn’t that make us feel excited and filled with all joy always? If earthly kings rejoice over a victory in battle, shouldn’t we be rejoicing that we have victory over sin and that sin shall no more have dominion over us? However, we don’t seem to be victorious all the time and so we are not able to rejoice always, as quite often we do fall into sin. However, remember that when the allies won the Second World War, they had also lost many battles while fighting the war. Sometimes they suffered minor defeats and sometimes major defeats, but they pressed on, never giving up, and finally they won the war against the Nazis and freed the European nations. So we also may lose many battles, but let us press on, remembering Psalms 37:24, “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.” Know that the final victory is won, because Jesus has already won it for us. Praise God! Now let us see in what context the apostle Paul calls us “more than conquerors”. He says in Romans 8:35-37, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” He says that we are more than conquerors even when we are in tribulations, facing persecution, poverty, war or are in dangerous situations or in any other calamities. In such situations ordinary people may be in despair, rather than feeling like conquerors. However, because of the great love of Jesus toward us, we are more than conquerors even in these situations. Because none of the things that we face implies that Jesus loves us less, or does not care for us. No, our great and mighty Lord Jesus will see us through these situations and give us the victory making us more than conquerors. Even though we may be seen as sheep being led for slaughter, the final victory will be ours. Mighty kings, after conquering a kingdom, would ride triumphantly through the city gates with pride and all manner of pomposity celebrating their victory over the enemy and proudly ascending the steps of their throne to be crowned and cheered and hailed by all their subjects. But we, who are more than these conquerors, will have our celebration in Heaven, where we will be as kings and priests to our God and obtain a crown of glory much more precious than gold, which shall never fade away. Next, there is a verse in Proverbs 16:32 which says, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” We can interpret this also to say that a person who is slow to anger is more than a conqueror and he who has control over his passions and desires is greater than he who conquers a city. Only a person abiding in Christ can have control over his temper and his emotions and has crucified his flesh with its passions and its desires and has full control over it. So, the person is more than a conqueror who may have conquered large territories but has no mastery over his sinful desires. So dear friends, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His great love toward us, we have victory over the world, the flesh and the Devil. Situations in the world or people of this world will not take away the peace and joy given to us by Jesus as He has promised. Through Jesus Christ we shall not be controlled by our fleshly desires, and as long as we submit ourselves to God and resist the Devil, he will flee from us. No weapon that he forms against us is going to prosper. Through the Word of God we can quench all the flaming darts being hurled at us by Satan. He is a defeated foe and will soon be cast into the lake of fire where he will be in torment for all eternity. So my beloved, rejoice in the Lord always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in all circumstances, because this is God’s will in Christ Jesus for you, for He has made you more than conquerors and nothing in all creation is ever going to separate you from His great love. Bro. Edwin
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