Romans 8:37 (NKJV)

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Eisegesis: 

Christians can have an extraordinary and perpetual triumph in their lives by simply “claiming” that they are more than conquerors.

Exegesis:   

This verse is specifically concerning the spiritual victory over challenges and persecutions. 

Some prosperity gospel preachers have used this verse to support the idea that Christians should expect material wealth, health and success in their life by simply claiming or praying for victory in deliverance. The phrase “more than conquerors” is often interpreted as a motive that believers should conquer in financial and social arenas. 

Background of this verse:

Romans 8:37 is a part of a larger passage where the Apostle Paul addresses the sufferings that Christians endure and their ultimate victory in Christ. The “things” are mentioned in the earlier verse 35 which include tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and sword. Paul acknowledges that believers will face significant hardships.

It is not that Christians will have a trouble-free life or that they will always overcome physical or worldly challenges. Instead, the victory Paul speaks of is spiritual and eternal. The hardships of life, no matter how severe, cannot separate believers from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39). The security of the believer is not in their circumstances but in their relationship with Christ. This love is the foundation of the victory that Paul speaks about.

Indeed the trials of this life cannot defeat Christians because their ultimate victory—salvation and eternal life—has already been secured through Jesus Christ. This victory is not about worldly success but about the assurance that nothing can separate them from God’s love, which is the ultimate triumph.

So, in its full context, Romans 8:37 is a triumphant proclamation of the believer’s victory in Christ, despite life’s hardships and challenges. It’s not about personal or material success, but about the spiritual and eternal victory that comes from the unwavering love of God in Christ Jesus. The emphasis is on the security and assurance that nothing can separate believers from the love of God.

We need not fear life or death, things present or things to come, because Jesus Christ loves us and gives us victory. This is not a promise with conditions attached: “if you do this, God will do that.” This security in Christ is an established fact, and we can claim it for ourselves because we are in Christ.

How is the Christian more than a conqueror?

· He overcomes with a greater power, the power of Jesus.

· He overcomes with a greater motive, the glory of Jesus.

· He overcomes with a greater victory, losing nothing even in the battle.

· He overcomes with a greater love, conquering enemies with love and converting persecutors with patience.

Pastor Ray Stedman explains “more than a conqueror” this way writing that…

If we barely manage to win our way to heaven by the skin of our teeth, we could be said to be a conqueror, but a “more than conqueror” is someone who takes the worst that life can throw at him and uses that to become victorious. “More than conqueror” is one who, by the grace and the gift of God, and in the strength of God within him, actually takes the very things that are designed to destroy him, and they become stepping stones instead of stumbling blocks. That is being “more than conquerors.”