In previous blog posts, we saw that the good fight does not consist of attacking opponents, but of holding fast to sound doctrine and the faith. Paul calls upon Timothy to fight the excellent fight by holding fast to the sound words entrusted to him. At the end of his own course, he can say: “I have kept the faith.”
When the subject of the fight arises, reference is often made to Ephesians 6. After all, Paul speaks there of the armor of God. This passage is frequently interpreted as a description of spiritual warfare. But is that actually what Paul is saying here?
Ephesians 6
11 Put on the full armor of God, so as to be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil,
12 for our conflict is not with flesh and blood, but with the principalities, with the authorities, with the world forces of this darkness, with the evil spiritual powers in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.
14 Stand, then, with your loins girded with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and your feet shod with the readiness of the gospel of peace,
16 while taking up, in addition to all this, the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil one.
17 And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. standing firm four times
It is striking that Paul nowhere calls upon the believer to launch an attack. On the contrary. Four times, the call goes out to stand, to resist, and to hold one’s ground. This aligns seamlessly with what we saw in the Epistles to Timothy. The good fight consists not of seeking out conflict, but of standing firm when the truth is under attack.
defensive armor
The armor itself confirms this picture. The belt protects. The breastplate protects. The shoes provide a firm footing. The shield serves to ward off fiery arrows. The helmet protects the head. Virtually all components of the armor are intended for holding one’s ground.
Only the sword appears to be an offensive weapon. But Paul immediately clarifies what he means:
“…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
It was precisely the Word of God that was constantly central in the Epistles to Timothy. The good fight is not waged with human means, but by holding fast to what God has spoken. In this way, the Lord Jesus also parried the adversary’s temptations by repeatedly answering: “It is written” (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10).
the armor of God
One other thing stands out. Paul does not speak of *our* armor, but of the armor of God. This is not new imagery; he draws it directly from Isaiah.
Isaiah 11
5 For righteousness shall be the belt around His hips, and truth the belt around His waist.
Isaiah 5
17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate and placed the helmet of salvation on His head. He put on the robe of vengeance as a garment and wrapped Himself in zeal as a cloak.
He put on the robe of vengeance (=the administration of justice) as a garment and wrapped Himself in zeal as a cloak. In Isaiah, it is not the believer who wears this armor, but God Himself. He is the One who acts, executes justice, and overcomes His enemies.
This brings to mind the words Moses spoke to Israel:
Exodus 14
14 YAHWEH will fight for you, and you — you shall remain silent.
Victory is God’s work.
standing in His victory
That does not mean the believer faces no battle. On the contrary. Whoever holds fast to sound doctrine and the faith will face opposition and conflict. But the believer does not need to win the victory; it has already been won by Christ.
That is why Paul does not call upon us to attack the adversary, but to stand. To hold fast to the truth. To keep the faith. That is precisely the line we have followed in this series. The good fight begins with faithfulness to sound doctrine. It is fought by holding fast to the faith and standing up for it.
The good fight is not the struggle to achieve victory, but the struggle to remain standing in the victory that God has won in Christ.