Victory

The Scripture · 1 Corinthians 15:50–58

O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?

Paul ends his great chapter on the resurrection by taunting death itself:

The cross was not a near loss. It was a public triumph over every enemy:

So whatever comes, believers face it from the winning side:

The song calls Him the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God. Both titles meet in one scene in Revelation. John is weeping because no one is found worthy to open the book, and one of the elders tells him:

The Lion prevailed by becoming the Lamb that was slain. That's the victory the song celebrates.

Why I Wrote It

Not a Boxing Match

I wrote this song because I grew weary of hearing Christians complain and talk like we're losing. Too often we carry a defeated attitude, as if the world gets the final word.

Sometimes we picture good versus evil like a boxing match, Jesus in one corner and Satan in the other. We're rooting for Jesus, but then Satan lands a big punch, and we wince and wonder how it'll turn out. That's not the picture Scripture gives us. It's not a fight between equals. Satan is on a leash, and God holds the chain.

It's more like a war that's already been won. When a war is won on your own soil, there are still enemy fighters in the hills and booby traps along the road. The danger isn't over, so you stay alert. But the outcome is settled. The battle was won at the cross, and through Christ, we've won too. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Death has lost its sting, and one day we'll be part of the new heaven and the new earth.

That doesn't mean life is easy. The song says it plainly: sometimes the skies come crashing down, our world spins, and life feels frail. But even then, we don't hang our heads in defeat. We fix our eyes on Him, reach out for His hand, and He gives us strength to stand. We don't fight for victory. We stand in the victory Christ already won.

When You Feel Defeated

Living Like We've Already Lost

It's easy to slip into a defeated way of thinking: the culture is lost, the church is losing, my struggle will never change. We talk about the world as if the outcome were still in doubt.

Scripture never pretends life is easy. The enemy is real, and we're told to stay alert: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). But the outcome is settled.

One day God “shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death” (Revelation 21:4). Until then, we lift our heads, fix our eyes on Him, and live like people who know how the story ends.