27. More than a Conqueror (Romans 8:37)
NKJ: Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
AMP: Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.
NIV: No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
BUT IN ALL THESE THINGS WE OVERWHELMINGLY CONQUER: all en toutois pasin hupernikomen (1PPAI): (2 Chr 20:25-27; Isaiah 25:8; 1 Cor 15:54,57; 2 Cor 2:14; 12:9,19; 1 Jn 4:4; 1 Jn 5:4,5; Rev 7:9,10; 11:7-12; 12:11; 17:14; 21:7)
But
(
In all these things - Paul is not overlooking one thing! Note carefully in the midst of the tribulation, in the midst of the distress, etc (see notes Romans 8:35; 36), the following is still true.
Denny comments that Paul has just mentioned a list of trials and a descriptive summation of them from Psalm 44:22 and now is saying...
these trials no only do not cut us off from Christ's love, they actually give us more intimate and thrilling experiences of it. (Nicoll, W Robertson, Editor: Expositors Greek Testament: 5 Volumes. Out of print. Search Google)
Hodge comments that...
In these verses the apostle’s confidence is expressed in the strongest language. He heaps words together to show the absolute inability of all created things, separately or together, to frustrate the purpose of God or to turn away his love from those whom he has determined to save. (Hodge, C. Romans. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, 1835)
Haldane notes that...
The sufferings of believers
above enumerated, which, as the Apostle had just shown, verify the truth of the
ancient predictions of the word of God, shall not separate them from the love of
Christ, but, on the contrary, are to them the sources of the greatest benefits.
In the Apostle Peter we see the weakness of all human affection and resolutions
("Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You." All the disciples
said the same thing too. -
Spurgeon takes us
back to the previous verses in the opening remarks of his sermon on
Look attentively at the champion. It needs no stretch of imagination to conceive this place to be a Roman amphitheatre. There in the midst of the arena stands the hero. The great doors of the lion’s dens are lifted up by machinery, and as soon as the lairs are open, rushing forth with fury come bears and lions, and wild beasts of all kinds, that have been starved into ferocity, with which the champion is to contend. Such was the Christian in Paul’s day, such is he now. The world is the theater of conflict: angels and devils look on; a great cloud of witnesses view the fight-and monsters are let loose against him, with whom he must contend triumphantly.
The apostle gives us a little summary of the evils with which we must fight, and he places first, “tribulation.”
The word “tribulation,” in the Latin, signifies threshing, and God’s people are often cast upon the threshing-floor to be beaten with the heavy flail of trouble; but they are more than conquerors, since they lose nothing but their straw and chaff, and the pure wheat is thus separated from that which was of no benefit to it. The original Greek word, however, suggests pressure from without. It is used in the case of persons who are bearing heavy burdens, and are heavily pressed upon. Now, believers have had to contend with outward circumstances more or less in all ages. At the present day, there are very few who do not at some time or other in their lives meet with outward pressure, either from sickness or from loss of goods, or from bereavements, or from some other of the thousand and one causes from which affliction springs. The Christian has not a smooth pathway. “In the world, ye shall have tribulation,” is a sure promise, which never fails of fulfillment. But under all burdens, true believers have been sustained, no afflictions have ever been able to destroy their confidence in God. It is said of the palm-tree, that the more weights they hang upon it the more straight and the more lofty doth it tower towards heaven; and it is so with the Christian. Like Job, he is never so glorious as when he has passed through the loss of all things, and at last rises from his dunghill more mighty than a king. Brethren, you must expect to meet with this adversary so long as you are here; and if you now suffer the pressure of affliction, remember you must overcome it, and not yield to it. Cry unto the strong for strength, that your tribulation may work out for you patience, and patience experience, and experience hope that maketh not ashamed.
The next in the list is “distress.” I find that the Greek word rather refers to mental grief than to anything external. It is I, be not afraid;” and though the outward tribulation and the inward distress meet together like two contending seas, they shall both be calmed by the power of the Lord Jesus.
The third evil the apostle mentions is “persecution,” which has always fallen upon the genuine lovers of Christ; their good name has been slandered. Suffice it to say, there is no crime in the category of vice which has not been falsely laid to the door of the followers of the pure and holy Jesus. Yet slander did not crush the church; the fair name of Christianity outlived the reputation of the men who had the effrontery to accuse her. Imprisonment followed slander, but in prisons God’s saints have sung like birds in cages, better than when they were in the fields of open liberty. Prisons have glowed into palaces, and been sanctified into the dwelling places of God himself, more sacred far than all the consecrated domes of gorgeous architecture. Persecution, in all its forms, has fallen upon the Christian church, and up to this moment it has never achieved a triumph, but it has been an essential benefit to the church, for it cleared her of hypocrisy; when cast into the fire the pure gold lost nothing but its dross and tin, which it might well be glad to lose.
Then the apostle adds “famine.” We are not exposed to this evil so much nowadays; but, in Paul’s time, those who were banished, frequently were carried to places where they could not exercise their handicraft to earn their bread. They were taken away from their situations, from their friends, from their acquaintance; they suffered the loss of all their goods, and consequently they did not know where to find even the necessary sustenance for their bodies; Ah! my friend, we shall then see whether you have the faith that can conquer famine; that can look gaunt hunger in the face; look through the ribs of the skeleton, and yet say, “Ah! famine itself I will bear sooner than sell my conscience, and stain my love to Christ.”
Then comes nakedness, another terrible form of poverty. The Christian banished from house to house, and prevented from working at his trade, was not able to procure necessary funds, and therefore his garments gradually fell to rags, and the rags one by one disappeared. At other times the persecutors stripped men and women naked, to make them yield to shame; but nakedness, even in the case of the most tender and sensitive spirits, though such have been exposed to this evil in the olden days, has been unable to daunt the unconquerable spirit of the saints. There are stories in the old martyrologies of men and women who have had to suffer this indignity; and it is reported by those who looked on, that they never seemed to be so gloriously arrayed; for when they were stood naked before the whole bestial throng, that they might gaze upon them with their cruel eyes, their very bodies seemed to glow with glory, as with calm countenance they surveyed their enemies, and gave themselves up to die.
The apostle mentions next to nakedness, peril-that is, constant exposure to sudden death. This was the life of the early Christian. “We die daily,” said the apostle. They were never sure of a moment’s mercy, for a new edict might come forth from the Roman emperor to sweep the Christians away. They went literally with their lives in their hands wherever they went. Some of their perils were voluntarily encountered for the spread of the gospel; perils by rivers and by robbers were the lot of the Christian missionary going through inhospitable climes to declare the gospel. Other perils were the result of persecution; but we are told here that believers in Jesus so steadily reposed upon Christ’s love, that they did not feel peril to be peril; and the love of Christ so lifted them up above the ordinary thoughts of flesh and blood, so that even when perils became perils indeed, they entered upon them with joy, out of love to their Lord and Master.
And to close the list, as if there were a sort of perfection in these evils, the seventh thing is the sword, that is to say, the apostle Paul singles out one cruel form of death as a picture of the whole. Ye know, and I need not tell you, how the noble army of my Master’s martyrs have given their necks to the sword, as cheerfully as the bride upon the marriage day gives her hand to the bridegroom. Ye know how they have gone to the stake and kissed the fagots; how they have sung on the way to death, though death was attended with the most cruel torments; and have rejoiced with exceeding great joy, even to leaping and dancing at the thought of being counted worthy to suffer for Christ’s sake. The apostle tells us that the saints have suffered all these things put together. He does not say in some of these things we are conquerors, but in all; many believers literally passed through outward want, inward trial, persecution, want of bread, want of raiment, the constant hazard of life, and at last laid down life itself; and yet in every case through the whole list of these gloomy fights, believers were more than conquerors. Beloved, this day you are not, the most of you, called to peril, or nakedness, or sword: if ye were, my Lord would give you grace to bear the test; but I think the troubles of a Christian man, at the present moment, though not outwardly so terrible, are yet more hard to bear than even those of the fiery age. We have to bear the sneer of the world-that is little; its blandishments, its soft words, its oily speeches, its fawning, its hypocrisy, are far worse. O sirs, your danger is lest you grow rich and become proud, lest you give yourselves up to the fashions of this present evil world, and lose your faith. If you cannot be torn in pieces by the roaring lion, you may be hugged to death by the bear, and the devil little cares which it is so long as he gets your love to Christ out of you, and destroys your confidence in him. I fear me that the Christian church is far more likely to lose her integrity in these soft and silken days than she was in those rough times. Are there not many professing Christians whose methods of trade are just as vicious as the methods of trade of the most shifty and tricky of the unconverted? Have we not some professed Christians who are worldly altogether? whose non-attendance at our meetings for prayer, whose want of liberality to Christ’s cause, whose entire conduct indeed proves that if there be any grace in them at all, it is not the grace which conquers the world, but the pretended grace which lets the world put its foot upon its neck. We must be awake now; for we traverse the enchanted ground, and are more likely to be ruined than ever, unless our faith in Jesus be a reality, and our love to Jesus a vehement flame. We are likely to become bastards and not sons, tares and not wheat, hypocrites with fair vineyards, but not the true living children of the living God. Christians, do not think that these are times in which you can dispense with watchfulness or with holy ardor; you need these things more now than ever, and may God the eternal Spirit display his omnipotence in you, that you may be able to say, in all these softer things as well as in the rougher, “We are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Romans 8:37 More Than Conquerors Pdf)
Overwhelmingly conquer (5245) (hupernikao from hupér = above, degree which is beyond that of a compared scale of extent = more than, to a greater degree than, beyond + nikáo = to conquer, overcome, carry off the victory, come off victorious) (present tense) means to come off more than victorious or to gain a surpassing victory.
It describes one who is super-victorious, who wins more than an ordinary victory, and who is overpowering in achieving abundant victory. It describes a lopsided victory in which the enemy or opponent is completely routed. This is not the language of conceit, but of confidence in Christ. Christ’s love conquered death, and because of His love, we are can be more than conquerors through Him.
Vincent says the idea is...
A victory which is more than a victory.
Meyer says the idea is...
A holy arrogance of victory in the might of Christ.
W. B. J. Martin said that...
Hate can make a man a conqueror, can fill him with furious energy, but only love can make him more-than-conqueror
Bauer affirms that the verb hypernikao used here is a heightened form of "conquer" and suggests the translation "We are winning a most glorious victory." Is is also rendered "We win the supreme victory through him who loved us."
Robert Haldane writes that more than conquerors...
This is a strong expression, but in its fullest import it is strictly true. The Christian not only overcomes in the worst of his trials, but more than overcomes his adversaries, and all those things which seem to be against him. It is possible to overcome, and yet obtain no advantage from The contest, nay, to find the victory a loss. But the Christian not only vanquishes, he is also a gainer by the assault of his enemy. It is better for him than if he had not been called to suffer. He is a gainer and a conqueror, both in the immediate fruits of his sufferings, as God overrules them for his good, bringing him forth from the furnace as gold refined, and also in their final issue; for “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
The term conquerors reminds us that the life of a believer is a warfare, in which he is called to combat, both within and without.
We may remark, too, the difference between the judgment of God, and the judgment of men, respecting the victory of believers. In the world, persecutors and oppressors are judged as the conquerors; but here, those are pronounced to be such, who are oppressed and persecuted. They are the servants of Him whom the world put to death, but who said to His disciples, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (Haldane, R. An Exposition on the Epistle to the Roman. Ages Classic Commentaries)
Spurgeon asks and answers how Christians are more than conquerors...
The word in the original is one of the apostle Paul’s strong expressions; it might be rendered, “more exceeding conquerors.” The Vulgate, I think, has a word in it which means, “over over-comers,” over and above conquering.
For a Christian to be a conqueror is a great thing: how can he be more than a conqueror?
I think in many respects, first, a Christian is better than some conquerors because the power by which he overcomes is nobler far. Here is a champion just come from the Greek games; he has well nigh killed his adversary in a severe boxing match, and he comes in to receive the crown. Now, see the Christian champion coming from the fight, having won the victory! Look at him! He has overcome human wisdom; but when I look at him, I perceive no learning nor cunning: he is a simple, unlettered person, who just knows that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners; yet he has won the victory over profound philosophers: then he is more than a conqueror. He has been tempted and tried in all sorts of ways, and he was not at all a crafty person; he was very weak, yet somehow he has conquered. Now this is being more than a conqueror, when weakness overcomes strength, when brute force is baffled by gentleness and love. This is victory indeed, when the little things overcome the great things; when the base things of this world overthrow the mighty; and the things that are not bring to nought the things that are: yet this is just the triumph of grace. The Christian is, viewed according to the eye of sense, weak as water; yet faith knows him to be irresistible. According to the eye of sense, he is a thing to be trampled upon, for he will not resist; and yet, in the sight of God, he becomes in this very way, by his gentleness and patience, more than a conqueror.
The Christian is more than a
conqueror again, because the conqueror fights for victory-fights with some
selfish motive. Even
if the motive be patriotism, although from another point of view, patriotism is
one of the highest of worldly virtues, yet it is only a magnificent selfishness
by which one contends for one’s own country, instead of being subject to the far
more generous cosmopolite thought of caring for all men. But the Christian
fights neither for any set of men nor for himself: in contending for truth he
contends for all men, but especially for God; and in suffering for the right he
suffers with no prospect of earthly gain. He becomes more than a conqueror, both
by the strength with which he fights and the motives by which he is sustained,
which are better than the motives and the strength which sustain other
conquerors.
He is more than a conqueror, because he loses nothing even by the fight itself.
When a battle is won, at any rate the winning side loses something. In most
wars, the gain seldom makes any recompense for the effusion of blood; but the
Christian’s faith, when tried, grows stronger; his patience, when tempted,
becomes more patient. His graces are like the fabled Anteus, who, when thrown to
the ground, sprang up stronger than before, by touching his mother earth; for
the Christian, by touching his God and falling down in helplessness into the
arms of the Most High, grows stronger by all that he is made to suffer. He is
more than a conqueror, because he loses nothing even by the fight, and gains
wondrously by the victory.
He is more than a conqueror over persecution, because most conquerors have to struggle and agonize to win the conquest. But, my brethren, many Christians, ay, and all Christians, when their faith in Christ is strong, and their love to Christ is fervent, have found it even easy to overcome suffering for the Lord. Look at Blandina, enveloped in a net, tossed upon the horns of bulls, and then made to sit in a red hot iron chair to die, and yet unconquered to the close. What did the tormentors say to the emperor- “Oh! emperor,” said the tormentors, “we are ashamed, for these Christians mock us while they suffer thy cruelties.” Indeed, the tormentors often seemed to be themselves tormented; they were worried to think they could not conquer timid women and children. They devoured their own hearts with rage; like the viper, which gnaws at the file, they broke their teeth against the iron strength of Christian faith; they could not endure it, because these people suffered without repining, endured without retracting, and glorified Christ in the fires without complaining. I love to think of Christ’s army of martyrs, ay, and of all his church, marching over the battle-field, singing as they fight, never ceasing the song, never suffering a note to fall, and at the same time advancing from victory to victory; chanting the sacred hallelujah while they tramp over their foes. I saw one day upon the lake of Orta, in northern Italy, on some holy-day of the church of Rome, a number of boats coming from all quarters of the lake towards the church upon the central islet of the lake, and it was singularly beautiful to hear the splash of the oars and the sound of song as the boats came up in long processions, with all the villagers in them, bearing their banners, to the appointed place of meeting. As the oars splashed they kept time to the rowers, and the rowers never missed a stroke because they sang, neither was the song marred because of the splash of the oars, but on they came, singing and rowing: and so has it been with the church of God. That oar of obedience, and that other oar of suffering-the church has learned to ply both of these, and to sing as she rows: “Thanks be unto God, who always maketh us to triumph in every place!” Though we be made to suffer, and be made to fight, yet we are more than conquerors, because we are conquerors even while fighting; we sing even in the heat of the battle, waving high the banner, and dividing the spoil even in the center of the fray. When the fight is hottest, we are then there most happy; and when the strife is sternest, then most blessed; and when the battle grows most arduous, then, “calm ’mid the bewildering cry, confident of victory.” Thus the saints have been in those respects more than conquerors.
More than conquerors I hope, this day, because they have conquered their enemies by doing them good, converting their persecutors by their patience. To use the old Protestant motto, the church has been the anvil, and the world has been the hammer; and though the anvil has done nothing but bear the stroke, she has broken all the hammers, as she will do to the world’s end. All true believers who really trust in Jesus’ love, and are really fired with it, will be far more glorious than the Roman conqueror when he drove his milk white steeds through the imperial city’s streets; then the young men and maidens, matrons and old men gathered to the windows and chimney-tops, and scattered flowers upon the conquering legions as they came along; but what is this compared with the triumph which is going on even now as the great host of God’s elect come streaming through the streets of the New Jerusalem? What flowers are they which angels strew in the path of the blessed? What songs are those which rise from yonder halls of Zion, conjubilant with song as the saints pass along to their everlasting habitations?
And they who, with their
Leader,
Have conquered in the fight,
For ever and for ever,
Are clad in robes of white.
THROUGH HIM WHO LOVED US: dia tou agaphesantos (AAPMSG) hemas: (Gal 2:20; Eph 5:2,25-27; 2 Th 2:16; 1 Jn 4:10,19; Jude 1:24; Rev1:5)
The
previous chapters (especially
Through (1228) (dia) is a preposition denoting instrumentality, the means by which something is accomplished. The "instrument" by which sinners overwhelmingly conquer is Jesus Christ our Lord.
Below is a selection of Scriptures that relate to this great truth of through Him...
A
Simple Study...
"Through Him"
Consider the following simple study - observe and record the wonderful truths that accrue through Him - this would make an edifying, easy to prepare Sunday School lesson - then take some time to give thanks for these great truths by offering up a sacrifice of praise...through Him.
John 1:3 [NIV reads "through Him"], John 1:7, John 1:10,Jn 3:17, Jn 14:6, Acts 3:16, Acts 7:25, Acts 10:43, Acts 13:38-39, Romans 5:9 [note], Romans 8:37 [note], Romans 11:36 [note]; 1Cor 8:6, Ephesians 2:18 [note], Philippians 4:13 [note], Colossians 1:20 [note], Colossians 2:15 [note], Colossians 3:17 [note], Hebrews 7:25 [note], Hebrews 13:15 [note], 1 Peter 1:21 [note], 1John 4:9
Would you like more study on the wonderful topic of through Him? Click the NT uses of the parallel phrase through Jesus or see (John 1:17, Acts 10:36, Romans 1:8, Romans 5:1; 5:2 Romans 5:21, Romans 7:25, Romans 16:27, Gal 1:1, Ephesians 1:5, Philippians 1:11, Titus 3:6, Hebrews 13:21, 1 Peter 2:5, 1 Peter 4:11, Jude 1:25)
All things are from Him, through Him and to Him. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Who loved us - Note the tense points to the past, which directs our attention to His love expressed on the Cross, the great demonstration of His love.
William Newell comments on this phrase writing that
It is this past tense gospel the devil hates . . . Let a preacher be continually saying, ‘God loves you, Christ loves you,’ and he and his congregation will by and by be losing sight of both their sinner hood and of the substitutionary atonement of the cross, where the love of God and of Christ was once for all and supremely set forth." (Romans 8: Expository Notes Verse by Verse)
Paul associates Christ's love for us with His death on the Cross in Ephesians, exhorting the saints to...
walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for (huper - speaks of His substitutionary death in our place) us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (See note Ephesians 5:2)
Compare
Paul's command in
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her (See note Ephesians 5:25)
And in Galatians Paul associates Christ's love with Calvary's love declaring...
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. (See note Galatians 2:20)
In the Revelation John writes...
...To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood (See note Revelation 1:5)
Because
our Lord both saves and keeps us, we do much more than simply endure and survive
the ominous circumstances Paul mentions in v35.
First of all, we overwhelmingly conquer by coming out of troubles stronger than
when they first threatened us. Paul has just declared that, by His divine grace
and power, God causes everything, including the very worst things, to work for
the good of His children (8:28). Even when we suffer because of our own
sinfulness or unfaithfulness, our gracious Lord will bring us through with a
deeper understanding of our own unrighteousness and of His perfect
righteousness, of our own faithlessness and of His steadfast faithfulness, of
our own weakness and of His great power.
Second, we overwhelmingly conquer because our ultimate reward will far surpass
whatever earthly and temporal loss we may suffer. (Ro 8:17,18) With Paul, we
should view even the most terrible circumstance as but “momentary, light
affliction” that produces “for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all
comparison” (2Cor 4:17).
From the human perspective, of course, the over-conquest God promises often
seems a long time in coming. But when, as true believers, we go through times of
testing, whatever their nature or cause, we come out spiritually refined by our
Lord. Instead of those things separating us from Christ, they will bring us
closer to Him. His grace and glory will rest on us and we will grow in our
understanding of His will and of the sufficiency of His grace. While we wait for
Him to bring us through the trials, we know that He says to us what He said to
Paul in (2Cor 12:9).
Jesus is the representative man for His people. The Head has triumphed, and the members share in the victory. While a man's head is above the water you cannot drown his body.
C H
Spurgeon (Morning
and Evening) has the following practical thoughts on
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. - We go to Christ for forgiveness, and then too often look to the law for power to fight our sins. Paul thus rebukes us,
"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?"
Take your sins to Christ's cross, for the Old Man (see note) can only be crucified there: we are crucified with Him. The only weapon to fight sin with is the spear which pierced the side of Jesus.
To give an illustration-you want to overcome an angry temper, how do you go to work? It is very possible you have never tried the right way of going to Jesus with it. How did I get salvation? I came to Jesus just as I was, and I trusted him to save me. I must kill my angry temper in the same way? It is the only way in which I can ever kill it. I must go to the cross with it, and say to Jesus, "Lord, I trust thee to deliver me from it." This is the only way to give it a death-blow. Are you covetous? Do you feel the world entangle you?
You may struggle against this evil so long as you please, but if it be your besetting sin, you will never be delivered from it in any way but by the blood of Jesus. Take it to Christ. Tell him,
"Lord, I have trusted thee, and thy name is Jesus, for thou dost save thy people from their sins; Lord, this is one of my sins; save me from it!"
Ordinances are nothing without Christ as a means of mortification. Your prayers, and your repentances, and your tears-the whole of them put together-are worth nothing apart from him. "None but Jesus can do helpless sinners good;" or helpless saints either. You must be conquerors through him who hath loved you, if conquerors at all. Our laurels must grow among his olives in Gethsemane.
Spurgeon wrote...
The diamonds of divine promises
glisten brightly when placed in the setting of personal trials. I thank God that
I have undergone fearful depression. I know the borders of despair and the
horrible brink of that dark gulf into which my feet have almost gone. Because of
this, I have been able to help brothers and sisters in the same condition. I
believe that the Christian’s darkest and most dreadful experiences will lead
them to follow Christ and become fishers of men (Mark 1:17). Keep close to
your Lord and He will make every step a blessing.
The Holy Scripture is full of narratives of trials. Your life will be as
garnished with trials, like a rose is with thorns, but provision is made in the
Word for Satan’s assaults. Confidently believe that Scripture’s wise plan is not
in vain. You will have to battle the same spiritual foes that assailed and
buffeted saints in days past, but spiritual armor will be your safeguard in
times of attack (Eph. 6:11).
As the Spirit sanctifies us in spirit, soul, and body, we become more like the
Master. We are conformed to Him not only in holiness and spirituality, but also
in our experience of conflict, sorrow, agony, and triumph. Jesus was in all
points tempted as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15). Now we are to be made
like Him. The Savior’s public life begins and ends with trials. It commences in
the wilderness in a contest with Satan (Matt. 4:1), and it ends in Gethsemane
in a dreadful battle with the powers of darkness (John 17). The gloom of the
desert deepens into the midnight darkness of the cross to show that we also must
begin and end our lives with trials.
If the Lord’s victory was won on Golgotha in blood and wounds, surely our crown
will not be won without wrestling and overcoming. We must fight if we would
reign, and through the same conflicts that brought the Savior His crown, we will
obtain the palm-branch of everlasting victory (Rev. 7:9).
G Campbell Morgan comments that...
To conquer is to subdue; that is, to master, to overcome, in the sense of defeating as attack. To conquer tribulation would be to put an end to it; to conquer anguish would be to replace it by goy; to conquer persecution would be to turn it into patronage; to conquer famine would be to provide food; to conquer nakedness would be to provide clothing; to conquer peril would be to secure safety; to conquer the sword would be to destroy the sword. In all these things Paul says we are "more than conquerors." This does not mean that, in the senses referred to, we conquer, and more. On the contrary, it may mean that we do not conquer at all, but that we do more, we wrest from defeat values that could never be gained by conquest. Enduring tribulation, we are thereby brought, through patience and proving, to the hope that is not put to shame. Experiencing anguish, we are having fellowship with the suffering which saves. Bearing persecution, we are demonstrating the meaning of true godliness. Suffering hunger, we ,are proving that man does not live by bread alone. In nakedness, we reveal the beauty of spiritual adorning. Living amid perils, we are revealing the power of our Lord. Dying by the sword, we are demonstrating the weakness of the sword. This is more-than-conquering, and it is only possible "through Him that loved us." (Morgan, G. C. Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible)