OVERCOMERS
“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” —Rev. 12:10-11
The Spirit of God informs the believer that we are facing a spiritual battle, “Not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,” or, as another translation renders it, “in the heavenlies.” The head of this campaign is identified in v. 9 as “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.” Many professing Christians, I fear, give little thought to this adversary, and some regard him as a fiction. Scripture clearly identifies both the commander and the campaign, warns us of the struggle and designates our equipment for victory in the inevitable battle, assuring us that “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds [II Cor. 10:4].” God has equipped us for victory.
The struggle faced by believers on earth is a reflection of a great spiritual conflict in heaven (Cf. Rev. 12:7), in the account of which the resources for the believer’s victory are outlined. This disclosure constitutes our nugget for today. Three basic elements are delineated.
The first is the blood of the Lamb. The blood of Jesus Christ is foundational to our victory over sin and death, both in general and in the particular conflicts we encounter after conversion. It delivers us from the judgment of God and from the subsequent harassments of Satan. When God announced His judgment of Egypt in the death of the firstborn, in the book of Exodus, He instructed the Israelites to slay a lamb for every household and to strike the blood upon the doorway of their houses to mark them as His own. Then He gave them the remarkable promise, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you [Ex. 12:13].” Israel emerged from the plague unscathed, not by might nor by merit but, by simple faith in “the blood of the lamb.” So it is with the New Testament believer; distinguished by the blood of “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world,” we triumph not by any stratagem of ours, but by the sacrifice of the Son of God. The songwriter was right; “There is wonderful power in the blood.”
For this conflict, however, there is more. “And by the word of their testimony.” That word is the believer’s agreement with, conformity to and employment of the Word of God. Instructing the Ephesians in this solemn matter, the apostle Paul describes the Christian’s armor for the conflict, which includes only one offensive weapon: “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God [Eph. 6:17].” Believers who neglect the scriptures are defeated already, and are no threat to Satan’s purposes. They have little or no significant testimony for Christ. They may, by grace, be saved, but are bound to be “ashamed before Him” when He comes.
And there is yet a third element here. “They loved not their lives unto death.” They are not necessarily literally slain for His cause, but their relationship to Him is such that if His will requires it, they are ready. This equates with a theme often heard in preaching campaigns years ago, but not so often now, “full surrender.” Most of us are, sadly, not only unprepared to die for Him, but little inclined to live for Him. “All that is in the world” allures us far more than the cause of Christ, and the progress of the gospel suffers for it.
Those whose relationship to Christ incorporates a functioning faith in His blood, a vibrant biblically based testimony for Christ and who love Him more than life itself are identified as “overcomers.” Recall the use of that term in the letters to the seven churches at the beginning of this book. “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God [2:7].” “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death [2:11].” “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it [2:17].” “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations… [2:26].” “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life… [3:5].” “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out…and I will write upon him my new name [3:12].” “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne [3:21].” Clearly, to be an overcomer can be costly but, it pays eternal dividends!
“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” —Rev. 21:7
Food for thought,
"Pastor" Frasier
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