“Take heart, I have overcome the world” – these are the words of Jesus on the evening before his crucifixion. In the Bible, overcoming does not mean never fighting, but never giving up. Here you will find 20 Bible verses about overcoming, victory, and perseverance.
Victory is won
Jesus has overcome – that is the foundation.
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These things I have spoken unto you, that ye should have peace in me. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but take heart, I have overcome the world.
John 16:33CouragePersecution
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For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and our faith is the victory that hath overcome the world. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
1 John 5:4-5
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Little children, ye are of God, and have overcome them: because he that is in you is greater than he that is in the world.
1 John 4:4Spiritual battleDevil
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But in all these things we overcome far by him that hath loved us.
Romans 8:37Spiritual battlePersecution
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But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
1 Corinthians 15:57ResurrectionEaster
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But thanks be to God, which at all times giveth us victory in Christ, and maketh the fragrance of his knowledge to shine in us unto all men!
2 Corinthians 2:14
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And hath taken away the principalities and the powers, and hath publicly shamed them, and made them a triumph through himself.
Colossians 2:15Spiritual battleDevil
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And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and loved not their lives even unto death.
Revelation 12:11Blood
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He that overcometh, will I make him to sit with me in my throne, even as I have overcome, and am set down with my Father on his throne.
Revelation 3:21
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He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Revelation 21:7
Never give up
Verses for perseverance.
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Let not evil overcome thee, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21Baptismal versesEvil
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But let us do good, and let us not be weary: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
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Wherefore, brethren, seeing we have such a cloud of witnesses around us, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so grievously affixes us, and let us run with patience in the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy's sake endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2SportsExhaustion
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Know ye not that they that run in the midst of the lists, they run, but not all make one that shall receive the crown? Run therefore, that ye may obtain.
1 Corinthians 9:24
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Brethren, I count not myself yet to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press myself toward the mark, that I may obtain the prize: which is the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14SportsHeartbreak
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I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.
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Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
James 1:12SportsTemptation
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Rejoice not, O thou mine enemy, because I am fallen: for I will arise, and though I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be my light.
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For with thee will I break the teeth of the mighty, and with my God will I leap over the wall.
Psalm 18:30Psalms
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For the righteous falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall sink into mischief.
Proverbs 24:16Sports
Bible texts: Luther Bible 1912 (public domain), carefully adapted to modern spelling.
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“I have overcome the world”
Jesus says these words in his farewell speech, just a few hours before his arrest (John 16:33). He does not promise his disciples an easy life – on the contrary: “In the world ye shall have tribulation.” But he contrasts this with a greater reality. John takes this up in his first epistle: “Our faith is the victory that hath overcome the world” (1 John 5:4). Overcoming is therefore not an act of strength from one's own power, but participation in a victory that has already been won.
Persevering in everyday life
Paul loves images from sports: running in the arena (1 Corinthians 9:24), reaching out for the goal (Philippians 3:14), and at the end of his life, the conclusion: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). And Proverbs 24:16 offers realistic comfort: “For the righteous falleth seven times, and riseth up again.” Overcoming does not mean never falling, but getting back up. You can find more verses about Bible verses about sports, Bible verses about spiritual battle, and Bible verses about temptation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does it say “I have overcome the world”?
In John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that ye should have peace in me. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but take heart, I have overcome the world.”
What does “we overcome far” mean?
Paul says in Romans 8:37 that Christians not only barely endure in all their tribulations, but “overcome far” – through him who loved them.
