In his classic devotional book entitled Victorious Living, E. Stanley Jones
wrote, “the most urgent necessity in human living is to be able to face life
victoriously. For many – the number is
appalling – are living morally and spiritually defeated. They are inwardly beaten, hence outwardly
ineffective.”[1]
Concerning the Christian life, the
Scriptures make it clear that “overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who
loved us” (Rom. 8:37, NLT). We are not
meant to live in a continuous cycle of moral, mental or spiritual defeat, for
God has given “us the very life of Christ” (Eph. 2:5, AMP). This life is to be a life of abundance and
complete victory in Him. And yet, there
are so many sincere Christians today who live defeated lives. They are:
· Defeated by unbelief and fear.
· Defeated by immoral choices.
· Defeated by negative attitudes or thoughts.
· Defeated by worries and concerns.
· Defeated by negative words or memories.
· Defeated by poverty or debt.
· Defeated by past mistakes or failures.
On and on the list could go. And yet, let me be clear on this point: The Christian life is not meant to be like
this! Jesus came to bring us a
better way of living! He came saying,
“My purpose is to give life in all its
fullness” (Jn. 10:10, NLT, italics added).
Jesus did not come to offer us a partial victory over sin, nor did He
say you “might” succeed as a Christian if you try hard enough. No, Jesus said, “I have overcome the world”
(Jn. 16:33, NIV). And, of course, the
implication of this truth is that we would share in His victory as well.
It was the apostle Paul who said, “God
raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms” (Eph.
2:6, NIV). Please notice that Paul says
we were raised up with Christ. This means that the key to living a victorious Christian life is to stay in close
fellowship with Christ! With His
life and power, how can we not enjoy victory in this life the same way He did?
In John 15:5 Jesus says, “I am the vine,
you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing” (NAS,
italics added). He goes on to say, “If
anyone does not abide in Me, he…dries up”
(v. 6, NAS, italics added). This is
an important point for us to notice, for Jesus is telling us that the Christian
life – a victorious life – is only possible when we are connected, as a branch
to the vine, into the life-giving nourishment of His Holy Spirit. Without this connection we face the prospect
of drying up which quickly leads to defeat.
“Since…you have been raised with Christ”
(Col. 3:1, NIV), Paul says, understand that “your life is now hidden with
Christ in God” (v. 2, NIV). From this
verse we can conclude that:
· His victory is now our victory!
· His strength is now our strength!
· His power is now our power!
· His joy and peace is now our joy and peace!
· His wealth is now our wealth!
All of these and more have been given to
you and me because of the fact that we have been raised with Christ and are
seated with Him. Now, it is important for each one of us to
understand that the truth concerning what God has said about us is true no matter what difficulties or problems may come
our way. Truth is truth all of the time,
not just when we feel like believing
it. Perhaps this is why Jesus said, “In
this world you will have trouble. But
take heart! I have overcome the world”
(Jn. 6:33, NIV). We should also add the
apostle John’s statement concerning the overcomer, “This is the victory that
overcomes the world, even our faith” (1 Jn. 5:4, NIV, italics added).
Praise God! A life of victory is possible today as we
stay connected by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ and all that He achieved on
our behalf.
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