Four types of prayer: Entreaties, Prayers, Petitions, Thanksgivings - 1 Timothy 2:1

1 Timothy 2:1 "First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men."

Note to reader: For a more indepth version of this post, check out the other blogsite at: https://biblicalexegete.wordpress.com/2014/12/06/a-closer-look-at-four-different-types-of-prayer-in-1-timothy-21/

Introduction:

Today's post is interested in looking at four different types of prayer described in 1 Timothy 2:1. We will simply deal with each word in the order they appear in the passage, offering some brief observations and life application to the reader.

1. Entreaties = Desperate praying

According to New Testament scholar William Mounce, this word occurs 18 times in the Greek New Testament and can be translated "entreaty, prayer, supplication." The classic work: "Greek and English Lexicon" by Liddle and Scott suggests the meaning of this word as referring to prayer that results from a "wanting need". This blogger would suggest that this word is seen in contexts where a desperate situation or desperation for God has prompted the child of God to seek Him with an intentional resolve of prayer.

For example in Luke 2:37 we see the widow Anna serving God in the temple with "fastings and prayers". Clearly this widow's prayer-life was accompanied by a desperate sense of seeking God's face. In Luke 5:33 we see the prayer-life of the disciples of John the Baptist described with this word in the statement: "often fasting and offering prayers". Imagine following after a powerful figure like John the Baptist whose urgency to prepare the way for the Messiah wove its way through every teaching and activity.

Thus when we see Paul urging Timothy and the congregation at Ephesus to offer up "entreaties", he is urging them to make sure their prayers are laced with an urgency and resolve to seek God in specific ways. This tone ought to accompany the Christian's prayer life. With the idea of "entreaty" in clearer view, we can now move onto the second word for prayer in 1 Timothy 2:1, namely...

2. Prayers = Purposeful praying

New Testament Scholar William Mounce lists this noun for prayer occuring 36 times in the Greek New Testament. The Greek Lexicon BAGD (Bauer, Ardnst, Gingrich, Danker) renders this term with the translation "prayer" and with the idea of this type of prayer said in the context of other acts of worship. So for example, this word is used to describe Jesus in a kneeling position on the ground in prayer in Luke 22:45. Oftentimes this word refers to a designated place of prayer, such as the place described in Acts 16:13,16 where the women would gather to pray. The Greek-English Lexicon by Liddle and Scott suggests the meaning of this word as referring to a specific form of address to God. There appears to be a tone of intentionality and expression, a purposefulness to one's prayer life.

As Christians living in this 21st century world, the temptation to be distracted is at an all time high. If anything, Paul's use of this word in 1 Timothy 2:1 suggests the idea of having "purposefulness" in our prayer life. So thus far we have seen with the word "entreaty" the idea of desperation for God in our prayer-life and with the common word translated "prayers" we have understood the need for purposefulness. Now lets consider the third word in this text...

3. Petitions = Personal praying

According to New Testament scholar William Mounce, this noun occurs only twice in the Greek New Testament. In the context of 1 Timothy 2:1 the word refers to intercession or praying on behalf of someone. BAGD Greek Lexicon assigns the meaning of "power of intercession". According to the Greek and English Lexicon by Liddle and Scott, the idea of "conversation" or "closeness" is implied in the meaning of this term. In the first two words used by Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1, prayer is conceived of mainly in public settings. With this particular word, the closeness of fellowship with God is emphasized, with the idea of praying for others and bring their names and situations to God for the sake of discussion.

As Christians, there ought to be a sense in which God is not viewed as some remote, abstract person. Certainly God is Sovereign and All-powerful (Omnipotent), however He is, in the words of Jeremiah the prophet, not only the God who is far off but the God who is near. (Jeremiah 23:24). God is the Father of the Christian by adoption and by His Holy Spirit with Whom He shares the same eternal essence, Christians cry out "Abba, Father". (Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 4:6). Is it no wonder that when Jesus taught his disciples to pray He began the prayer with "Our Father". Thus what Paul is telling Timothy and Christians today is that when praying, pray with desparation for God, purposefulness and a desire for closeness with God in intercession for others. Now lets consider the fourth word for prayer in 1 Timothy 2:1, namely....

4. Thanksgivings = Thankful praying

William Mounce defines this word and lists some appropriate key verses wherein the word appears: "gratitude, thankfulness, Acts 24:3; thanks, the act of giving thanks, thanksgiving, 1 Cor. 14:16; conversation marked by the gentle cheerfulness of a grateful heart....".(http://bible.theopedia.com/1timothy/2/1/9).

Perhaps the reader is familiar with the word "eucharist" which is used in some Christian circles as a name for the celebration of the Lord's table. In the Supper we give thanks to the Lord for His substitutionary death on behalf of His people. Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich and Danker (BAGD) in their Greek Lexicon list the additional meeting of "gratitude".

Certainly Christian people ought to not view prayer as only asking things from God. Without thanksgiving, prayer grows stagnant. Just as the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, certainly the shortest distance between the heart of the Christ-follower and worship is that of thanksgiving.

Closing thoughts:
This post has attempted to sketch out the distinctive meanings of the Greek words behind the English words for prayer that are found in 1 Timothy 2:1. It has been learned that prayer needs to be a desperate seeking after God (i.e entreaty). Secondly, prayer needs to be purposeful and intentional (i.e prayer). Thirdly, prayer needs to be aimed at closeness with God and interceding for other people (i.e petition). Then finally, prayer needs to include thanksgiving so as to raise prayer to the level of true worship (i.e thanksgiving).

Spiritual warfare's 3 common enemies: The Flesh

Ephesians 6:10-11 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."1 

John 2:16-17 "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world."

Introduction:

Today's post will conclude where we ended yesterday regarding the 3 enemies of the Christian in spiritual warfare. In the opening passage above we see them underlined: the Devil, the world and the flesh. The contexts of both scriptures indicate the following:

1. Common Enemy in spiritual warfare is The Devil.

2. Context in which our warfare occurs is the world. 

3. Cravings that contribute to our spiritual warfare is the flesh.

Today's post will explore that enemy that works within every Christian - the cravings of the flesh. 

The cravings that contribute to our warfare is the flesh
Notice what the Apostle John writes in 1 John 2:16 "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world." What is meant by the term "flesh"? The term "flesh" can have one of two meanings in the New Testament. The first meaning of "flesh" refers to the physical body of a person, whereas the second meaning describes the expression of our soul's drives in cooperation with the remnants of sin in the soul. Galatians 5:19-21 gives the fullest definition of the flesh in the New Testament: "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

The flesh is an "expression", a "reaction" to certain conditions whereby the inborn drives of a person are set aflame and decisions are made to feed the hunger. The indwelling Holy Spirit aims to teach the child of God to "put on Jesus Christ, make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts." (Romans 13:14) 

Therefore when we are dealing with spiritual warfare, the flesh and the inward desires that go unchecked are among the most damaging of the three enemies. Unlike the Devil and the World, which attacks from the outside, the flesh works inward to outward. 

Years ago I worked at a plant where periodic training was given on the subject of fire safety. In that training the employees were taught what was called "the fire-triangle". The fire-triangle described three elements needed for a fire: fuel source, heat source and oxygen. To put out a fire of any type, all someone had to do was to remove one of the elements. 

When we apply the above idea of the "fire-triangle" to spiritual warfare's three common enemies, we discover the following: Satan functions as the heat source, ever tempting and put on the pressure; the world is likened unto oxygen, ever supplying and always ready to feed every drive; and the fuel is the "flesh". In spiritual warfare, if we are to be effective, we must remove one of the three enemies. Just as in a real fire, if the fuel source is cut off, the fire is quenched. Certain fleeing from Satan or avoding the world can and must be done, however unless the flesh is dealt with, flare-ups will continue. Only the Holy Spirit and the power of the scriptures can effectively deal with the flesh. (1 Corinthians 2:10-13; Hebrews 4:13-16). 

Closing thoughts:

In this series we have considered spiritual warfare's 3 common enemies: the world, the flesh and the Devil. In this series we have discovered:

1. Common Enemy in spiritual warfare is The Devil.

2. Cravings that contribute to our spiritual warfare is the flesh.

3. Context in which our warfare occurs is the world.

We also concluded that since Jesus came and overcame the world through His perfect life of active obedience in resisting the Devil, the world and the flesh, by faith we can access that victory and apply to our own life. May we be aware of these 3 common enemies and realize that Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.

Spiritual Warfare's 3 Common Enemies: The World

Ephesians 6:10-11 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."

1 John 2:16-17 "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world."

Introduction:

Today's post continues this short series that we have entitled: Spiritual Warfare's 3 common enemies. In the opening passage above we see them underlined: the Devil, the world and the flesh. The contexts of both scriptures indicate the following:

1. Common Enemy in spiritual warfare is The Devil.

2. Cravings that contribute to our spiritual warfare is the flesh.

3. Context in which our warfare occurs is the world. 

Today's post will explore that enemy that is the context of the battle: the world

What in the world is meant by the "world"?
1 John 2:16 warns us about not loving "the world". The Greek word behind this word (kosmos) is the word from whence we get our terms "cosmetics" and "cosmology" and "cosmopolitan".  A "kosmos" or "world" refers to a certain orderly arrangement or system, hence for example, cosmetics are products designed to help someone arrange the colors and appearance of their face. I someone were to take up the study of "cosmology", they would be concerned about studying the arrangement of things in our universe. When reference is made to a "cosmopolitan person", that person is typically a traveler, a "person of the world" who dresses in the finest clothes and keeps up with the trends of things worldwide. 

Whenever the Apostle John refers to the term "world", he is talking about the organized system of thought that is under the authority of Satan. We have seen in this study that The Devil is the common enemy of the believer. Other than Adam, Job, King David and Jesus, no other person has ever had to deal with Satan directly, but moreso indirectly. Satan wields his influence through his vast network of demonic hosts (Ephesians 6:12) and through the network system known as the world.

The physical body gathers its understanding of reality through the five senses, and this is how the influence of the world makes its way through if unchecked by the vigilent Christ follower. This is why John warns his readers to "not love the world". Elsewhere in the New Testament we read about the influence of the world and the need to be cautious of it. Romans 12:2 states -  "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." James 1:27 gives this insight: "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." Jesus gave this simultaneous warning and encouragment in John 16:33 - "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

At this point it is important for us to realize that we have not been called to compete with the world. The world and all it has to offer caters to the flesh. The flesh, if you will recall from yesterday's posting, has to do with the cravings that work in our spiritual warfare. Just as a magnet can influence a piece of iron, the clever machinations of the believer's common enemy, Satan, has orchestrated the world's resources to appeal to and influence the flesh. Thus the world is the arena and context of our warfare. 

Jesus in Matthew 4:8-10 dealt head-on with Satan with regard to worldly temptation - "Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Jesus underwent this battle and won for the believer's sake. The resources available to the Christian to defeat the influences of the world are straight from Jesus Christ by faith. 1 John 4:4 "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

More tomorrow...

Spiritual warfare's 3 common enemies: The Devil

Ephesians 6:10-11 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."1 

John 2:16-17 "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world."

Introduction:

Today's post is all about identifying the three common enemies every Christian faces in the daily spiritual warfare talked about in scripture. In the opening passage above we see them underlined: the Devil, the world and the flesh. The contexts of both scriptures indicate the following:

1. Common Enemy in spiritual warfare is The Devil.

2. Cravings that contribute to our spiritual warfare is the flesh.

3. Context in which our warfare occurs is the world. 

So with those 3 common enemies identified and their roles in the daily spiritual warfare of the Christian, let's briefly consider the believer's common enemy, the Devil, and discover how Jesus Christ gives victory not only against him but against every enemy.

The Common Enemy in spiritual warfare is the Devil
Ephesians 6:11 warns the reader of the "schemes" or "methodologies" of the Devil. Who is the Devil? A brief sketch of his personage and career reveals the following:

1. He was originally a powerful angel named Lucifer (Ezekiel 28; Isaiah 14), perhaps an archangel, who got his eyes off of God and instead focused on his own beauty. Shortly after the creation week scripture records Lucifer, now Satan or the Devil, leading 1/3 of the angelic hosts astray, who in their fall became the myriads of demons occupying the various orders of the kingdom of darkness. (Revelation 12) 

2. The Devil or Satan is a creature who is a liar (John 8:44), a deceiver and prince of the power of the air who blinds the hearts of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:1-4). As a creature, the Devil communicates his malevolent intentions through the vast network of demonic hosts we see mentioned in Ephesians 6:12.

3. We know the Devil tempted Jesus on three occasions in Matthew 4, and the Devil's aim is to do all he can to discourage and divide the church. (Matthew 16:18)

4. According to 1 Peter 5:8, The Devil is a roaring lion prowling about seeking whom he may devour. 

This sketch lays out for us why it is the Devil is the believer's common enemy in spiritual warfare. In 1 John 2:14 we see John encouraging his readers as those who "overcame the Evil One". Even in the Lord's prayer we see Jesus teachings His disciples to pray for protection from "evil" or "The Evil One". Scripture is clear, the common enemy in spiritual warfare is the Devil. Tomorrow we will consider a second enemy that contributes to the Christian's spiritual warfare - the cravings of the flesh. 

Fight to remain pure in your faith (guarding the conscience)

1 Timothy 1:18-20 "This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, 19 keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. 20 Among these areHymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme."

Introduction and Review

For the past couple of days we have been exploring what Paul meant in 1 Timothy 1:18 by the phrase "fight the good fight". Thus far we have discovered that we must fight for our victory of faith and fight for the faith itself. Today's post will wrap up this series by suggesting that in fighting the good fight, we must also fight for the purity in our faith.

Fight to remain pure in your faith (guarding the conscience). 1 Tim 1:19

The Apostle Paul emphasizes the need to not only keep one's faith in the process of "fighting the good fight", but also one's conscience. I assigned the idea of "purity" to this point for the fact that keeping one's conscience pure is so vital in the overall process of Christian growth. The Apostle Paul in writing this instruction to his protege in the ministry, Timothy, practiced keeping his own conscience pure before God. Acts 24:16 records Paul saying - "In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men." 

What exactly is the conscience? Why is how we treat the conscience so important in the Christian life? In your human soul, which is the true you, there is your soul's thinker - the mind; there is the feeler - the emotions; there is the chooser - the will and there is the seat of convictions - the conscience. Think of your conscience as the dashboard of your interior life that warns you if you have went to far or have transgressed some type of moral and spiritual boundary. David for example in 1 Samuel 24:5 "It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe." The conscience is that function of your soul that can voice accusation when you've done something wrong or commend you when you have exercised a right course of action. (Romans 2:15) Inside a Christian, when the Holy Spirit has taken up residence inside the persons innermost part - the human spirit, the conscience is made more sensitive to the things of God and awakens the mind, emotions and will to yield to the Spirit's leading. (Romans 8:14-16; 9:1)

Whenever a person contemplates giving into temptation or violating their conscience, the conscience can be weakened. (Romans 14:1; 1 Corinthians 8:7,10)  We could cite numerous other texts that warn about the seriousness of violating one's conscience. The act of ignoring and violating the conscience, or influencing another Christian to violate their own is viewed so severe in scripture that it is tantamount to sinning against Jesus Christ Himself. (1 Corinthians 8:12)

By identifying the conscience, it ought to be easy to see why it is important to be careful how we treat the conscience. After all, the conscience is where our convictions about right and wrong, and for the Christian, righteousness and unrighteousness are reinforced and expressed. The conscience is the super highway between the mind and the heart or the human spirit. If we clog up the conscience with poor choices and ungodly acts, we deaden our ability to hear the Holy Spirit addressing us in our human spirit. With a clear conscience, I can direct my mind to bring every thought under the authority and sway of Jesus Christ, which is the heart of true spiritual warfare. (2 Corinthians 10:3-4) Other passages such as 1 Peter 3:21; 2 Peter 1:3-11 and 1 John 3:1-3 all emphasize the need for purity and either imply or explicitly draw the connection between the need for Christian purity and the conscience. When my conscience is clean, I will take to heart what I read in Proverbs 4:23 to guard the heart, since from it flows forth the issues of life. 

Whenever we prioritize fighting for the purity of our faith, we are more effective witnesses for Jesus Christ and are in the position to hear God speak most clearly through His word. This is why Paul made it such a point to get across to Timothy the need to guard the purity of his faith in the realm of his conscience. To not do so is to be in the sad state of affairs like Hymenaeus and Alexander in 1 Timothy 1:20. Truly the Christian life is all about fighting the good fight.

Closing thoughts
These last few days have been dedicated in unfolding what Paul meant when he said to "fight the good fight". We discovered that in fighting the good fight, we are...

1. Fighting for our faith's victory
2. Fighting for our faith. 
3. Fighting for the purity of faith or guarding one's conscience.

Fight to keep your faith

1 Timothy 1:18-20 "This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, 19 keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. 20 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme."

Introduction and Review

Yesterday we began considering what Paul meant by the phrase "fight the good fight" in 1 Timothy 1:18. We discovered that other scriptures utilize this imagery of "fighting" to describe the Christian life. We concluded in yesterday's post that one of the meanings we can ascribe to this phrase is that of "fighting for the victory of faith". The Christian life is not meant to be lived in passivity. There is no cruise control on the steering column of the Christian life. In as much as we do "wait upon the Lord" (Isaiah 40:31) and trust in Him (Proverbs 3:5-6), we also at the same time must work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), being that God is the one working forth in us His perfect and pleasing will (Philippians 2:13).

In having looked at the victory of faith itself, we now consider the second meaning for this phrase "fight the good fight", namely fighting to keep your faith.

Fight to keep your faith. 1 Tim 1:19-20

The Apostle Paul writes two words in the opening of 1 Timothy 1:19 "keeping faith". The phrase "keeping faith" refers to maintaining in one's possession something that had been previously given. This command about "keeping faith" is vitally important for Christian to keep in mind as the "fight the good fight". Paul reinforces this statement by sounding a word of warning about two individuals who gave up "fighting the good fight" and thus failed to "keep the faith". 

A snapshot of what happens when we stop fighting for the faith
In 1 Timothy 1:20 we read - "Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme." Scholars are not 100% certain who Alexander was, however we do know for certain the identity of Hymenaeus. Hymenaeus is mentioned one other time by Paul in his later letter of 2 Timothy 2:17-18 - "and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some." What sign was there that this man had ceased fighting the good fight? 

For one thing, he was in doctrinal error as indicated by the fact he was claiming that "the resurrection has already taken place." In reading this phrase, it appears that his error was in asserting an alternative non-physical resurrection, and thus denying the future bodily resurrection of all saints, and more importantly, by implication, the denial of Jesus' bodily resurrection. The Bible Knowledge Commentary notes: "Greek philosophers typically viewed the soul as immortal and the body as its temporal prison. The idea of physical resurrection of the body, both Christ's and the Christian's, was therefore foreign and difficult for them to grasp. Hence there was a natural tendency toward heresies which rejected bodily resurrection. The heresy of Philetus and Hymenaeus probably involved the idea that resurrection was a purely spiritual affair which occurred at conversion or baptism."

The sign of when "fighting for one's faith" has ceased is when we cave into doctrinal error, but notice also how Hymenaeus gave into moral error. The damage he inflicted on the body of Christ is described by Paul in 2 Timothy 2:20 as "upsetting the faith of some". Now back in 1 Timothy 1:20 we read of Paul "handing him over to Satan", a round about way of saying that Hymenaeus had underwent some sort of church discipline. Undoubtedly there would had been a prolonged period of begging Hymenaeus to turn from his doctrinal error, per Jesus' instructions in Matthew 18. Sadly, such warnings wene unheeded and Hymenaeus was crossing moral bounderies and convincing others to follow him in his error. According to 2 Timothy 2:16 we read - "But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness." We know that he did not cease from his activity because when Paul wrote 2 Timothy some 3-4 years later, Hymenaeus' teaching was considered to be like rotting flesh or "gangrene". 

Reinforcing the fact that we need to fight for our faith 
2 Corinthians 6:7 presses us on to fight for our faith - "in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left". Jude 1:3-4 urges us - Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. 4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehandmarked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 

What practical ways do we fight for our faith from the scriptures? First, claim the promises of God (Heb 12:1-3; 2 Peter 1:3-4). Secondly, make it your business to avoid sin (1 Thess 4:3). Thirdly, be all about instanct obedience to Jesus (John 14:21-23; Eph 6:10). Fourthly, follow the example of Jesus as set forth in the Gospels, proclaimed in Acts and explained in the epistles (Luke 2:38-42; Acts 10:38-41; 1 Peter 2:21).

Thus we fight the good fight of faith by fighting for our victory of faith and fighting for the faith itself. Tomorrow we will consider one more area in defining what it means to "fight the good fight"......

Fight for your victory of faith

1 Timothy 1:18-20 "This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight."

Introduction:

In today's post we want to understand what it means to "fight the good fight". As Paul wrote this first letter to young Pastor Timothy, he was instructing him on how one ought to conduct themselves in the living God's church (1 Timothy 3:15). In this first chapter of the letter we see Paul reminding Timothy and us of the important place church membership has in the growth of the Christian. (1 Timothy 1:1-11). As Paul lays out the anchoring points for his letter, he then pauses to thank the Lord for all that He did in calling Him in salvation and as an apostle, concluding his statements with a doxology of worship. (1 Timothy 1:12-17) Today's post considers Paul's tone as switching from that of thanksgiving to that of a general to a junior officer: fight the good fight. So what is meant by this phrase: "fight the good fight"? 

Fight for your victory of faith. 1 Tim 1:18

Commentator Adam Clarke notes regarding this phrase "fight the good fight" or as the KJV translates "war a good warfare": "The trials and afflictions of the followers of God are often represented as warfare and campaign." Isaiah 49:2 is cited by Clarke as evidence, being that it initially refers to God's original calling of Israel His people: "He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a select arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver." Interestingly enough Isaiah words later in that same chapter would set the stage for a Messianic prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all Christians abide by grace alone through faith alone.

The Apostle Paul in particular was very fond of this military imagery in describing the Christian life. 1 Corinthians 9:7 utilizes this imagery and then 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 describes the Christian's fight of faith most pointedly: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

Other passages such as Ephesians 6:10-12 commands us to wage the fight of faith by being "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might". Then of course who can forget the final words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith."

All of these references have two things in common that are the cornerstones to today's post: fighting as a theme of the Christian life and secondly, victory in the Christian life. Christians living, working and making their pilgrimage through this world compose the church militant - the fighting church which ever advances Christ's Kingdom through missions, living Godly lives and saying no to sin. Romans 8:37-39 captures most clearly the tone of victory that is at the center of this idea of "fighting the good fight":  But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Tomorrow we will consider further all that is entailed in "Fighting the good fight"....