1 Timothy 6:12

Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess the good confession in the sight of many witnesses.

The military metaphor was a favorite of Paul's; putting on the whole armor of God, enduring hardness as a good soldier, and many other references are made to it in his epistles.

Lay hold on the life eternal ... But was not Timothy already saved? Indeed he was, but the New Testament makes it starkly clear that fidelity on the part of Christians is also required of them if they really hope to enter heaven at last.

Whereunto thou wast also called ... All men are called in the sense of being objects of God's invitation to receive eternal life; but, as so frequently in the New Testament, "a call" means one answered and responded to; and so it was with Timothy. The time of his conversion is clearly in mind here, as the immediate reference to "the good confession" proves.

And didst confess the good confession ... White properly discerned this obvious reference to Timothy's baptism, thus:

In the primitive church, the baptism of an individual was a matter in which the church generally took an interest and part ... This explains the "many witnesses" of Timothy's good confession.[23]

Harvey also agreed that "this seems to point clearly to his baptism," adding that "The good confession in view here is that of Christ himself confessing himself the Son of God (Mark 14:62), which is analogous to the baptismal confession of Acts 8:37 (KJV and ASV margin)."[24]

THE GOOD CONFESSION

Why is this called the good confession twice in a single short paragraph?

1. It is the good confession because Christ made it, under oath (Mark 14:62), the same being the legal charge upon which our Lord was condemned to be crucified (John 19:7). Christ made it and died for making it, in order that men might make it and live.

2. It is the good confession because God himself made it three times, speaking out of heaven in broad open daylight, namely, (1) at the baptism of Christ (Matthew 3:17), (2) at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:5), and (3) when the Greeks came to see Jesus (John 12:28).

3. It is the good confession because all men, evil and righteous alike, shall at last make the good confession (Philippians 2:11). Since all must make it EVENTUALLY, why not make it in this life and be saved?

4. It is "unto salvation," as also clearly appears in this verse (Romans 10:10). It is a vital part of the plan of salvation.

5. Christ himself will confess those who make it, that occasion being, in all probability, the time when the redeemed have their names written in the book of life. See full exegesis on this in my Commentary on Matthew, pp. 142,245.

6. It has been made by the saints of all ages. Nathaniel made it (John 1:49), Peter made it (Matthew 16:16), Timothy made it (1 Timothy 6:12), Nicodemus made it (John 3:2), Thomas made it (John 20:28), Judas who betrayed him made it (Matthew 27:4), the judge who tried him made it (Matthew 27:24), Pilate's wife made it (Matthew 27:19), the centurion in charge of his execution made it (Matthew 27:54), and the greater thief on the cross confessed him (Luke 23:42).

7. The same is true of the angels, and of demons. The night he was born, the angels of heaven said, "Behold there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11); and the demons said, "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God?" (Mark 5:7). Heaven, earth and hell all have one word of Jesus Christ, "He is the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, the Son of God Most High."

8. The good confession is "good" because it is a summary of all Christian doctrine. Everything depends upon this, the rock of our salvation. It is the profoundest fact revealed in Scripture, and yet, paradoxically, it is easily understood. Like the mighty ocean, it has shallows where a child may play, and great deeps that have never been fathomed.

[23] Ibid., p. 146.

[24] A. C. Hervey, op. cit., p. 122.