Hypernikao
This word exists once and only once in the Bible. I am not sure if it is because no other circumstance warranted it, or if in the height of trying to completely convey his meaning, Paul created it. In ether case, the meaning today we also don't have a single word for. No translation that I have looked at even attempts to use just one English word to replace it. It is too big for that.
This word comes near the end of Romans 8, in my opinion one of the most powerful chapters in the Bible. It comes at this moment when Paul has shared with us the power of living by the spirit and not being worldly, he shows us how we are a family, being joint heirs with Christ, and then the beauty of our election and the sovereignty. He weaves together the practical with the theological. From there, in sort of the mountain top of his writing, he makes the case that if God is for us, no one can (successfully)be against. Then he writes, "In all things hypernikao through him that loved us."
This comes from the word nekao, which is a verb meaning to conqueror or to carry of the victory. This was on of John's favorite words, appearing in nearly everything he wrote, but this was enough for Paul. It must have seemed weak compared to the truth God was impressing on him. So, he added the prefix of hyper, a prefix we still use today. Meaning over or beyond. We might use the word super. In all things we have a super-victory through him that loved us. We are more than conquerors.
Yet, this is not the world I see and this not how the world sees us. We do have our aggressors and outspoken, who proclaim Christianity as the reason they do what they do. They declare the end of the world and quit taking interviews when the date passes, or they burn Quran's in Dearborn or the protest the funeral of soldiers. So the world gets to see Christians as loud nut jobs. Somewhat less than conquerors. More common, though, are the silent Christians who, within the four walls of the church talk about the problems with government, the activities of their family, the sexualization of all media, but out in the world they either say nothing, or act no different than anyone else. So, again, what does the world see, people who are no different than themselves.
We can't embrace this promise this way. We can't let the crazies be the only ones who speak. We can't conqueror from silence. If you want to say hypernikao of yourself, you need to be prepared to act. Need to look at yourself as a soldier prepared for war. Then, before you do anything, you need to find out from your commanding officer what is expected of you. See, that super victory, which is waiting for you, isn't your victory and by your rules, it is a victory for Jesus. As the verse says, it is through him that loved us or from the verse earlier, through Christ who strengthens you.
So, you might have started your morning rough, might have been caught up in the worldliness around you, might have remained silent when you know you should have talked before. This doesn't have to run you for the rest of you like. Go to Jesus. Pray for direction. Hypernikao from this point forward.
1 Comments:
Thank you for this. Well said, especially relevant now in 2021.
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