Session 6: A Life of Victory
Question 1:
How would you describe a victory you’ve experienced recently?
THE POINT
In Christ, we have victory over anything the world throws at us.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
When he was in his 30s, Abraham Lincoln went through some dark days. Instead of the personal and professional success he had hoped for, he was facing financial struggles. According to some, he even broke off a romantic relationship because of those difficulties. On January 23, 1841, Lincoln wrote to a friend, “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better I can not tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better, it appears to me.”1
No doubt Lincoln would have said in 1841 that he had faced the hardest thing of his life, but within twenty years, he would confront the far more difficult days of leading a divided country at war.
We can look back to hard days we’ve experienced, but we don’t know what lies ahead. How do we know what suffering is coming our way? We don’t. But as we will see, Jesus has already secured victory for us—no matter what we face.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
John 16:19-22
19 Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, and so he said to them, “Are you asking one another about what I said, ‘In a little while, you will not see me; again in a little while, you will see me’? 20 Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. 21 When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. 22 So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you.
My wife has given birth twice, and I’d say witnessing a baby come into the world might be the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. Both births were near-death experiences for her. She cried because of her pain. She cried because of her fear. She cried because she wanted the baby to be here already. It was terrifying.
But then there was our baby! Both times, the tears of fear and pain turn into tears of joy. So, yes, witnessing a baby come into the world might be the scariest thing I’ve ever seen—but it was also the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. The sadness, terror, and pain were replaced with the joy of new life.
Jesus painted a similar picture for His disciples. He had told them He was leaving. He had told them on multiple occasions that He would face death in Jerusalem, but they didn’t understand what it would entail or what it would accomplish. Jesus was clear on one thing: His death would be painful for them. His death would break their hearts.
For all of us, the death of Jesus must be sad. Not only was His death an awful, brutal injustice, but we're the ones to blame. For those who understand its weight, the cross represents sadness and pain. Thankfully, however, the cross wasn't the end of the story. The cross also leads to new life.
Jesus is God in the flesh. He has the power of creation. He has authority over life and death. So, with Jesus, resurrection follows crucifixion. Reunion follows separation. Joy follows sorrow. That was Jesus’ promise to His disciples. “Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you.”
Question 2:
What do you find joyful about Jesus’ resurrection?
This is the gospel! Jesus’ joy was taken from Him so that our joy never can be taken from us. He was taken from His followers so His followers couldn’t be taken from Him. He did the painful work so we could be born to new life, and so our sorrow could turn to joy.
John 16:27-30
27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” 29 His disciples said, “Look, now you’re speaking plainly and not using any figurative language. 30 Now we know that you know everything and don’t need anyone to question you. By this we believe that you came from God.”
Christianity turns on the reality of these two truths: (1) Jesus is from God, and (2) Jesus is in the world. If Jesus isn’t God’s Son, then He has nothing to offer humanity, who needs to escape God’s judgment. A Christ, who isn’t from the Father, has no business atoning for anyone and no ability to do anything about the curse of our sin. His death on the cross would have been tragic, nothing more. And the stone over the tomb would have remained in place. Jesus’ claim to be from the Father is no small thing.
Likewise, Jesus must be in the world. If Jesus didn’t come to earth as both fully God and fully man, we could never turn from our sin, never escape God’s wrath, never experience His love, never hope for heaven, never behold His glory. All our hope rests in these two truths.
Jesus isn’t through though. He continued: “Again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” Jesus’ return to God the Father gives us comfort for a variety of reasons:
Heaven. Jesus told His disciples He would be preparing a place for them. Jesus prepared a place for us through His work on the cross. His resurrection ensures we can have eternal life, and He will return to take us to our eternal home with Him.
The Holy Spirit. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit after He returned to the Father. While on earth, He could only be with those disciples who were physically in His presence. The Holy Spirit would be in the heart of every believer, wherever he or she is. Because His Holy Spirit is with us, He works through us for the purposes of evangelism and discipleship (see Matthew 28:19-20).
Intercession. Jesus is our intercessor. When Jesus returned to the Father, He began a new work on behalf of His people. Seated at the right hand of God the Father, Jesus intercedes for us (see Hebrews 7:25).
His rule and reign. Jesus returned to the Father to reign forever. Jesus “has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him” (1 Peter 3:22).
We needed Jesus to come to earth, and we needed Him to return to the Father. Everything about our victory and how we live it out is because Jesus is from the Father and has returned to Him.
Question 3:
When did the truth of the gospel become clear to you?
John 16:31-33
31 Jesus responded to them, “Do you now believe? 32 Indeed, an hour is coming, and has come, when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
“I have conquered the world.” Jesus didn't say “maybe” or “hopefully.” Jesus is the conqueror of the world. If you have a relationship with God through Christ, He’s your conqueror.
I have no idea why you may need a conqueror at this specific moment, but I’m sure you do. We all do. Jesus said, “You will have suffering in this world.” You will lose jobs in this world. You will have struggles in this world. You will break promises, find new worries, and lose old friends. Suffering happens.
Jesus Himself wasn't immune to suffering. Even as He spoke these words, He was moments away from taking on the role of the Suffering Servant for our sake. He was abandoned by His disciples—His closest friends—at the time of His arrest, but Jesus remained strong because the Father was with Him. We experience times of suffering, but we can have peace because we aren't alone. He is with us.
Question 4:
What do these verses teach us about Jesus?
My sister is a fantastic baker. What she bakes is both delicious and gorgeous. She recently sent a photo of a colorful cake made to look like a dog. The detail was amazing. It turns out this was a cake my nine-year-old niece made for a baking competition at her school. Parents were supposed to help, which explains why this cake looked ready for a magazine cover.
In this world we face suffering. We will have problems too big for us. We face pain too great for us to endure. We fight battles we don’t know how to fight nor how to win. But Jesus knows. He knows exactly what to do. That cake was my niece’s cake, but my sister knew exactly what to do so that my niece would succeed. That’s what Jesus does for us. He gives us His victory.
Question 5:
When has Jesus’ victory given you peace?
Jesus lived the perfect life, and it has meaning for us. He died a saving death for us. He rose from the dead, conquering death itself. He says to us, “My victory is yours.” We’re conquerors because He is. We can have peace and live with courage because our victory is in Christ.
Engage
VICTORY IN JESUS
Read each of the passages below and pick two. Journal how each addresses the victory we have in Jesus.
Deuteronomy 20:4
1 Corinthians 10:13
1 John 5:4
Romans 8:31
LIVE IT OUT
Jesus’ crucifixion reminds us that God is at work even when life seems the darkest, and His resurrection points to His victory—a victory He secured for us. How can you live out this victory despite what comes? Consider these options this week.
Rejoice in the resurrection. Read a gospel account of Jesus’ resurrection. Make an Easter-themed playlist of songs that celebrate this. Listen to your playlist throughout the week, focusing on Jesus’ victory.
Remember God's goodness. Spend an hour journaling about God’s faithfulness. When have you experienced God’s goodness and power in your life? Remembering God’s faithfulness can give you strength to push through the difficult days.
Reach out to someone suffering. Who is suffering in your life right now? How can you help this person have peace and courage? How can you remind him or her of the victory to be found in Jesus? Give this person a call, send a message of encouragement, or invite him or her for coffee.
How do we know what suffering is coming our way? We don’t. But Jesus has already secured victory for us—no matter what we face.
1. Letter to John Stuart, Springfield, IL to Washington, DC, January 23, 1841, Roy P. Basler, ed., Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (8 vols.), (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), 1:229-230. [Lifeway Adults (2021). (p. 53). Bible Studies for Life: Young Adult Personal Study Guide - CSB - Spring 2022. Lifeway Press. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]
Question 1:
How would you describe a victory you’ve experienced recently?
THE POINT
In Christ, we have victory over anything the world throws at us.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
When he was in his 30s, Abraham Lincoln went through some dark days. Instead of the personal and professional success he had hoped for, he was facing financial struggles. According to some, he even broke off a romantic relationship because of those difficulties. On January 23, 1841, Lincoln wrote to a friend, “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better I can not tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better, it appears to me.”1
No doubt Lincoln would have said in 1841 that he had faced the hardest thing of his life, but within twenty years, he would confront the far more difficult days of leading a divided country at war.
We can look back to hard days we’ve experienced, but we don’t know what lies ahead. How do we know what suffering is coming our way? We don’t. But as we will see, Jesus has already secured victory for us—no matter what we face.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
John 16:19-22
19 Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, and so he said to them, “Are you asking one another about what I said, ‘In a little while, you will not see me; again in a little while, you will see me’? 20 Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. 21 When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. 22 So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you.
My wife has given birth twice, and I’d say witnessing a baby come into the world might be the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. Both births were near-death experiences for her. She cried because of her pain. She cried because of her fear. She cried because she wanted the baby to be here already. It was terrifying.
But then there was our baby! Both times, the tears of fear and pain turn into tears of joy. So, yes, witnessing a baby come into the world might be the scariest thing I’ve ever seen—but it was also the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. The sadness, terror, and pain were replaced with the joy of new life.
Jesus painted a similar picture for His disciples. He had told them He was leaving. He had told them on multiple occasions that He would face death in Jerusalem, but they didn’t understand what it would entail or what it would accomplish. Jesus was clear on one thing: His death would be painful for them. His death would break their hearts.
For all of us, the death of Jesus must be sad. Not only was His death an awful, brutal injustice, but we're the ones to blame. For those who understand its weight, the cross represents sadness and pain. Thankfully, however, the cross wasn't the end of the story. The cross also leads to new life.
Jesus is God in the flesh. He has the power of creation. He has authority over life and death. So, with Jesus, resurrection follows crucifixion. Reunion follows separation. Joy follows sorrow. That was Jesus’ promise to His disciples. “Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you.”
Question 2:
What do you find joyful about Jesus’ resurrection?
This is the gospel! Jesus’ joy was taken from Him so that our joy never can be taken from us. He was taken from His followers so His followers couldn’t be taken from Him. He did the painful work so we could be born to new life, and so our sorrow could turn to joy.
John 16:27-30
27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” 29 His disciples said, “Look, now you’re speaking plainly and not using any figurative language. 30 Now we know that you know everything and don’t need anyone to question you. By this we believe that you came from God.”
Christianity turns on the reality of these two truths: (1) Jesus is from God, and (2) Jesus is in the world. If Jesus isn’t God’s Son, then He has nothing to offer humanity, who needs to escape God’s judgment. A Christ, who isn’t from the Father, has no business atoning for anyone and no ability to do anything about the curse of our sin. His death on the cross would have been tragic, nothing more. And the stone over the tomb would have remained in place. Jesus’ claim to be from the Father is no small thing.
Likewise, Jesus must be in the world. If Jesus didn’t come to earth as both fully God and fully man, we could never turn from our sin, never escape God’s wrath, never experience His love, never hope for heaven, never behold His glory. All our hope rests in these two truths.
Jesus isn’t through though. He continued: “Again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” Jesus’ return to God the Father gives us comfort for a variety of reasons:
Heaven. Jesus told His disciples He would be preparing a place for them. Jesus prepared a place for us through His work on the cross. His resurrection ensures we can have eternal life, and He will return to take us to our eternal home with Him.
The Holy Spirit. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit after He returned to the Father. While on earth, He could only be with those disciples who were physically in His presence. The Holy Spirit would be in the heart of every believer, wherever he or she is. Because His Holy Spirit is with us, He works through us for the purposes of evangelism and discipleship (see Matthew 28:19-20).
Intercession. Jesus is our intercessor. When Jesus returned to the Father, He began a new work on behalf of His people. Seated at the right hand of God the Father, Jesus intercedes for us (see Hebrews 7:25).
His rule and reign. Jesus returned to the Father to reign forever. Jesus “has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him” (1 Peter 3:22).
We needed Jesus to come to earth, and we needed Him to return to the Father. Everything about our victory and how we live it out is because Jesus is from the Father and has returned to Him.
Question 3:
When did the truth of the gospel become clear to you?
John 16:31-33
31 Jesus responded to them, “Do you now believe? 32 Indeed, an hour is coming, and has come, when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
“I have conquered the world.” Jesus didn't say “maybe” or “hopefully.” Jesus is the conqueror of the world. If you have a relationship with God through Christ, He’s your conqueror.
I have no idea why you may need a conqueror at this specific moment, but I’m sure you do. We all do. Jesus said, “You will have suffering in this world.” You will lose jobs in this world. You will have struggles in this world. You will break promises, find new worries, and lose old friends. Suffering happens.
Jesus Himself wasn't immune to suffering. Even as He spoke these words, He was moments away from taking on the role of the Suffering Servant for our sake. He was abandoned by His disciples—His closest friends—at the time of His arrest, but Jesus remained strong because the Father was with Him. We experience times of suffering, but we can have peace because we aren't alone. He is with us.
Question 4:
What do these verses teach us about Jesus?
My sister is a fantastic baker. What she bakes is both delicious and gorgeous. She recently sent a photo of a colorful cake made to look like a dog. The detail was amazing. It turns out this was a cake my nine-year-old niece made for a baking competition at her school. Parents were supposed to help, which explains why this cake looked ready for a magazine cover.
In this world we face suffering. We will have problems too big for us. We face pain too great for us to endure. We fight battles we don’t know how to fight nor how to win. But Jesus knows. He knows exactly what to do. That cake was my niece’s cake, but my sister knew exactly what to do so that my niece would succeed. That’s what Jesus does for us. He gives us His victory.
Question 5:
When has Jesus’ victory given you peace?
Jesus lived the perfect life, and it has meaning for us. He died a saving death for us. He rose from the dead, conquering death itself. He says to us, “My victory is yours.” We’re conquerors because He is. We can have peace and live with courage because our victory is in Christ.
Engage
VICTORY IN JESUS
Read each of the passages below and pick two. Journal how each addresses the victory we have in Jesus.
Deuteronomy 20:4
1 Corinthians 10:13
1 John 5:4
Romans 8:31
LIVE IT OUT
Jesus’ crucifixion reminds us that God is at work even when life seems the darkest, and His resurrection points to His victory—a victory He secured for us. How can you live out this victory despite what comes? Consider these options this week.
Rejoice in the resurrection. Read a gospel account of Jesus’ resurrection. Make an Easter-themed playlist of songs that celebrate this. Listen to your playlist throughout the week, focusing on Jesus’ victory.
Remember God's goodness. Spend an hour journaling about God’s faithfulness. When have you experienced God’s goodness and power in your life? Remembering God’s faithfulness can give you strength to push through the difficult days.
Reach out to someone suffering. Who is suffering in your life right now? How can you help this person have peace and courage? How can you remind him or her of the victory to be found in Jesus? Give this person a call, send a message of encouragement, or invite him or her for coffee.
How do we know what suffering is coming our way? We don’t. But Jesus has already secured victory for us—no matter what we face.
1. Letter to John Stuart, Springfield, IL to Washington, DC, January 23, 1841, Roy P. Basler, ed., Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (8 vols.), (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), 1:229-230. [Lifeway Adults (2021). (p. 53). Bible Studies for Life: Young Adult Personal Study Guide - CSB - Spring 2022. Lifeway Press. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]