And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. Revelation 5:5-6
While reading Revelation 5 this morning I was encouraged by the thought in verse 5, that Christ has “prevailed.” By virtue of our union with the conquering Lamb, we too have prevailed; at least in our standing before God in the Person of Jesus Christ.
But in the light of II Corinthians 2:14, “Now thanks be unto God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, …”, where is the prevailing power of the Lamb in my daily life. Quite frankly, I don’t always triumph. Why is it that I who have been prevailed upon by redeeming love, don’t always overcome the propensities of my evil heart? As I daily battle with my self – will, combat the world’s enticements, fight for purity in my thought life and wrangle with the Accuser who relentlessly assails me with thoughts of worthlessness, why do I experience so little conquering grace?
In my quest for sustained victory over those formidable entities that war against my soul, God is graciously revealing to me that prevailing grace only comes through an understanding and internalization of the atoning work of Jesus Christ.
His conquering grace is accessible, and effectual, in my daily pursuit of holiness by the good fight of faith to comprehend and appropriate more of the proprietary work of Christ. We triumph because He has triumphed! And the motivating grace to triumph comes by the Spirit as we fight to grasp, and grow, in our understanding of the conquering Lamb. II Corinthians 3:18