This morning I received a text from a close friend that included a verse from Scripture and a quick comment. Here it is…
Well, my friend, it is a good one, and I’ll tell you why. It’s straightforward. The verse right before this one says we are “more than conquerors”. My NASB translated it “we overwhelmingly conquer”. Now think about this for a minute. The phrase here is actually just one word in the original text, and it is the compound word “HUPERNIKAO”
HUPER = over, beyond, and above.
NIKAO = to conquer, prevail, or overcome
NIKAO is an interesting word because it has its roots in the Greek word NIKE. This word should be familiar to us.
NIKE = victory
Now, let’s take what we have learned and make the application. I’m a pretty simple-minded man. If you tell me that someone has conquered, prevailed, or overcome someone or something else, then I would think that the fight is over and the opposition has faced obliteration. But this word is not just NIKAO; it’s HUPERNIKAO, which tells me that the victory was/is overwhelmingly one sided and that there was no chance for the other side to claim any piece of the win.
I’ve heard people say, “Satan may have won the battle, but we will win the war.” Well, I can appreciate that, but this verse teaches that the forces of evil that bring tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword don’t even win a battle. It might hurt us, scare us, or even make us question our faithfulness, but the battle belongs to the Lord, and the victory belongs to us in Christ.
Now re-read, Romans 8:37-39 again:
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For 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.
Our battle today is to keep fighting, keep working and keep winning!!!
We can do this! Just do it! Because we overwhelmingly conquer!!! (swish)
I love you!
Alex Mills