”...because everyone having been begotten out of God is conquering the world. And this is the conquest which conquers the world, our faith.”
-Nike. It means victory. Absolute conquest. It is the victory which utterly vanquishes the world. It presupposes achievement in physical or spiritual combat. We’re talking about visible superiority. Ironic, because in this instance that which gains us this visible superiority is actually unseen, and in fact it is surrender. Total victory is found in total surrender. Which is strangely appropriate for those who are sent out into the world by the Lord as sheep among wolves (Matthew 10.16). Think about that. Sheep are defenseless. Utterly defenseless. They don’t have the means to even defend themselves, much less launch any kind of assault on any would-be predator. There is no “victory” for sheep. The best sheep can normally hope for is survival, and hopefully green pastures and still waters. Jesus even called the ones He sends out, “lambs” (Luke 10.3). Baby sheep. They (we) don’t stand a chance - on our own. Not a mascot you want for your team. The probability of defeat is at least 99.9%. Yep, wolves win pretty much every time. Unless...there is a Good Shepherd. And so we ARE talking about victory, which means we must consider this One Who IS the Good Shepherd, the (would-be) Shepherd of our souls.. Victory over the world is found in surrender to the God Who made it.
-But you gotta be remade by the Maker. Reborn. Born again - that’s what Jesus talked about. Begotten not by your earthly mom and dad but by your heavenly Father. Faith, or trust - believing in Jesus - is what spawns this rebirth. And it is a surrender - the surrender of the will. The ultimate trust-fall.
-And how does being born of God help one conquer the world? How in the world does that turn a lamb into a world conqueror? In this world, Jesus said, we will have tribulation. Brokenness is guaranteed, the common lot of man. Death, disease, depravity, temptation, loss - these are attendant trials on the turbulent seas of life. But there is also the age-old struggle for universal supremacy which, while it is truly no contest, continues to be desperately waged by "the world", by those who would oppose God (and thus also oppose any who would choose His side in the battle). Opposition is guaranteed to those who thus align themselves with the Lord (John 16.33). Yet so is victory. Coming to Christ does indeed raise the level of tribulation in a person’s life (or should), but it also puts you on the winning side. When we surrender and place our faith/trust in Jesus, when we put our life in His (nail-scarred) hands, God puts us in Him. We are reborn - His life becomes our life. And His victory becomes our victory, this One Who conquered the world. Death is swallowed up in victory (1Corinthians 15.54)! In this world, we will still experience brokenness in its myriad forms, but if we have taken our stand in Jesus, in the end we will be standing next to Him, in triumphal procession, marching on to victory!
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