A.W. Tozer said, "We should not find it miraculous that God is victorious. What else would He be? But we should find it miraculous that we can be victorious through Him." Amen. That’s "God Undefeatable," the great new song by Todd Agnew, the worship leader, musician and songwriter behind hit songs "Grace Like Rain" and "My Jesus." 

Agnew recently unveiled his newest collection of music, How to be Loved. Opening song "The One You Want"--co-written with Jason Ingram,--displays a softer side of Todd Agnew who opened his first three albums with the rockers "Reached Down", "Something Beautiful" and "Still Has A Hold." 
 

Agnew’s last album Need ushered in Todd’s "joy unspeakable" of being a newlywed and his trademark songwriting expressing biblical truth in personal lyrics including the standout song "Did You Mean Me?" If you like that song, then don’t miss out on How to be Loved, which is chock full of Todd’s personal thoughts on love and life the way God see us instead of from our broken perspective. 
 

I had the great opportunity to interview Todd Agnew about "God Undefeatable." Here are the answers to the questions I asked Todd along with a Bible study written by co-writers of the song, Matt Carter and Aaron Ivey.

 

 

Todd Agnew: Matt Carter is the lead teaching Pastor at my church and Aaron Ivey is the lead worship Pastor at my church. They are wonderful guys and friends. They got together with another worship leader at my church, Ross King, and the three of them wrote this song together. They don’t fill me in on every songwriting session, and the first time I heard the song was last year on Easter Sunday. 

 

We have a lot of people in a lot of places at different campuses at my church, but last Easter we all got together in one large venue for a combined service--where the Texas Longhorns play basketball. My job for the day was to lead worship first thing in the morning for the volunteers who would be serving during the service. Then, I stood in the back as my church community worshiped. They introduced this song and it was so powerful for me to be worshiping God in that way as part of my church--not leading, but singing as part of the church body celebrating the One who has won our victory. That’s how I met the song and it was really powerful for me. 

 

Undefeatable isn’t really even a word. It isn’t a word because it’s never needed to be a word. Every empire, every dynasty, they all eventually lost. They faded. They were defeated. But God, His power, His might does not wane. It goes back to the idea we started with. God is the main player in the story. It’s not me fighting the battle, it’s Him.

 

Matt Carter and Aaron Ivey: Throughout Scripture, there is a consistent theme of the victorious and conquering nature of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians, Paul proclaims, "death is swallowed up in victory!" He goes on to say, "Oh death where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting?" Paul is making a bold claim here that even death itself could not have victory over the permanence of the living God. As his Church, we are not waiting on victory to come – rather, we know the victory has already been won by Jesus and his redemptive work on the cross of Calvary.

 

In the first verse of "God Undefeatable," the lyrics echo these themes of the conquering, victorious, yet merciful nature of God. Victorious warrior figures are not typically seen as merciful, but as Christians we have come to know a God that is both unshakable in His holiness and perfection, yet also rich in mercy and grace towards His people through Jesus Christ. There is no end to the mercy and grace of God.

 

 

1 Corinthians 15:54-55: "So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death where is your sting?’"

 

… and Romans 8:38-39: "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

 

 

Matt Carter and Aaron Ivey: This is a powerful reminder of the endless mercy and love that is found in the person of Jesus Christ! The chorus of "God Undefeatable" carries this truth that our God is both a victorious champion and a merciful Savior. The first half of the chorus carries a triumphant and celebratory proclamation that our God is an undefeatable, unshakable, and powerful God. 

 

The lyric, "in majesty and power You reign" alludes to the Kingship of Jesus. He is both our Lord and Savior, and rules and reigns over us. The second half of the chorus reminds us of the equally important truth of God’s character: His undeniable, incomparable love. There is no other love like the love of God. It is matchless. Every other relationship and love can and will fail, but the love of God will not fail. It will not cease. It’s undeniably the only love that sustains and lasts.

 

This triumphant, corporate, proclaiming chorus is important for us as a Church to sing because it reminds us that the Gospel doesn’t just tell us the story of Jesus’ life, but rather that life has been won for us. The Gospel is not meant to simply be known, but Jesus came so that His good news could be expressed through our lives. God awakened our lives so that we might actually get to live out the Gospel in Christ Jesus.

 

The bridge of "God Undefeatable" came from a study of the life of Jacob. God had chosen Jacob to be the heir of the promise, the heir of salvation. Yet he kept rejecting and running from God. However, regardless of his sinful intentions, the hold of God never let him go. The lyric "the hold of God is stronger than we dare to hope or dream" expresses this truth: no matter how many time we try to let go of God, He will never let us go. His love and hold is unending and relentless.

 

The unwavering love and hold of a victorious and unshakable God compels His people to worship without reservation, because He is true and right. He has awakened us to life, and our response to this great God is a response of awe and wonder!

 

 

Matthew Henry’s commentary: "They will glory over death as a vanquished enemy, and insult this great and terrible destroyer: "O death! where is thy sting? Where is now thy sting, thy power to hurt? What mischief hast thou done us? We are dead; but behold we live again, and shall die no more. Thou art vanquished and disarmed, and we are out of the reach of thy deadly dart. Where now is thy fatal artillery? Where are thy stores of death? We fear no further mischief from thee, nor heed thy weapons, but defy thy power, and despise thy wrath. And, O grave! where is thy victory? Where now is thy victory? What has become of it? Where are the spoils and trophies of it? Once we were thy prisoners, but the prison-doors are burst open, the locks and bolts have been forced to give way, our shackles are knocked off, and we are for ever released. Captivity is taken captive. The imaginary victor is conquered, and forced to resign his conquest and release his captives. Thy triumphs, grave, are at an end. The bonds of death are loosed, and we are at liberty, and are never more to be hurt by death, nor imprisoned in the grave." In a moment, the power of death, and the conquests and spoils of the grave, are gone; and, as to the saints, the very signs of them will not remain. Where are they? Thus will they raise themselves, when they become immortal, to the honor of their Savior and the praise of divine grace: they shall glory over vanquished death."

 

How to be Loved is my new favorite overall album by Todd Agnew, surpassing the excellent Reflection of Something. There’s biblical truth married to personal lyrics in the songs "The One You Want", "There Is Coming A Day", "Loved", "Don’t You Think" and the stunning "House of Boxes." 

 

"God Undefeatable", "Letting Go" and "Your Great Name" are incredible songs for the Church that are all instantly singable and worshipful arrangements that you’ll want to add to your Sunday morning set list. We often feel ashamed and unworthy of God’s perfect Love, but that’s the point. We aren’t worthy and God still wants all of us and loves us deeply. This entire album is about giving and accepting love. How to be Loved is one of the top albums of the year.

 

"God Undefeatable" features an amazing Truth! God sent His only son Jesus to die for us just to save us! I love the ending of this song where it exhorts listeners to accept in the bridge: "The love of God is greater than we dare to hope or dream." For me, Easter is not about candy or dressing up and having a nice meal, but instead I think about the question that faces all of us: What are you going to do with Jesus? This week as we celebrate the resurrection of our "undefeatable" King, you can sing this song to Jesus and know that He died just to save us. Don’t be sad or feel guilty, but accept Jesus and celebrate that Jesus is alive, He rose again! Amen!

 

(To read the "God Undefeatable" Bible study written by Matt Carter and Aaron Ivey, click here.)