“For the just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mishief.” Proverbs 24:16
Dear Ones:
The Apostle Paul tells us that we are in a fight. He calls it specifically, a “…fight of faith.” In his first letter to Timothy, not long before he went to be with the Lord, the Apostle wrote: “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called.” (6:12) Why does he address Timothy in this manner, especially in view of the fact that he will not have many more opportunities to exhort this “son in the faith?” First, he brings Timothy face to face with the reality that he is IN a warfare, whether he recognizes it or not. In his letter to the Ephesian believers, he wrote: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (6:12) These words not only speak of the true nature of the conflict, but of the very real engagement by the believer, to “fight,” or “wrestle,” resist and overcome these powers of darkness. This is done according to, and by, the victory which Christ won, when he made an open show of them, conquering them all. Paul is revealing to Timothy that there is a very real enemy who will oppose, seek to stop, turn aside, tempt, and hinder the advancement of Christ’s expanding kingdom. Timothy needs to know and realize this, not seeking to address the matter in a way that will not succeed. Later to the Corinthians Paul would write: “For though we walk in the flesh, we DO NOT war according to the flesh.” (2 Cor. 10:2) Not only is the nature of the “fight” spiritual, but the manner and means of fighting are spiritual. He writes of the “weapons of our warfare,” which are “mighty through God.” Only God, by spiritual weapons, can “pull down strongholds…cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.” (v.4,5) This fight and struggle is for the hearts and minds of men. These strongholds, imaginations, and “exalted thoughts” against God, are lies that have been believed. If Satan can tempt, or persuade, a person to believe a lie, he then has spiritual leverage in the life of that person. His influence, and power, through the lie, brings with it a measure of control over the one who has believed the lie. Paul gives a good example of this to Timothy by writing concerning those who are opposing God, sometimes ignorantly. He speaks first of instructing them. Then he writes: “…if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledgement of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil.” (2:25,26) We see here a, individual who has been ensnared by the devil by believing a his lie. What is it that delivers him? It is first a knowledge of the truth, the truths of the Gospel, and secondly, the intervention of God, who gives repentance, that capacity to obey the truth, and thus escape the snare. We have here two aspects of this “fight of faith,” one where the believer has been, for one reason or another, brought low and ensnared by the enemy. In other words, he has temporarily succumbed to temptation, and deceit. He has temporarily lost his footing in the fight. He has been knocked down, and neutralized by the enemy, because the lie has been embraced instead of the truth. On the other hand, we have in Timothy, the “warrior,” one who, though he is imperfect, is standing BY FAITH according to the truth. He is overcoming the “onslaught” of the enemy against his mind, heart, and spirit. Does Timothy ever “fall,” or “fail?” Yes, for scripture tells us that the righteous man does fall. However, unlike the unbeliever whose hope is no match for the “snare of the fowler,” Timothy and the “righteous man,” have the Holy Spirit, who can and will apply the precious blood of Christ for cleansing, and the fresh anointing of His power.
Dear Father, Strengthen us to always get up. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad