But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 15:57
Have you ever had to “fight a battle?” Not one where you put on the nation’s uniform and go to war, but battles of body and soul? Perhaps you’ve experienced a wayward child who finally got his life turned around. Or maybe you have had to deal with a debilitating illness or a mental health problem where recovery was difficult and long.
Dr. Dan Richardson, a firm believer in Jesus Christ, lost a battle with cancer. But even in his distress, he wrote that, “Cancer is so limited. It cannot cripple love. It cannot shatter hope. It cannot corrode faith. It cannot take away faith. It cannot invade the soul or reduce eternal life. It cannot lessen the power of the resurrection.” In what some might see as a loss, he was counting on the continual victory he found in the solace of those things and the knowledge of his eternal victory in life with the Lord.
There is an interesting thing about this verse from Corinthians. Where you read “who gives us the victory,” translations miss the larger thoughts of the original Greek, for there it says it is God “who keeps on giving us the victory.” What good news this is! Professor of Theology at Capital University, Dr. Richard Lenski, said, “’Victory‘ connotes enemies and battle, but it is not for us, for we should never win. This stupendous victory is being given to us. The last phrase [through our Lord Jesus Christ] therefore names the Victor, names him as the medium through whom the victory gift becomes ours. “
If you find yourself in a battle today, know that God Almighty is ever with you. Be encouraged. If you know the Lord, you are guaranteed ultimate victory. So give Him thanks now and every day, no matter your circumstances, for saving your soul and giving you eternal life.
Today’s Verse: 1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: 1 Corinthians 15:51-58
51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
