More Than Conquerors

Bulletin

John A McKee
08/16/20 - The Invincible Army

Imagine a king with an army that is invincible. All the combined military might in the world is incapable of defeating him. When he goes into battle, some of his soldiers are killed, but when the battle is won, all of his fallen warriors are resurrected to celebrate the victory with their king and their cohorts!

If this were the plot of a story about a physical army, it would be science fiction. As it turns out, this is an accurate description of the kingdom of Christ. Jesus admitted to Pilate that He was a king, but He was quick to point out that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36).

Soldiers of Christ in every generation are at war, and this generation is no exception. But the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh (2 Corinthians 10:4). The sword we wield is the word of God and our armor includes truth, righteousness, faith and the hope of eternal salvation (Ephesians 6:14-17). Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). We fight Christ’s battles by destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God; by taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Against this backdrop, the apostle Paul, in Romans 8:31-39, describes our original premise: an invincible army whose fallen find death to be but a minor inconvenience before the ultimate and inevitable victory celebration. While the forces of wickedness try to accuse and condemn, their impotence is exposed; the soldiers of Christ have been justified by the blood sacrifice of their King. While enemies of the cross attempt to separate us from the love of Christ through tribulation, distress, persecution and even the sword, they are abject failures. “In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (v. 37).

Paul gives us the key to our invincibility in verse 31: “If God is for us, who is against us?” Because we are enlisted in the army of the Creator, Paul could write, “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vs. 38-39).

It is true that I must exercise self-control to avoid disqualifying myself (1 Corinthians 9:27). But as long as I remain a faithful soldier of Christ, there is no created being who can touch the loving relationship I share with my King. No matter what life may bring, I can be victorious in Christ, and so can you.