VICTORY IN CHRIST

Paul describes the possibilities of our victory in Christ in I Corinthians:

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:54-57)

Now, you will note that Paul is really describing OUR experience of victory in this passage. And He is quite to the point. First, he says WHO gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ – he says GOD does. So this isn’t about us figuring out a way to win victory. No. We find victory only in Christ through God. But secondly, Paul tells us WHEN victory is possible. He says that, "WHEN this corruptible shall put on incorruption…." – THAT is when. When death is swallowed up by the resurrection life of Christ – IN US – then we have HIS victory.

But practically speaking how does this work? We know that if we are IN Christ, we potentially have all victory that He has won. But can you live IN real victory just because you are saved? Nope. We know there is overcoming and a struggle. So how does the victory that is already finished in Christ Jesus become something we can experience? Well, – Jesus Christ must get victory over US. You will note that Paul says that God gives us the victory through our LORD Jesus Christ. It is when Jesus become your LORD in a situation that you begin to live in victory. In short, you cannot be lord of anything – you cannot have authority over anything – until Jesus has authority AS LORD over you.

This Truth is built into the above passage. Victory is the result of LIFE swallowing up DEATH. Thus, if you want to find life in Christ, you must lose YOUR life. You have to relinquish control over everything – by faith – and fall into His hands. Then, if you have died that death, you can live unto God. And you will live in His victory because He has victory over you.

It is amazing that so many today teach victory in Christ – almost as a THING God simply hands us – but rarely is it taught that you must lose your life TO Christ. I’m not talking about getting saved. I’m talking about losing SELF – losing your life your way. You have to put aside completely YOUR will, YOUR way, and YOUR life – and sell out completely to the will God to HIS glory. Do we actually think that we can walk in the victory of Jesus Christ upon any other basis? Jesus must become my personal Lord on every level of my inward and outward life. THAT is fundamental to my reigning and ruling WITH Him.

Here we see the futility of trying to get God to do something for us – rather than our yielding to Him for His will. You can spend years praying and praying for God to do this or that, or to give you this or that, and it may be that God is waiting for you to stop trying to get Him on board your program. He is waiting for you to get aboard HIS.

Most Christians know enough to NOT be rebellious towards God. But so many of us have been filled with bad teaching. Many have been taught that God wants to do OUR will. No. God wants to do HIS will – that is why it is HIS WILL. Of course, there is much error out there that would suggest what whatever is our will surely must be God’s will – because, we are told, God has put it on our heart. Baloney. While it is possible for God to put His will on our hearts, indeed, in the ultimate sense, God wants our will be become His will, it is a fact that sincere Christian people can be completely WRONG about the will of God. And sometimes it is not possible to know unless you first surrender your will into the hands of God and LET GO.

There is not one place in the Bible where God promises to do what WE want unless it is what HE wants. This is why Jesus told us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done." Could anything be more plain? Again – God is not sitting in heaven waiting for us to give Him orders, instructions, suggestions, information, or requests. Rather, He is continually trying to reveal to us HIS WILL for our lives.

So we see that we need to put aside what we want and surrender to God Himself. If we do, there will come a victory in Christ Jesus OVER US in any matter, and this will form the basis for God to bring to pass His will. If we were right about God’s, then we will be able to receive it on the right basis – because through surrender we are now rightly related to Him. And if we were wrong about His will, then we will be set free from our error. Either way, until Jesus Christ become our Lord through our death and resurrection on any matter, we are not going to be able to walk in victory.

For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5)

What is the victory? OUR FAITH. Not – our getting what we wanted from God. Our faith IS the victory because by faith in Jesus, Jesus becomes our living Lord. And then, because we are then rightly related to Him, our victory is over everything over which HE has victory.

Victory is IN Christ Jesus. But only if we are UNDER Him can we be OVER what He is OVER. Thus, if you want to know why there must be trials and suffering in the Christian life, this is your answer. WE must be conquered through surrender to Christ. Only then can we be, "more than conquerors through Him that loved us."

The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together…..Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (Rom 8:16-17, 35-37)

Once we come to terms with the Truth about victory, a number of clear principles emerge. First, any, "authority of the believer," is directly related to the authority of Jesus Christ over them. Authority is NOT an automatic, "power," built into salvation – although you must be IN Christ to have victory in Christ! No. You must come UNDER Him as Lord. Neither does authority come into my experience simply because I BELIEVE I have it, or because I confess it. People that teach that, "words are spiritual containers," or that you release spiritual power into your life by saying the right things, or that, "you can have what you say," – people like Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, etc., -- are teaching grave error. There is NO authority in your words simply because you are in Christ. ALL authority is in Christ Himself, and it is only if we are related to Him by being under His authority can His authority be made manifest through us.

Do you want to have spiritual authority? Do you want to be more than a conqueror? Then BECOME CONQUERED by Jesus Christ. If you do, your life will no longer belong to you. It won’t be about what you want or even about what you want to do for God. It will be about God’s will to His glory. But you will also find that this is really what you wanted – had you known Him. And your faith in Christ – or, if you will, your RELATEDNESS TO HIM – will be THE VICTORY. It will be an eternal, incorruptible victory what swallows up all death and power of the enemy.

Faith is our victory because through our faith we surrender to Him for HIS victory. It is a matter of our believing, yielding, and obeying the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ – yes, generally, but in any specific situation. Victory is achieved when God has His will IN US, and then, in our lives.