Romans 8:37 – Victorious Suffering!
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Truth to Learn
Though we suffer for Him, we conquer through Him.
Behind the Words
Paul starts off this verse with the Greek word alla, which is a contrastive conjunction. In other words, he is contrasting this thought with the one(s) just expressed.
The Greek verb translated, “are more than conquerors” is hupernikaō, which is a compound word made up or huper (or hyper) meaning “over or above in position or degree” and nikaō, which means “to be victorious or to win a battle.” In other words, we are not simply victorious; we are hyper-victorious or super-victorious! And this verb is in the present, active, indicative tense, meaning that it is continuous present action (we are continually conquering).
Meaning Explained
Although this verse is short, it is packed with meaning. Paul just quoted a passage from the Book of Psalms saying:
Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. (Psalms 44:22)
His purpose in quoting this passage is to point out the fact that we are being persecuted, and we are suffering because we are identified with Him.
But (alla) – Paul is now making a contrasting point. Even though we are being treated like slaughter-house sheep, we are suffering for Him, and some of us are even dying for Him; “we more than conquer.” Notice that these four words are translated from a verb, not a noun. It is not so much a state of being (we are conquerors), although our translation makes it sound like that, as it is a description of our action (we hyper-conquer through Him). Even though we may suffer, or even die for our faith, we are conquering!
And what is the source of the victory power that we have? It is “Him who loved us.” We are victorious through the One who foreknew us, who choose us, who sanctified us, who justified us, who adopted us as His own children, and who loved us with a self-sacrificing agape love! We are victorious through the One who suffered in our place, who shed His blood on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, who rose from the dead, and is alive forever more. We are victorious through the One with whom we are sealed, who is the guarantee of our salvation, who is our teacher, and who is our comforter in the midst of trials.
Yes, we are in a spiritual war. We did not choose this war, but we are in it nonetheless. Not only do we conquer our spiritual enemy when we endure our sufferings in the name of Christ, but ultimately we conquer the final enemy, death. On the other side of our physical death, we will sing a victory song standing in the presence of the One who purchased that victory for us.
Application
Have you suffered for your faith or your testimony? Are you suffering now because you are known as one of God’s chosen children (the world calls us “religious” people)? Remember that right now you are more than conquering and one day soon you will sing the victory song and receive the victor’s crown! Praise God for your suffering! He will receive the glory!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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