S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

In 2 Timothy 4:7, Paul says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." This well-known and oft-quoted passage is quite significant in that this epistle was Pa...

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July 01 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jeremiah Kaaya Supporter Pastor at Springs of Power Church, Teacher by professional

To declare to be Christian is to equally declare war on the devil. Paul forewarned everybody Christian and whoever intends to be one that to be Christian is to face the devil in battle.

Two major things to consider; 

1) What the battle is, and 

2) How it is to be fought

What the battle is 

The devil is directly confrontational to the will of God. The battle though is not a physical one; it is spiritual (Ephesians 6:12) and is therefore to be governed by a set of rules and regulations. 


In 2 Timothy 4:7, Paul says; ……I have fought a good fight…..What did he mean by calling it a good fight? Let us define it. To be a good fight, it is to be regulated and fought within the confines of the rules of the fight. Conventional wars, sport games and whichever, all are governed by a set of rules and regulations. If you do not fight or play according to the rules, even if you win, your win can’t be counted. Keeping the rules of the game is part of the fight and also part of the victory 1 Corinthians 9:25

It is very important that if we are to be categorized as good fighters, we fight according to the rules and regulations of the game. We are many Christians, but are we Christians according to the stipulations of the Faith? From whom are we taking the instructions? The commander of the army is Jesus. It is therefore not about the fighters, it is about the commander, who is Jesus (2Timothy 2:1-5). Every organization, grouping, religion, Country, whichever it may be is defined by a set of rules and regulations.

How is this battle fought? What does it involve?

In this battle, there are two things to critically consider; the Possessor and the Possessed. The battle is directed at the possessor not the possessed. The forces of evil aren’t direct; they have to find objects in form of human beings to use. For that, a Christian’s “anger” is not to be directed at the object, but at what possesses the object. The battle is not physical, it is to be spiritual, and the weapons to fight with too are to be spiritual. The battle is not to be fought by violence, not by cursing; it is by having the right mind and therefore attack from a point of righteousness. We are not going to grab pangas, guns, and machetes and fight whoever is not Christian and be aggressive to them. We are to pray and preach to them so they get free of the possessor, the devil. This principle, defines a “good fight”. Our fight is to save and set free. It is blend with love not rivalry. It must have results seen and proven to have saved rather than destroyed, to have transformed a life from death rather than to have gotten one far away from God. 

But we are also faced with internal personal battles which we also only overcome by spiritual means. The devil attacks by making us enemies to ourselves. The devil uses other persons to attack us, much as he uses ourselves to break us. It is a battle with former self. We are not to hit ourselves hard, it is by declaring our helplessness and thereby submit to the will of God by whose only power and grace we can overcome. We are continually confronted with uncontrolled appetite for sex, riches hunger, power, and faced with diseases and demonic attacks etc. These are not directed at us per se, they are directed at our Faith in God. The devil is already condemned and his only reward is hell. It is a battle to avoid ending there with him.

By Paul concluding that he had fought a good fight, it can be viewed in two ways;

1)Paul had not only saved his life, but many other people’s lives through the gospel of love which he had spread by the faith he had in Jesus (1Corinthians 9:19-23).

2) He was assured of the prize of the crown of righteousness because he had lost nothing in the fight. A good spiritual fight saves, brings life, mends, reunites, and it is driven by love. He hadn’t substituted anything else for his love of God. He was therefore assured of the reward of success.

July 22 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter Arizona Bible College graduate and Dallas Seminary graduate

Games in the NAVE’s Topical Bible has this:

GAMES

Foot races, 1 Cor. 9:24, 26; Gal. 2:2; Phil. 2:16; Heb. 12:1.
Gladiatorial, 1 Cor. 4:9; 9:26; 15:32; 2 Timothy 4:7.

Figurative
Of the Christian life, 1 Cor. 9:24, 26; Gal. 5:7; Phil. 2:16; 3:14; Heb. 12:1.
Of a successful ministry, Gal. 2:2; Phil. 2:16.
Fighting wild beasts, of spiritual conflict, 1 Cor. 4:9; 9:26; 15:32; 2 Timothy 4:7.

Or another view of “fighting the good fight” besides possibly referring to the gladiatorial 
games is according to SMITH’s Bible Dictionary is a reference to the Isthmian games.

“Among the Greeks, the rage for theatrical exhibitions was such that every city of any size possessed its theatre and stadium. At Ephesus, an annual contest was held in honor of Diana. It is probable that St. Paul was present when these games were proceeding. A direct reference to the exhibitions that I took place on such occasions is made in (1 Corinthians 15:32) St. Paul's epistles are replete with allusions to the Greek contests, borrowed probably from the Isthmian games, at which he may well have been present during his first visit to Corinth. 

These contests, (1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7) were divided into two classes, the pancratium, consisting of boxing and wrestling, and the pentathlon, consisting of leaping, running, quoiting, hurling the spear and wrestling. The competitors, (1 Corinthians 9:25; 2 Timothy 2:5) required a long and severe course of previous training, (1 Timothy 4:8) during which a particular diet was enforced. (1 Corinthians 9:25,27) In the Olympic contests these preparatory exercises extended over a period of ten months, during the last of which they were conducted under the supervision of appointed officers. 

The contests took place in the presence of a vast multitude of spectators, (Hebrews 12:1) the competitors being the spectacle. (1 Corinthians 4:9; Hebrews 10:33) The games were opened by the proclamation of a herald, (1 Corinthians 9:27) whose office it was to give out the name and country of each candidate, and especially to announce the name of the victor before the assembled multitude. 

The judge was selected for his spotless integrity; (2 Timothy 4:8) his office was to decide any disputes, (Colossians 3:15) and to give the prize, (1 Corinthians 9:24; Philippians 3:14) consisting of a crown, (2 Timothy 2:6; 4:8) of leaves of wild olive at the Olympic games, and of pine, or at one period ivy, at the Isthmian games. St. Paul alludes to two only out of the five contests, boxing and running, more frequently to the latter. The Jews had no public games, the great feasts of religion supplying them with anniversary occasions of national gatherings.

I think Paul could be referring to both of the above as symbolic of his life as symbolic of fighting for the Right Way, Jesus.

[2Ti 4:7] I The Good Fight Have Fought

“I the good fight have fought,”
O when shall I declare?
The victory by my Savior got,
I long with Paul to share.

O may I triumph so,
When all my warfare’s past;
And dying, find my latest foe
Under my feet at last!

Or Wesley's hymn could be noted here:

O that each in the day of His coming may say,
“I have fought my way through;
I have finished the work Thou didst give me to do!”
O that each from his Lord may receive the glad word,
“Well and faithfully done!
Enter into My joy, and sit down on My throne!”
“Enter into My joy, and sit down on My throne!” -- Charles Wesley

(Come, Let Us Anew Our Journey Pursue)
Charles Wesley

April 22 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Ezekiel Kimosop Supporter

What Did Paul mean when he said he had fought the good fight?

In concluding his exhortation to Timothy, Paul states in 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (NKJV).

Paul has just given Timothy a compelling exhortation in vv.1-6 where he charged the young minister to preach the word with boldness. He was to “convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching (v.2) and to be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist and fulfil his ministry (v.5). In short, Paul was exhorting Timothy to be diligent, persistent, and focused on his primary calling in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Bible scholars say that 2 Timothy was Paul’s final epistle and his message to Timothy recorded in 2 Timothy 4:1-8 served as his concluding charge to a man he had raised and mentored in ministry. It was of profound significance in its timing. Paul was about to depart this world having faithfully served Christ as a Christian missionary. 

How should the Bible reader interpret the statement in its passage context?

Paul understood the ministry task as a battle. How was it so? He fought to defend the faith from heretics and false (cf. 1 Timothy 1:18-20 where the quest for authentic defense of the truths of God’s word was most profoundly demonstrated. Paul confronted two heretics and excommunicated them from the fellowship of the church of Ephesus). Timothy was perhaps aware of this fact, having previously received Paul’s First Letter addressed to him. Another set of heretics is mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:17-18. These were perhaps just a few of many false teachers that Paul had to contend with in his Gentile ministry. 

How did Paul fight the “good fight”? 

He stood on God’s side and proclaimed Christ crucified! Paul suffered many afflictions in his defense of the gospel and finally paid the cost with his life. He was once publicly beaten; was locked up in prison, stayed hungry, suffered shipwrecks and suffered immensely, all for Christ’s sake. He counted his life worth nothing apart from Christ. 

What fight are you fighting in your Christian life? Have you placed your focus on the exigency of the battle for proclaiming Christ or are you busy with the struggles of this passing world? God is calling is to fight the good fight that Paul fought. Circumstances and seasons may have changed since the first century Christianity, but the battle for the gospel remains and believers ought to fight the good fight. 

Paul employs a second set of figures of speech to illustrate his ministry journey. He metaphorically describes his service to God as a race. In 1st Century Greco-Roman world, athletics was a defining community sporting activity and Olympic athletes would race for a crown of wreaths that was placed on the head. Paul meant to say that he had put in the determination and endurance required of winning athlete in serving God. He was determined to complete with honor his assignment that Christ had bestowed on him as an apostle to the Gentiles. 

Bible scholars say Paul was aware of the imminence of his martyrdom which is believed to have occurred under Nero in circa 62-64 AD. Timothy would perhaps come to appreciate the import of Paul’s statement when he learns of his martyrdom shortly thereafter. 

Earlier in v.6, Paul hints at his coming departure saying “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.” Adam Clarke makes the following observation about Paul’s imprisonment and imminent martyrdom saying, “He considers himself as on the eve of being sacrificed, and looks upon his blood as the libation which was poured on the sacrificial offering. He could not have spoken thus positively had not the sentence of death been already passed upon him.” 

Believers should earnestly contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3).

8 days ago • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report