Scripture Reading: 2 Tim. 4:7a; 1 Tim. 1:18; 6:12
Ⅰ
As revealed in 2 Timothy 4:7, a proper Christian life is threefold; it involves fighting the good fight, running and finishing the course, and keeping the faith.
Ⅱ
“I have fought the good fight”—v. 7a:
A
The believers fight the good fight by receiving the apostle’s charge—1 Tim. 1:18:
１
The charge given by the apostle to his spiritual son concerns the economy of God positively and the different teachings negatively—vv. 3-4.
２
Paul charged Timothy to fight against the deviation from the faith, that is, to fight the good fight of the faith—6:12a.
B
Paul told Timothy that according to the prophecies previously made concerning him, he “might war the good warfare”—1:18:
１
To war the good warfare is to war against the different teachings of the dissenters and to carry out God’s economy—v. 4.
２
This war is according to the apostle’s ministry concerning the gospel of grace and eternal life for the glory of the blessed God—vv. 11-16.
３
On the one hand, Timothy was to war against the different teachings; on the other hand, he was to carry out God’s economy according to the apostle’s ministry—vv. 3-4, 18.
４
To teach and preach God’s economy concerning Christ and the church is to war the good warfare—v. 18.
C
First Timothy 6:12a says, “Fight the good fight of the faith”:
１
To fight for the faith means to fight for God’s New Testament economy.
２
In particular, it is to fight for Christ as the embodiment of God and for the church as the Body of Christ—Col. 2:9; 1 Cor. 1:2; 12:27.
３
To fight the good fight of the faith is to fight for the contents of the com- plete gospel according to God’s New Testament economy—Eph. 3:6.
４
Because of different teachings, the church had already become degraded and had deviated from the faith; Paul charged Timothy to fight against this deviation from the faith, which is to fight the good fight of the faith—1 Tim. 6:12a.
D
In 1 Timothy 6:12b Paul goes on to say, “Lay hold on the eternal life, to which you were called”:
１
The eternal life is actually the processed and consummated Triune God being life to us—John 3:15-16.
２
The eternal life in 1 Timothy 6:12b is the divine life, the uncreated life of God, which is eternal.
３
Eternal denotes the nature more than the time element of the divine life— 1 John 5:11.
４
To fight the good fight of the faith in the Christian life, we need to lay hold on this divine life and not trust in our human life—cf. Matt. 16:25-26.
５
We fight the good fight of the faith not only objectively but also subjectively by laying hold on the eternal life—1 Tim. 6:12b.
６
The subtlety of the enemy in bringing deviation from the faith is to keep the believers from the eternal life.
７
We, the genuine believers, must lay hold on the eternal life; without the eternal life we are nothing—1 John 5:11.
８
We need to lay hold on the eternal life; then we will be able to fight the good fight—1 Tim. 6:12b.
９
In 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, eternal life is stressed again and again— 1 Tim. 1:16; 6:19; 2 Tim. 1:1, 10; Titus 1:2; 3:7.
10
To carry out God’s economy concerning the church, as seen in 1 Timothy, to confront the downward trend of the church’s decline, as seen in 2 Timothy, and to maintain good order in the church, as seen in Titus, this life is a pre- requisite.
E
We are fighting the good fight against Satan and the kingdom of darkness:
１
We should not only be able to preserve ourselves whole but should also chal- lenge the devil—Matt. 12:26, 28.
２
We should be God’s soldiers, fighting the good fight, overthrowing the devil’s strongholds, and taking captive man’s thoughts unto the obedience of Christ—2 Cor. 10:3-5.
F
We are fighting the good fight for the truth—1 Tim. 6:12; 1 John 1:6; 2:21; 4:6:
１
Truth is the Triune God with His word—John 1:1, 14-17; 14:6, 16-17; 15:26; 16:13; 17:17; 18:37b.
２
The divine truth is absolute, and we must be absolute for the truth and uphold the absoluteness of the truth—14:6; 18:37; 3 John 3-4, 8.
３
We should honor God’s truth, take the way of the truth, and not compro- mise the truth in any way—2 Pet. 2:2.
４
We need to have the truth wrought into us and constituted into our being— 1 John 1:8; 2:4; 2 John 1-2; 3 John 3-4.
５
For the consummation of the divine economy, we should be absolute for the present truth and the highest truth and the subjective truths—2 Pet. 1:12; Rom. 8:3; 1:3-4; 12:4-5; John 8:32; 14:6.
６
We must learn to teach and preach things that are higher than where we are.
７
For the consummation of the divine economy, we should be absolute for the way of the divine truth—2 Pet. 2:2.
８
The churches should bear the responsibility to clarify our teachings in order to fight for the truth, care for the Lord’s recovery, and take care of our testi- mony—1 Tim. 3:15; 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7.