Sproul: the strength that Christ had given them to stand against a hostile world.

SANCTIFIER

Paul wrote that in Christ we are more than conquerors (Rom. 8:37). The word he used was hypernikōmen, which in Latin is supervincemus—“superconquerors.” We cannot help but think of Nietzsche when we read that. He wanted conquerors. Well, true conquerors are those developed by the Holy Spirit.
One of the key ways He strengthens us for confrontation with the world is with truth. Later in the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus said:

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:12–15)

We see here again that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to apply the work of Christ to His people, and He does this by sanctifying us, by revealing the truth of God to us, and by coming to us in strength. Jesus’ Upper Room Discourse (John 14–17) is an extremely important portion of the New Testament. It is the final teaching session Jesus had with His disciples on the night in which He was betrayed, the eve of His execution. In these four chapters of John’s gospel, we are given more information about the person and work of the Holy Spirit than we get in all the rest of the New Testament. ...

They (the disciples) had been strengthened and encouraged by His presence, but He was going away. Yet they were not left to fend for themselves. The Holy Spirit would be with them to speak truth, to encourage them, and to cause them to be faithful in the midst of trouble. Christ kept this promise on the Day of Pentecost, when He sent the Holy Spirit to His people, the church. Therefore, when the persecution came, the church of Christ blossomed. His people were consciously aware of the strength that Christ had given them to stand against a hostile world.

Sproul, R. C. (2014). Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (pp. 185–187). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust.

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