AN OVERCOMING LIFE

At Calvary, Jesus stripped the devil of all power and authority. When Christ arose victorious from the grave, He led an innumerable host of redeemed captives out of Satan’s grasp, and that blood-bought procession in still marching on today.

Amazingly, Christ’s triumph at Calvary gave us even more than victory over death. It gained for us incredible spoils in this life: grace, mercy, peace, forgiveness, strength, faith—all the resources needed to lead an overcoming life. “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

God has made every provision for the maintaining of His temple: “Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end” (Hebrews 3:6).

The Holy Spirit is showing us a marvelous truth here: Jesus has supplied us with all the resources we need, in His Holy Spirit. But it is our responsibility to maintain His temple, and the resources for doing so must come directly from the spoils of our warfare.

Christ has given us everything necessary for this maintenance to take place. He has adopted us into His household and He stands as the cornerstone of the house, which He has completely cleaned. Finally, He has given us access to the very Holy of Holies. So, by faith, we are now a fully established, complete temple. Jesus didn’t build a house that is only half finished.

The resources for keeping this temple in good repair can be found in the Spirit of Christ Himself. He is the treasurer of all spoils. Those resources are released when we see our need and cooperate with God, and that cooperation begins when we are in the midst of conflict.

Our resources are the Christlikeness we win while immersed in battle. They are the lessons, the faith, the character we gain from warfare with the enemy.