People want to know what Jesus has done for you personally. They have the right to ask, for the life of a Believer should be transparent. Others need to see the scars from your battles. Paul tells us we conquer “through Christ who loves us” (Rom. 8:37). Christians are not redeemed just to be winners, or better than average, or mere victors, but conquerors. Paul coins a new maxim: “more than conquerors.” This phrase is one word in Greek. Hupernicomen means “to vanquish exceedingly; to gain a decisive, surpassing victory – a super conqueror.” People can conquer certain things by their own resilience, but without Jesus no one can be a super conqueror. Your true victories come through Jesus or you’ve conquered nothing at all. Overcoming Satan by the blood of the Lamb is a key theme in the book of Revelation. In fact, that entire book is about Jesus conquering Satan. We have victory over the beast, but we completely conquer him through the One who is the love of God personified (Rev.15:2).
Every Believer overcomes obstacles and wins battles. But Paul does not call us conquerors individually, but collectively. The Body of Christ continues to achieve dynamic victories through His love. The ultimate act of love on Calvary propels us forward, but His present, persistent, active love allows us to conquer the enemy every day. Paul explains this is possible because Christ is seated on God’s right hand (Rom.8:34). In Colossians 2:15, Paul affirms we can triumph over all evil powers as Jesus did. Paul is stressing the superlative victories we have in Jesus and the decisiveness of His conquests. We must follow our Commander in Chief. He may not issue us detailed war maps of our impending battles, but that doesn’t mean He doesn’t have them.
Paul does not downplay the sufferings we must undergo prior to our victories. The physical, emotional and mental stress is real. But neither does he trust in his own strength. The love of Jesus was the secret of his victory and ours as well. Nothing that happens to you as a Christian can destroy you unless you let it. Every Believer is unstoppable and undefeatable through the love of Jesus.
Paul lists things that might stop us if we did not have God’s power: distress, hardship, sorrow, troubles, pain, anguish, stress, tragedy, poverty, oppression, persecution, illness and eminent death (Rom. 8:35). Today, this could include foreclosures, layoffs, stocks that become scrap paper, drive-by shootings, car wrecks, Alzheimer’s, hospitalization, lawsuits, or kids on meth or in prison. His grace is sufficient in every situation even in worst case scenarios (I Cor. 9:25).
Super-conquering does not depend upon super faith, but on God’s super love for us. The source of our strength is not based upon how much we love Him, but upon how much He loves us (I Jn 4:19). Because our enemies are supernatural, our victory is supernatural. Jesus Christ is “the one who loved us and has washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Rev.1:5). This is the true measure of the love and power of Christ.