"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57)

No created mind can ever comprehend the dimensions of the victory which the Lord Jesus won at the Cross of Calvary. He overcame the world (John 16:33). He doomed Satan, the prince of this world (John 16:11). He triumphed over principalities and powers (Colossians 2:15). He so conquered death that it is now swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-55; 1 Corinthians 15:57).

And His victory is ours. Just as David's victory over Goliath brought deliverance to all of Israel, so Christ's glorious triumph is passed on to all who belong to Him. Therefore, we can sing with Horatius Bonar:

The victory is ours!

For us in might came forth the mighty One;

For us He fought the fight, the triumph won:

The victory is ours.

We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us because "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:37-39).

Guy King told of a young lad who was at the station when a train pulled in, bringing the local soccer team home after an important game. The boy ran up to the first person who stepped off the train and asked breathlessly, "Who won?" Then he ran along the station platform, shouting ecstatically, "We won! We won!" As Mr. King watched, he thought to himself, "Now really, how much had he done to gain the victory? What did he have to do with the struggle on the football field?" The answer, of course, is "Nothing at all." But because he belonged to the same city, he identified himself with the city's team, and claimed their victory as his own.

I heard once of a Frenchman who passed from a position of defeat to one of victory by changing his citizenship. It was when Wellington, the so-called Iron Duke of England, won his illustrious victory over Napolean at Waterloo. At first the Frenchman was associated with the defeat, but the day he became a British citizen, he could claim Wellington's victory as his own.

By birth we are all subjects of Satan's kingdom, and therefore we are on the losing side. But the moment we choose Christ as Lord and Savior, we pass from defeat to victory.