This week I was delighted to get insight on this from two brothers from very different persuasions: John Piper (desiringgod.org) and Richard Jordan (graceimpact.org).
In Piper's booklet, Risk Is Right (an excerpt from a larger work), he cites Rom. 8:35-39 as an example of Paul's triumphant spirit in the face of high risks throughout his ministry, of so many types (cf. 2 Cor. 11:23-33). To paraphrase Piper, he said that to conquer something is to defeat it, i.e. to stop it from doing you further harm, but to more than conquer it is to make the thing defeated your servant. What a great thought! What blessed me even more was to hear Bro. Jordan say the same thing on CD #2 of his series, "The Believer's Warfare," which is a fine exposition of Eph. 6:10-20. This may be, practically, a good example of every word being established "in the mouth of two or three witnesses." We're not only able to defeat the things mentioned in vv. 35-39, but God can make them serve us, i.e. bring us to greater maturity in Christ and bless others through us (Rom. 8:28!).
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