We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37)
More than a conqueror . . . it seems like such a lofty concept. I can’t even fully wrap my head around being a conqueror, but Paul says that I transcend the lowly level of the conqueror. More than . . . These words are so emphatic, and Paul is so sure of himself. But why is it so hard for me to fully experience this? Most of the time I feel like less than a contender, rather than more than a conqueror.
I remember watching boxing a lot growing up. I loved watching Mike Tyson knock people out. It seemed like he was going to be the champion forever. He was taking people out in seconds. Do you remember what he did to Michael Spinks? Spinks was undefeated prior to that match. In fact, he had never even been knocked down before. Tyson knocked him out in 90 seconds. It was unbelievable!
Tyson was unstoppable, untouchable, and no one could even stand in the ring with him . . . until a no-named boxer named James (the Buster) Douglas caught him slipping one day and knocked him out. I remember being devastated when Tyson went down. Our champion had fallen, and to a non-contender. Douglas wasn’t supposed to win by any stretch of the imagination. Douglas wasn’t even on the map! Douglas was just one of those fights that they throw at champions to give them a few easy wins before they face off with the actual contenders. The real contender who was waiting in the wings, was a man named Evander Holyfield. And in fact, Holyfield made quick work of Douglas when they met for Douglas’ first attempt to defend his heavy weight title.
The world of boxing teaches us that . . .
1. No one is undefeatable.
2. Every title won must be defended.
3. The little guy will sometimes surprise us and the big guy will sometimes disappoint us.
4. Another champion will always arise.
But Paul’s teaching tells us that for the believer these rules do not apply. We are not champions, we are more than conquerors. A champion can be defeated and stripped of his belt, but to be more than a conqueror means to be beyond contention. There are no contenders against the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no foe that may arise and strip us of the victory of Christ.
We must stand our ground against the wiles of the devil, but we do so knowing that we cannot be knocked down, we cannot be knocked out, we cannot be defeated, we cannot be stripped of our title. We are beyond the fray, we transcend the fight. The bell has rung, and Jesus has emerged victorious.
All we have to do . . . is believe that.
