Romans 8:37- “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” NKJV
As we come to a close of this chapter, we end on a high note! We are more than conquerors!
Paul just listed the things that he has probably seen or heard, that others allowed to separate them from Christ. I know Paul thought that these things were pretty significant because even for us, they are pretty tough! Calamities happen everyday to people who love God. Heartaches and disappointments come our way. Some of these things, in the moment, seem impossible to recover from, and so it’s with sincerity of heart that Paul asked if we will allow these things to separate us from Christ’s love.
After all of that Paul states:
“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
Romans 8:37 NKJV
It’s really a big deal to be a conqueror! When you win a marathon, (or in my opinion when you are part of one), you are a conqueror! When you overcome circumstances that cause other to throw in the towel, you are a conqueror! When you beat the odds, you are a conqueror! Anyone can be a conqueror!
Napoleon Bonaparte died in 1821, and he is still considered to be one of the world’s top conquerors. He was considered to be a short man (5 ft 6 in), but when he went to war with his armies, he was a mighty man, walking tall, and feared greatly. He conquered so much land that he ruled over 70 million people as the King of Italy and the Emperor of France.
Do you recall reading about Cyrus, king of Persia in the Bible?
Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up!
2 Chronicles 36:23 NKJV
This very same Cyrus is known as Cyrus the Great, and stands amongst the greatest conquerors of the world. He not only dominated the world with his military prowess, but also with his political acumen. His empire lasted long after his death and spanned over three continents because of the structures he had in place! Not only did God use him to free His people, but God made his name great.
Alexander the Great is another well-known world conqueror and is responsible for taking down the Persian kingdom that Cyrus had built. He had these words to say about war:
“I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.”
Alexander the Great
Isn’t that something? One of the greatest conquerors known to the world said prophetically that he was afraid of an army of sheep (the people of God) led by a lion (the Lion of the tribe of Judah)! That ought to make you want to shout right now!! He had the sense to know that there was an army more powerful than his army, but we live like we have not been schooled by the leadership of the Lion!
Thinking of these mighty conquerors, and what Paul said about us is mind blowing. Paul said that we are more than conquerors. The phrase “more than conquerors” is taken from the Greek word “hypernikao” pronounced hoop-er-nik-ah’-o, and it means “to gain a surpassing victory”, or to be pre-eminently victorious! Can you see that Paul had already heard of these conquerors, and yet he said that we are more than conquerors through Jesus, who loves us! We are conquerors who surpass all other conquerors, we are pre-eminently victorious! Our victories surpass the greatest victories told, because of the love of God we experience through Jesus!
If this doesn’t make you shout, I can tell you it stirred Paul up, causing him to say:
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39 NKJV
Paul was fully convinced in his mind that the enemy hadn’t forged a weapon powerful enough to separate us from the love of God! I can visualize him strutting around his room (I walk around when I am really excited about something) shouting these words:
For I am persuaded, you don’t have any words in your vocabulary that will cause me to think otherwise, for I am persuaded! I have lived this life getting to know God in ways that I couldn’t even imagine, and I am persuaded! I have had some hard times, and I have had some good times, but I am still persuaded! The devil has attacked and tried everything he can think of to sway me from the cause of Christ, but I AM PERSUADED!
My interpretation
And as Paul gets stirred up some more, he continues:
Whether I die or whether I live, nothing is able to separate me from the love of Jesus! Whether an angel come by and try to convince me differently or demonic forces of darkness rear their ugliness, I won’t be moved. I don’t care to what heights or depths I am taken, and I don’t care what other things are innovated to pull me off course, I am persuaded. What I am experiencing and what I might go through doesn’t phase me, I am persuaded! And furthermore, I feel the same way about you! Nothing made, and nothing that can be made is able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!
My interpretation
And with these words, we conclude our time in Romans 8! I trust you are encouraged today! I believe you have committed to the same stand in the Lord that Paul committed to. But don’t be fooled into thinking that this is your license to live any kind of way. No! Paul was persuaded, and that persuasion made him totally committed to the Lord! It was from this vantage point of living his life completely and utterly engrossed in the Savior that he was able to make such a powerful declaration!
We are the sheep being led by the Lion, and we too, can be the fiercest army in the land. I leave us with these words from Joel:
A people come, great and strong, the like of whom has never been; nor will there ever be any such after them, even for many successive generations. A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is like the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; surely nothing shall escape them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; and like swift steeds, so they run. With a noise like chariots over mountaintops they leap, like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, like a strong people set in battle array.
Joel 2:2b-5 NKJV
Wonderful, wonderful Jesus!
Wonderful Jesus! 