SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Obtaining God’s Promises

“This charge* I commit unto thee, son Timothy,
according to the prophecies which went before on thee,
that thou by them mightest war a good warfare…”
1 Timothy 1:18

The word translated “charge” in the above scripture is actually a command in the Greek (see note below). The promises of God are given to His own that, by receiving them, they may war rightly to see them come to pass. The promises of God require warfare to be real and vital in the lives of His own.

“And if a man also strive for masteries,
yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully”
2 Timothy 2:5

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul uses the Olympic athlete as an example to observe and be instructed thereby. Paul follows this statement declaring:

“Consider what I say;
and the Lord give thee understanding in all things”
2 Timothy 2:7

There is a striving and a contending for the crown of the call of God upon us. Few of God’s people comprehend the strenuous effort required in “laying hold” of the prize of our call in Christ. The apathy and the complacency of many is a source of suffering for those who know God. The sum of all the energies of Paul were expended in his pursuit of laying hold of God.

“Every man who strives in the games exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore run like that, not aimlessly. I fight like that, not beating the air, but I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected”. (“Unapproved, unworthy, spurious, worthless. In a passive sense meaning disapproved”)
1 Corinthians 9:25-27

Paul says he fights like that! He is fully involved (spirit, soul and body) in the fight of faith. He has one resolve in the entirety of his being. He is fully persuaded in his press to obtain the Crown OF Life to which he has been called. His life bears evidence of the faith and fire of God burning within! There is no value in glibly quoting the scriptures if we lack the evidence of faith in our daily life. How it must weary God that there be contentment in the quoting of scriptures without the corresponding evidence; but rather families out of order, poorly handled finances, lives lived in pursuit of other things, and an inability to impart the power of faith into the lives of those around them. Paul, in the passion of the Spirit of God, cries out:

“So run, that ye may obtain”!
1 Corinthians 9:24

The Christian life is not about just believing, it is about obtaining!

“Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible”
1 Cor. 9:25

“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ”. 1 Thess. 5:9

“Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”
2 Thess. 2:14 (what a staggering call)

“Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus…”
2 Timothy 2:10

“For by it the elders obtained a good report”
Hebrews 11:2

“Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions…”
Hebrews 11:33

The list is too long and too precious to be listed without prayerful consideration of each one as a powerful truth. I am stirred this morning as I consider the grace and mercy of God, and the ethos of a generation who know little of the cost nor the power associated with the call of God. There is a generation who find contentment in words rather than a life of godliness.

“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ”
Philippians 3:8

How few understand the cry of Paul’s heart, “that I may win Christ”. To those who do not pursue the person of Christ, this statement will be an enigma and a mystery. There will be an inability to see the pure truth contained within its wonder. The secret of the Lord is with them who fear Him, and it is to such that He reveals His Covenant (Psalm 25:14). The power of this Word ignites a hunger within and a thirst which cannot be quenched. Oh, the folly of words without fire, purpose without passion, and a powerless Christian gospel which does not birth a singular pursuit of Him! Life lived outside the grip of the fire of His love is meaningless and vain. He is the One Object of our faith; He is the Pearl of Great Price; He is the Fire which burns within.

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?”
Psalm 42:1-3

Those who bear His Fire
Shine forth His Light;
For the Light without
Is evidence of the Fire within.

Σ

“But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay”
Jeremiah 20:9

*NOTE:
parangelia (G3852), “a proclamation, a command or commandment,” is strictly used of commands received from a superior and transmitted to others. It is rendered “charge” in Act 16:24; 1Th 4:2, RV (where the word is in the plural); 1Ti 1:5 (RV) and 1Ti 1:18. In Act 5:28 the lit. meaning is “Did we not charge you with a charge? Vines New Testament Dictionary

Brian Troxel

Taught of God

“But as touching brotherly love
ye need not that I write unto you:
for ye yourselves are taught of God
to love one another”
1 Thessalonians 4:9

The culmination of God’s work within an individual is Love; His Love ruling and reigning in the life of His own. While those with “itchy ears” (desirous of hearing something pleasant Literal Greek Definition) clamor to hear teachers who will entertain the intellect and arouse their curiosity, those who are taught of God are brought into the arena of His Love for one another.

“For the time will come
when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts
shall they heap to themselves teachers,
having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth,
and shall be turned unto fables”
2 Timothy 4:3-4 (LITV)

The Gospel of God speaks of righteousness and grace. It presents to us a bruised and broken Son of God, delivered to wicked men to be crucified on our behalf, that we should no more be slaves of sin but would become servants of righteousness. The gospel of pleasant things is “another gospel” prevalent in preaching of today. The verse preceding the above one is Paul’s instruction to Timothy of what his preaching should be.

“Preach the word; be instant in season,
out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort
with all longsuffering and doctrine”
2 Timothy 4:2

We are to preach the Word, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting one another in the fervor and passion of the Holy Spirit. In our day those who live and preach such things are ostracized and ridiculed for being “legalistic”. In reality the Word declares just the opposite.

“Having a form of godliness,
but denying the power thereof:
from such turn away”
2 Timothy 2:5

It is those who live in the realm of appearances and hold to a form of righteousness from whom the Apostle exhorts Timothy to turn away. We have perverted the Gospel to such an extent that the “professors” of religion are accepted while those who seek to preach righteousness are turned away even by many who call themselves by His Holy Name. People desire to hear only “pleasant things”; things that soothe the soul and anesthetize the conscience from that word that would pierce asunder “soul and spirit” and make manifest the ulterior motives of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Those who are taught of God know of His Love which corrects, chastens and reproves that they may grow in the righteousness of God in Christ. Those who love religion and appearance are comfortable with a form of goodness and have no desire to come to the truth.

To be taught of God is to desire His word of reproof, exhortation and rebuke from all who walk in the light of God. Truth is the only means by which we can know in the depths of our hearts what God’s Love is. The Holy Spirit is never called the Spirit of Love; it is called the Spirit of Truth. It is in the ministration of truth, that piercing revelation of all who Jesus is, that we have any concept of the Holy Love of God. God’s love does not overlook sin; it atones for it!

Love is the end of God within His people. Those who know God love His people and have His heart, His call and His desire for them beating within their own hearts. It is from such that His ministrations of truth proceed. Those who speak only “pleasant things” are those who desire only pleasant things. Those who compromise with sin in their own hearts will easily overlook the sins of others. Those who shun those who speak truth are those who also shun truth in their own hearts; for by their works men reveal their true condition. It is a day of the unveiling of all things. The Revelation of Christ is also the day of the revelation of all hearts. In the shining forth of Him all things hidden will be exposed and “the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day”.

To Love someone is to care
To care for someone is to speak truth
To speak truth is to reveal Jesus
To reveal Jesus is to Honour the Father
To Honour the Father is to Love the Son

Whether or not we are taught of God is revealed by the depth of His Love which flows from our hearts to others. The validity of an individual being taught of God is revealed in the Love they walk in. If we only love those who love us we know not God.

“And if you love those who love you, what thanks is there to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks is there to you? For even the sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks is there to you? For the sinners lend to sinners so that they may receive the same. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be much; and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the unthankful and evil ones”
Luke 6:32-35

“He that loveth not knoweth not God;
for God is love”
1 John 4:8

Brian Troxel
www.aword.info

Tag: 2 Timothy 2:5