Last January after Georgia won the college football national championship (sorry, Alabama fans!), I saw a photo of a man wearing a Georgia football jersey, standing with his arms raised and mouth wide open, as if shouting in triumph. He was surrounded by people who were smiling, crying, and hugging each other. 

This man wasn’t a Georgia football player celebrating at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis after their win. He was a fan at a watch party hundreds of miles away in Georgia. But he so closely identified with his favorite team that he celebrated their victory as if it was his own. 

For the past few weeks, we’ve been making our way through the Easter hymn, “Worship Christ the Risen King.” (You can read all the posts in the series here.) Today we’re looking at the final verse: 

“We acclaim your life, O Jesus, now we sing your victory;

Sin or hell may see, to seize us, but your conquest keeps us free.

Stand in triumph, stand in triumph, worship Christ, the risen King!” 

The victory Jesus won over sin, death, hell, and the devil isn’t just a victory for Him. If we’ve been united to Christ by faith, the victory is ours as well. We stand with Him in triumph, freed by His victory. 

Consider what God’s Word says about our victory with Him: 

“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57)

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.“ (Romans 8:35, 37)

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, Jesus speaking)

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 5:4)

Because of God’s grace, we share in Christ’s victory. We are free. We are more than conquerors. We can have courage and peace in all circumstances, because our Savior has overcome the world. 

No matter what you face this week, you share in Christ’s victory. 

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“He is risen! He is risen indeed!” This is a popular refrain on Easter Sunday, but it’s also the way my church family starts the worship service every Sunday. We may be so used to hearing it that we forget that this is a massive, world-altering claim. 

If this statement is true—if Christ is truly risen—that truth changes everything. It gives purpose to our lives and our worship, and that purpose endures even when we struggle and doubt. 

This month we’ve been looking at the verses of an Easter hymn called “Worship Christ the Risen King.” You can read the earlier devotions in this series here and here. This week we’re looking at the fourth verse of the hymn: 

“Doubt may lift its head to murmur, scoffers mock and sinners jeer;

But the truth proclaims a wonder thoughtful hearts received with cheer.

He is risen, he is risen, now receive the risen King!” 

We sometimes struggle with our faith because of doubts we have on the inside or because of attacks on our faith from the outside. But either way, the truth of His resurrection brings comfort and confidence. 

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he makes it clear that if Christ is not risen, the Christian faith is pointless: 

“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:17-19) 

Our Christian faith isn’t just a crutch to use to get through life in this fallen world. Jesus wasn’t just a good teacher or a prophet. The gospel isn’t a myth we use to make sense of the world around us. 

Our faith is based on an empty tomb of the Son of God who came to live and die for us. Jesus rose again on the third day, proving that He was who He said He was. 

“But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.’” (Matthew 28:5-6) 

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! 

No matter what you face this week, Christ’s resurrection gives comfort and confidence. 

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One of our family’s favorite games is a card game called Unstable Unicorns. It’s so fun, but the twists and turns in the game can be infuriating. You’ll be close to victory, feeling like no one can stand in your way, and then all of a sudden, one of your kids turns all your unicorns to pandas and snatches victory from your grasp. 

I imagine that in the days leading up to Jesus’s crucifixion, Satan thought victory was about to be his. Jesus was betrayed by one of His closest friends. He was arrested, mocked, beaten, and hung on a cross to die a humiliating, agonizing death. But the devil’s moment of victory turned out to be his humiliation and defeat. 

This month we’re walking through the verses of an Easter hymn, “Worship Christ the Risen King.” Last week’s verses described Christ’s victory over death and hell. The next verse describes His decisive victory over the devil: 

“Hear the earth protest and tremble, see the stone removed with pow’r;

All hell’s minions may assemble, but cannot withstand his hour.

He has conquered, he has conquered, Christ the Lord, the risen King!” 

The apostle Paul wrote about this victory in his letter to the Colossians. (In context, “this” refers to the debt we owed for our sin.) 

“This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (Colossians 2:14b-15) 

According to the ESV Study Bible, “The cross of Christ marks the decisive defeat of the demonic powers. On the cross, they were stripped of their power to accuse Christians before God.” The death and resurrection of Jesus proved that Satan and his demons couldn’t stop God’s plan of redemption. We still battle against the forces of evil in this world, but they’ve been publicly put to shame by the cross of our Savior. 

The author of Hebrews described it this way: 

“. . . [Jesus] himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” (Hebrews 2:14-15) 

The devil’s power has been destroyed, and we’ve been delivered. The one who  enslaved us in fear has been defeated by our risen King! 

No matter what you face this week, Christ has disarmed the devil. 

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