To Inherit All Things

A verse like this can, at first, be discouraging: “He who overcomes.” What faithful Christian does not struggle with some sin, with faults, with character defects? Who hasn’t fallen at the foot of the cross, so sorry for sin? Who cannot relate, in some way, to the words of Paul in Romans 7? “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (vv. 19, 20).

But there are many great and precious promises in the Bible for us to be overcomers, to gain victories, to be what we can be in Jesus, even in a fallen state, as sinners always in need of grace. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13; see also 1 Corinthians 15:17; Philippians 4:13).

And so, yes, we can be overcomers. We can, by God’s grace working in us, become new people in Christ. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). What Christian has not, at some point, experienced the transforming power of Christ working in them, giving them a new heart, a heart to love God and to love others, and to reveal the reality of Christ in them? It’s all part of the package, and that includes the power to resist temptation.

However, as we all know, sometimes even overcomers fall short in this world. Who among us is all that we can be in Jesus? Who among us is, in and of ourselves, and without the covering of Christ’s righteousness, without fault or blemish? No question, even overcomers today need the righteousness of Jesus, who has made “children of God … those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).

Lord, I thank You so much for the covering of Christ’s righteousnesses and His power to make me a new person in Him.

For Further Study: Psalm 40:8; Revelation 2:17; 1 John 2:1

Key Bible Texts

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. (Revelation 21:7 KJV)