VICTORIOUS CHRIST AND VICTORIOUS LIVING IN BIBLE
Introduction
The
world history teaches that there were great conquerors; such as Hari Singh
Nalwa, Ghengis Khan, Alexander the great, Tarmashirin Khan, Attila the Hun, etc,. These
great people are acknowledged as conquerors of the world, because they had
faced the adversaries, fought and they had overcome. But they all are defeated
by the last enemy (death). They were and no more they are. According to the Holy Bible, Christ has
conquered the last enemy (death) for His people. He is victorious Christ. Now each person who is in
Christ is a conqueror. They are supposed to live a victorious life. But sometimes Christians also live like the defeated one
because of the inattention of the God’s provision for the victorious life. In
this article, I have shortly described that how to be a conqueror?
Meaning and Definition
The
word “conqueror” means defeater, subjugator or captor that came from the verb “conquer” which
means overcome or triumph over (a problem or weakness). This word is defined as
“a person, who wins a country in war, subdues or subjugates a people, or
overcomes an adversary.”
A
Christian faces an adversary each and every step of his/her life. Someone said
it correctly that everyone is in the battle field. And about the battle,
Apostle Paul said that “... our battle is
not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heaven” (Eph. 6:12). The enemy is an undetected. But there is the
divine armor that helps a Christian to stand firm and to face and overcome
this invisible enemy. And our victorious Christ is with us.
The Divine Armor
The
apostle Paul writes to Ephesians to be strong, he encourage them to put on the Armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18).
Armor means nothing but protecting covering. The Christian armor is made to
be worn; and there is no putting off. The combat is neither against human
enemies, nor against own corrupt nature only; it has to do with an enemy who has
a thousand ways of beguiling unstable souls. So a Christian must be well armed,
make use of all the proper defensives and weapons for repelling the temptations
and stratagems of Satan - get and exercise the whole armor, that no part be
naked and exposed to the enemy.”
It
is really great to know that there are seven pieces of divine armor. The
number seven (7) has played significance role in the Bible. From the
seven days of creation to the many sevens in the book of Revelation, this
number connotes such concepts as completion and perfection, exoneration and
healing and the fulfilment of promises and oaths. Therefore, the divine armor
is the complete armor that is given to the Christians. The apostle specifies the
particular of this armor as defensive. Below are the seven pieces of the divine armor:
v Truth
or sincerity is the belt; God desires truth, that is, sincerity, in the inward
parts. This is the strength of Christian’s loins; and it girds on all other
pieces of the armor, and therefore is first mentioned. There is no religion
without sincerity. So truth or sincerity is the Christian soldier's belt.
v Righteousness
is the breast-plate. The breast-plate secures the vitals, shelters the
heart. The righteousness of Christ imputed to us is our breast-plate against
the arrows of divine wrath. The righteousness of Christ implanted in us is our
breast-plate to fortify the heart against the attacks which Satan makes against
us. The apostle explains this in 1Th. 5:8, Putting on the breast-plate of faith
and love. These will infer a diligent observance of a Christian’s duty to God,
and a righteous deportment towards men, in all the offices of justice, truth,
and charity.
v Resolution
is the greaves to our legs and to stand their ground or to march
forward in rugged paths, the feet must be shod with the preparation of the gospel
of peace. Motives to obedience, amidst trials, must be drawn from a clear
knowledge of the gospel.
v Faith
is the shield. It is all in all in an hour of temptation. Faith, as
relying on unseen objects, receiving Christ and the benefits of redemption, and
so deriving grace from him, is like a shield, a defence every way. The devil is
the wicked one. Violent temptations, by which the soul is set on fire of hell,
are darts Satan shoots at us. Also, hard thoughts of God, and as to ourselves.
Faith applying the word of God and the grace of Christ quenches the darts of
temptation.
v Salvation
is the helmet. A good hope of salvation, a Scriptural expectation of
victory, will purify the soul, and keep it from being defiled by Satan.
v The
Word
of God is the sword of the Spirit. To the
Christian armed for defence in battle, the apostle recommends only one weapon
of attack; but it is enough, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
It subdues and mortifies evil desires and blasphemous thoughts as they rise within;
and answers unbelief and error as they assault from without. A single text,
well understood, and rightly applied, at once destroys a temptation or an
objection, and subdues the most formidable adversary.
v Prayer
is the buckle on all the other parts of our Christian armor. There
are other duties of religion, and of our stations in the world, but we must
keep up times of prayer. We must pray with all kinds of prayer, public,
private, and secret; social and solitary; solemn and sudden: with all the parts
of prayer; confession of sin, petition for mercy, and thanksgiving for favors
received. And we must do it by the grace of God the Holy Spirit, in dependence
on, and according to, his teaching. Our enemies are mighty, and we are without
strength, but our Redeemer is almighty, and in the power of his mighty we may
overcome.
The Divine Power
The
divine armor gives confident to face the adversary, and the divine power
facilitate to conquer the adversary. The divine power is nothing but God’s love
for Christians. Apostle Paul mentioned in writing to Romans 8:35-37 “Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or danger, or sword? ... but in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us.” These are the weapons uses by the
adversary to defeat Christians. But in all these things Christians are not just
the conquerors but more than conquerors. It is because of the Love of God;
which sent the Christ to this world, cause to death and resurrected Him on the
third day for our sake. This great love of God is the power for every
Christian.
Conclusion
To
be a conqueror, therefore, a person must put on the full armor of God which
apostle Paul encourages to the church of Ephesians. It is called the armor of
God, because He (God) both prepares and bestows it. And a person must stay on in the love of God
till the end of life. When above things are practiced in a person’s life he/she
is the conqueror. And without these a person cannot be a Conqueror.
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