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Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ~ 1 Timothy 6:12
In 1 Timothy 6:11-12 the Apostle Paul gives to Timothy a threefold formula that will enable him to do the ministry the Lord called him to do there in Ephesus. Having considered the first two imperatives in 1 Timothy 6:11, today we consider the third. These imperatives, when heeded, distinguishes one as a man of God.
Before we get to this third imperative, though, let me be clear, 1 Timothy 6:11-12 is not justification teaching, this is sanctification teaching. This teaching has nothing to do with us getting into heaven. You will remember that it is only the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross and our trust in that alone which justifies or makes us right with God.
Sanctification, on the other hand, is the process that we entered into after we had trusted Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. This process is the changing of our souls: our minds, our wills, and our emotions. And, God's goal in our sanctification is that others would see our changed lives and turn to God for salvation for themselves.
The third imperative that leads to a man being called the man of God is he fights the good fight of the faith. The man of God is engaged in a relentless war. He battles the kingdom of darkness which yields its ground very reluctantly. He faces many unseen adversaries, and, he is preoccupied with this unseen battle that is waging every moment of every day.
The greek word that the Apostle Paul uses for fight is agōnizomai, from which we get our English word agonize. It describes a level of concentration, and a level of effort, coupled with discipline and conviction that leads to success.
In New Testament days, Greek boxers had gloves lined with just a little fur. There was just a little fur and leather, no padding. They were made generally of ox hide. And stitched into the glove at the knuckles was lead and iron. When Paul talks about fighting the good fight, he’s talking about some serious action. And in a Greek boxing match, the loser had his eyes gouged out as emblematic of his failure. Boxing was a death/life struggle. Serious conflict from which you could emerge dead or lifetime blind.
Notice the second half of today's text, "Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."
This means "get a grip on the fact that you’re dealing with eternal issues. This is war, and eternity is at stake." The man of God is called to eternal issues. Having confessed Jesus Christ as Lord, he publicly commits himself to a battle over eternal issues. As long as he lives, he fights the good fight, the noble fight for the souls of men against the kingdom of darkness and against the world, the flesh and the devil. The man of God is marked by what he flees from, by what he follows after and by what he fights for.
This fight is not between believers, it really isn't a fight with the forces of darkness. This fight begins and ends with knowing God. Paul writes, "Take hold of the eternal life." All too often we are preoccupied with Satan more than we are with God. Here, the Apostle Paul writes, "Take hold of," which means grasp and hold on for dear life. The man of God had a dogged determination to know God for himself.
The story is told of a young man who went to a wise old man for advice. When he found the wise man he was sitting on the banks of a large lake. The young man sat down next to him and asked, "How can I become as wise as you, sir?" At that point the wise old man raised up and plunged the young man's head down into the water and the young man fought hard to raise his head up but to no avail. The young man feared that he was going to die. At the last moment the wise man lifted the young man's head out of the water and said, "When you fight as hard at fighting the good fight as when I held you head under that water, it will be then that you will be wise."
The man of God flees sin, follows God and fights the good fight of faith. The result of this is the man of God is laid hold of by that which he is trying to lay hold of; he is laid hold of by God Himself. And, as the Potter, He shapes us and equips us to fight the good fight of faith. It is this faith or our heart's ability to see God for ourselves which enables us to beat a path to knowing Him for ourselves, and it is this faith which enables us to fight for those who have yet to enter into a personal relationship with God.
