Victorious Life

Lesson Content

1. A perfect victorious life is the goal of Christian living. Man lost the dominion given to him by God because of sin. Yet God’s purpose remained unaltered. Even today He continues to work to restore to the fallen man a victorious life, that he may be found worthy to reign with God in eternity.

2. What is victorious life? A victorious life is one of overcoming all the trials and temptations that come against one’s spiritual life and ministry by way of sin, Satan and the world and of emerging as a conqueror through them all. It is different from that of a sanctified life (II Cor.7:1; I Thess.5:23).

3. Just as Jesus was tempted in all points (Heb. 4:15) we too must be tried in every aspect of our life in order to prove that we are overcomers. From the beginning of His ministry until His death on the cross, H e was tried. His trials were through the devil (Matt.4:1-10), His own people (Jn.6:15), His disciples (Matt.26:50; Lk.22:55-61), strangers (Lk.23:35), kings (Matt.27:11; Lk.23:15), soldiers (Matt.27:27), and passers by (Matt.27:39,40). Nevertheless He overcame in all these trials (Rev.3:21). As we go through manifold temptations, Jesus is with us to help us overcome them (Heb.2:18).

4. In a way, the 7 nations and the 31 kings whom the children of Israel had to fight against and overcome before they possess ed the land of Canaan (Deut.7:1) are a shadow of the trials we have to overcome that we may possess our heavenly inheritance.

5. How to live a victorious life? These trials and temptations that come against us are primarily from three sources: (i) sin, (ii) Satan and (iii) the world.

(i) SIN: Behind every sin is an evil spirit that is at work. This spirit brings us under bondage (Jn.8:34). When we confess our sins, Jesus cleanses and redeems us by His blood and sets us free (Jn.8:36). Again in order to be delivered from the nature of sin we have to identify ourselves with the death of Jesus at water baptism (Rom.6:4,5). It is here (at baptism) that sin, or the nature of sin is condemned in the flesh (Rom.6:6,7,12,14; 8:3) and victorious life actually begins. Thereafter we are to keep on reckoning that we are dead to sin and alive unto God, and yield our members unto God as instruments of righteousness (Rom.6:11,13), to resist sin in our mind and to fulfil righteousness or to do the will of God in our body (Heb.12:4; Rom.6:16). To live such a victorious life, we need to be led by the Holy Spirit (Rom.8:14). (ii) SATAN: Satan is called an accuser, a tempter and the author of death and a murderer. As an accuser he strives to bring condemnation upon us. As a tempter he brings temptations by way of the things of the world, just as he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. As the author of death he brings sickness and other afflictions to bind us with the fear of death and to kill us.

How to overcome Satan? (Rev.12:11):

(a) Blood of the Lamb: It is by the blood of the Lamb that we overcome Satan the “accuser of the brethren” (Rev.12:10). When we truly repent of our shortcomings with a broken and a contrite heart, the blood of Jesus pleads for us, forgives us, c leanses us and justifies us. Then we can boldly challenge the devil (Rom.8:33).

(b) The word of their testimony: We can overcome Satan the tempter when we make the Word of God our experience and learn to use it as the sword of the Spirit to resist Satan (I Jn.2:14-16).

(c) Loved not their lives unto the death: When we are prepared to lose our life, not loving our lives unto death, we can overcome Satan the author of death by putting our trust, not in ourselves, but in God Who raises the dead and in Jesus Who destroys Satan by His death, and is alive forevermore to give us life and abundant life (Jn.10:10). Jesus said, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (Jn.12:25). To resist Satan we also need a life of submitting to God in all things, a life of fasting and prayer when needed, steadfastness of faith and finally, the faith in the power that is in the name of Jesus. (iii) THE WORLD: Today the world is full of all kinds of dis tinctions of caste, colour, nationality, language etc. When we are saved, and receive the forgiveness of sins, we become the children of God (Jn.1:12). Then these distinctions begin to depart from us (Rom.2:28,29). At baptism we put on Christ and become sons of God by faith and such differences are again removed (Gal.3:26-28) and at the baptism of the Holy Spirit we are all made one body, the body of Christ (I Cor.12:13) and Christ becomes our all and in all (Col.3:11). There is also something called the spirit of the world or worldliness which we should beware of. It is this spirit that makes people imitate others and follow the evil habits, traditions, rudiments and fashions of this world. But Jesus died in order to deliver us from this evil world (Gal.1: 4). It is written, “The friendship of the world is enmity with God” (Jam.4:4). We are called to have fellowship with God and the saints, and as we grow in the love of God, the fire of His love burns up every trace of worldliness and wholly delivers us from the spirit of the world. To conclude, we can live an overcoming life by: The blood of Jesus, the Word of God, faith, love of God, power of the anointing, abiding life in prayer, being hid in Christ, putting on the mind to suffer, doing the will of God.

6. The blessing of a victorious life: When we live a victorious life we become good soldiers for Christ. The heavenly inheritances and rewards, the throne of God and the right to rule all nations with a rod of iron are granted (promised) only to the ove rcomers (Rev.2:7,11,17; 3:5,12,21). This overcoming Church is also known as the victorious manchild (Rev.12:5).

Victorious life helps us to always triumph in Jesus Christ (II Cor.2:14) and fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life and be found ready to be transformed in the twinkling of an eye when Jesus comes.