1 Timotius 1:18-19

1:18 I put this charge ¹  before you, Timothy my child, in keeping with the prophecies once spoken about you, ²  in order that with such encouragement ³  you may fight the good fight. 1:19 To do this ⁴  you must hold firmly to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith.

1 Timotius 6:12

6:12 Compete well ⁵  for the faith and lay hold of that eternal life you were called for and made your good confession ⁶  for ⁷  in the presence of many witnesses.

[1:18]  ¹ sn This charge refers to the task Paul described to Timothy in vv. 3-7 above.

[1:18]  ² sn The prophecies once spoken about you were apparently spoken at Timothy’s ordination (cf. 1 Tim 4:14) and perhaps spoke of what God would do through him. Thus they can encourage him in his work, as the next clause says.

[1:18]  ³ tn Grk “that by them you might fight…” (a reference to the prophecies which can encourage him in his work).

[1:19]  ⁴ tn In Greek this continues the same sentence from v. 18, a participle showing the means by which Timothy will accomplish his task: Grk “fight the good fight, holding firmly…”

[6:12]  ⁵ tn This phrase literally means “compete in the good competition of the faith,” using words that may refer to a race or to a boxing or wrestling match: “run the good race” or “fight the good fight.” The similar phrase in 1 Tim 1:18 uses a military picture and is more literally “war the good warfare.”

[6:12]  ⁶ sn At some point in Timothy’s life, he publicly acknowledged Jesus as the resurrected Lord, perhaps either at his baptism or his ordination as a minister of the gospel. With this reminder of the historical moment of his good confession, Timothy is encouraged to remain steadfast in his faith and to finish his life as a minister in the same way it began (see G. W. Knight, Pastoral Epistles [NIGTC], 264-65).

[6:12]  ⁷ tn Grk “confessed the good confession.”