Triumph
The Roman General, Claudius, had been absent from his beloved homeland for over three years. His absence had been duty to the Caesar and the Roman Senate, for whom he had led his legions of troops to the edge of the Empire. Now he has returned a conquering hero. The armies who had resisted the Roman invasion, now subdued. Roman Governors and Envoys, backed up by Roman soldiers, were now overseeing the Empire’s interests in the country far away.
Soon a massive celebratory parade would wind its way through the streets of his beloved home city. Thousands would line the parade route to cheer and sing the praises of General Claudius. Accompanying the General’s golden chariot would be marching troops; behind the troops would follow displays of the artefacts, weaponry and treasures from the now subdued land; captive citizens and caged animals would all be part of the grand procession, all testament to the General’s great victory.
This celebration of victory, although won at least two years before, had no equal in its splendour and magnificence. In fact, such was the adulation heaped upon the Generals thus honoured by Rome that at times a small boy would accompany the returning hero in his chariot and repeat these words, “remember, thou art a man” “remember, thou art a man”.
The Romans had a word for this magnificent celebration of victory – the parade was called a TRIUMPH. The triumph was not the victory secured on the battlefield, but the celebration of that victory - often months or years later.
As a Roman citizen, this was Paul’s understanding of triumph. And when he wrote or spoke of the triumph of the believer, he was not speaking of the things the believer had conquered or won. Rather, he wrote of the victory secured for us by Christ that we, centuries later, celebrate in our life. Triumph is the act of looking back to a victory won, where we were neither present in time or place, and celebrate by enjoyment and experience of all its treasure and benefit.
Our triumph has nothing to do with the kind of day or week we’ve just had – good, bad or ugly. It is solely linked to the victory of Jesus’ cross.
Triumph most certainly includes the noise of praise and adulation our worship gives up to Jesus – if we didn’t the rocks would cry out. However, it is more than triumphant praise that is needed, it is a triumphant life – one in which post-resurrection reality is lived by faith.
The genuine spiritual position of the believer is truly amazing! Fully forgiven, dead to sin, raised with Christ, seated in heavenly places, reigning in life, healed by Christ’s stripes, victorious over the devil, made rich and blessed with all spiritual blessings. All this, and more, won for us at Calvary . . . this is our post-resurrection reality.
The spiritual possession of the believer is somewhat less than that of his or her position. When God spoke to the enslaved Israelites in Egypt about the promised land had they were to possess, he declared it to be a land already given to them. However, even though it was legitimately theirs, they had to get every part of it under their feet – city by city, giant by giant, mountain, hill and valley. But they didn’t march forward to own what they were possessing, they marched forward to possess what they owned! At some point, what they possessed became the same as what they owned – the graph line of position and the graph line of possession met.
Concerning ancient Israel Paul wrote, “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it” (Hebrews 4:2). Paul was showing them that faith was the vital ingredient required to mix with a word of promise or position, to bring it to profit (i.e. possession).
Faith is the utmost belief of our heart concerning a thing otherwise lacking visual evidence (Romans 10:8-10 and Hebrews 11:1). And our heart is so full of this faith-visual that we can’t avoid declaring or confessing it’s reality.
Only a post-resurrection minded, faith mixing, God worshipping believer is going to bring the full measure of the blessings of Calvary to a sick, sinful, bound and broken world. This is not the domain of the earth-bound, faith-less “realist” who can’t get past his analysis of his own battles. It’s the domain of the triumphant – the one who is constantly pressing the boundaries of limitation to possess the Kingdom because he knows it’s his.
“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place” (2 Corinthians 2:14)
Only the triumphant in Christ – the one living a celebration of victory already secured – will experience the wonder of out-spreading the knowledge of Christ.
Always and in every place.
