We all wish to live a triumphant Christian life as disciples of Jesus Christ. The Bible informs us that God and His Son Jesus are victorious, and that believers can share in their triumph: "But praise be to God! "Through our Lord Jesus Christ, He grants us victory" (1 Corinthians 15:57). In practise, how can we experience the victorious life that Christ has made possible? How do we find triumph in Jesus?
Victory, in the end, belongs to the Lord our God (1 Samuel 17:47). Since the Exodus of Israel from Egypt, whenever God's people relied solely on Him, He gave them victory over their enemies (Exodus 15). The prophets of the Old Testament continually alluded to a coming Savior who would bring the fullest expression of God's triumph: "Rejoice exceedingly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Jerusalem's daughter! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, a donkey foal" (Zechariah 9:9; see also Psalm 110:1). We know that these prophecies are about Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah who has triumphed over the world (John 16:33).
At the cross, Jesus won the ultimate victory. Sin was expiated, and the power of sin and death were broken (see John 12:31 and 1 Peter 2:24). Christ rose from the dead three days after His crucifixion and burial, and we now share in His victory. With Christ's death, Satan thought he had won the ultimate battle. Instead, that death freed us from the prison of sin and neutralised the supernatural powers of evil: "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ." He forgave us all our sins by cancelling the charge of our legal indebtedness that stood against us and condemned us; he took it away by nailing it to the cross. And once he had disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (Colossians 2:13–15).
Faith in Christ is the key to achieving triumph in Jesus: "For everyone born of God triumphs over the world." This is the victory that has triumphed over the entire world, including our faith. Who is it that triumphs over the world? Only those who trust in Jesus as the Son of God" (1 John 5:4–5; also see Romans 8:37). Accepting Christ as Savior is the first step toward victory in Jesus. We accept the Lord through grace through faith, and we also live in His victory through grace through faith. Our salvation is a gift of God's grace, as is our victory in Jesus (Ephesians 2:4–8; Galatians 3:3).
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