What Does 1 Timothy 6:12 Mean?

(12) **Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life.**—Then, again, with the old stirring metaphor of the Olympic contests for a prize (1Corinthians 9:24; Philippians 3:13-14)—the metaphor St. Paul loved so well, and which Timothy must have heard so often from his old master’s lips as he preached and taught—he bids the “man of God,” rising above the pitiful struggles for things perishable and useless, fight the noble fight of faith; bids him strive to lay hold of the *real* prize—life eternal. The emphasis rests here mainly on the words “the good fight” and “eternal life.” These things are placed in strong contrast with “the struggle of the covetous” and its “miserable, perishable crown.” “The good fight,” more closely considered, is the contest and struggle which the Christian has to maintain against the world, the flesh, and the devil. It is styled the “good fight of faith,” partly because the contest is waged on behalf of, for the sake of, the faith, but still more because from faith it derives its strength and draws its courage. “Eternal life” is the prize the “man of God” must ever have before his eyes. It is the crown of life which the Judge of quick and dead will give to the “faithful unto death.” (See James 1:12; Revelation 2:10.) **Whereunto thou art also called.**—The “calling” here refers both to the inner and outward call to the Master’s work. The inner call is the persuasion in the heart that the one vocation to which the life must be dedicated was the ministry of the word; and the outward call is the summons by St. Paul, ratified by the church in the persons of the presbyters of Lystra. **And hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.**—More accurately translated, *and* *thou confessedst the good confession* . . . These words simply add to the foregoing clause another ground of exhortation: “Thou wast called to eternal life, and thou madest the good confession.” When—has been asked—was this good confession made? Several epochs in the life of Timothy have been suggested. Were it not for the difficulty of fixing a date for so terrible an experience in Timothy’s, comparatively speaking, short life, it would appear most probable that the confession was made on the occasion of some persecution or bitter trial to which he had been exposed. On the whole, however, it appears safer to refer “the good confession” to the time of his ordination. In this case the many witnesses would refer to the presbyters and others who were present at the solemn rite.