Have you ever wondered what Paul meant when he said, I have fought a good fight?
You may have read or heard the statement being preached and interpreted by ministers in diverse ways. But if you have your focus on knowing what Paul meant, I think we can have a light-bulb moment.
Get a cup of tea or water, relax, and pay attention as we look at some of Paul’s statements to Timothy and how they apply to the believers.
I Have Fought A Good Fight Bible Verse
There is only one verse in the Bible in which Paul made a somewhat ambiguous statement, I have fought a good fight alongside two others. It is in 2 Timothy 4:7. It says:
“I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7 WEB.
The KJV uses commas to separate each part into clauses, but WEB, as quoted above, uses full stops to indicate three complete sentences in one verse.
Beginning with this message, we will dissect each of them in three different messages to understand the depth of each statement.
Before Paul said, I have fought a good fight, he spoke of his departure (death in the body), saying, “For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure has come.” 2 Timothy 4:6 WEB.
The first part of the statement, on the one hand, suggests the kind of death he would die as a Martyr, and on the other hand, speaks of the life he lived as a soldier of Christ.
However, Paul was not so concerned about what he would lose in this life. He was concerned about what was waiting for him in the afterlife. So after he laid out his achievements on Earth, he said:
“From now on, there is stored up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:8 WEB.
What Does “I Have Fought A Good Fight” Mean?
The idea of a good fight is present in a battle scene where a fighter wins fair and square. But fighting is not always about exchanging kicks and punches.
The word Fight refers to a confrontation or struggle, and though it sounds like violence, it is not always violent.
Brother Paul spoke of himself as one who fought a good fight, but we did not see anywhere he threw punches. Instead, we saw how he struggled for the sake of the Gospel of Christ, and the people of God.
We learned how he confronted those who took the grace of God in vain, introduced another gospel to the people, made merchandise of the Gospel, and Peter for being hypocritical.
When Paul said, I have fought a good fight, that statement embodied his struggles in defense of the Gospel and those in Christ. That could also be described as his labor of love for the church of Christ; it was the good fight of faith.
He spoke before young and old, small and the great, leaders and the subjects, in freedom and in chains. He did so honestly and honorably.
He was the one who said, “For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes; for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.” Romans 1:16 WEB.
He also said, “For this, I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.” 2 Timothy 1:11–12 WEB.
When it was almost time to go home, he wrote Timothy to inform him that he had completed his ministry work and that it was a good fight of faith. Therefore, it was Timothy’s turn to get in fully.
How To Fight A Good Fight Like Paul
Before this time, in 1 Timothy 6:12 WEB, Paul already told Timothy, “Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you confessed the good confession in the sight of many witnesses.”
In 2 Timothy 4, he seemed more instructive and emphatic about it with concerns. He said again to Timothy:
“I command you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom:
preach the word; be urgent in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all patience and teaching.
For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts;
and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside to fables.
But you be sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:1–5 WEB.
While Paul told Timothy to take up the batten and get fully into the ministry (which is actually the ministry of reconciliation), he gave him specific instructions that we can follow likewise in order to say that we, The Believers Today, have fought a good fight.
Below are three ways to fight a good fight like Paul did:
- Preach the word of God in favorable and unfavorable times, not as a seasonal preacher but as a soldier of Christ.
- Patiently teach the people, bringing reprove, correction to ideas that are exalted above the knowledge of God, warning, urging, and encouraging the people in the Lord.
- Mindfully prepare for hardship and be calm in it.
“For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:12–13 WEB.
Never forget to prepare in the place of prayer, in the study of God’s word, and living a life worth imitation. Remember, the goal is to bring people to the knowledge of Christ Jesus.