Mannh

I think it is important for any minister to be reminded of his calling and the circustances that surrounded that calling. In this case it is the prophecies spoken of Timothy. One can get so caught up in the work of the ministry that he/she may lose sight of why he/she's doing it in the first place. This just reinforces Paul exhortation to keep the faith and keep serving the people of Ephesus. Fighting the good fight means to keep serving good and doing the work of the church. It means to keep loving people and in this case drawing them back from the controversies and false prophets. It means to keep doing what God wants you to do. I think Paul is trying to prevent Timothy from giving up. In order to do this, he is encouraging to hold on to faith and a good conscience. In other words, to trust God and keep doing what you know to be right and moral to do.

We learn that God transcends our human limits on space and time. We learn that it is immportant to show him honor and praise. A doxology lightens our own heart and helps us fix our thoughts on God.

I think Paul wanted to show them that his life was a testament to the grace of God. He wanted to show them that even though he was a blasphemer and persecutor-two incredibly serious sins against God Himself-God's grace transcended that and Paul was shown truth and mercy. In order to do that, he starts with something they can relate to-the law. He decribes that the law is for the ungodly and sinful in order to show them the right way to act. Perhaps members of the church at Ephesus will see themselves in some of these descriptions. Then Paul goes on to give them hope-he was once a sinner against God, but now with God's mercy Paul is His servant. He wants to create in them a hunger for truth, justice and God's love. I think he is doing this so that they will draw back to the important things of serving the church instead of being caught up in the false doctrines and controversies that are splitting them apart.

The false doctrines in Ephesus seemed to distract the believers from learning God's truth that Paul, Timothy and others grounded in the faith were trying to teach. I agree with others on this forum that some people thrive on controversy and like to stir up trouble. Paul was telling Timothy to guide the believers back to the truth. The false doctrines were also drawing the believers away from God's love for others. Instead of loving one another and doing good works that flowed from that love, they were engaging in meaningless talk. I think the ultimate result of this false doctrine, controversy and meaningless talk was the church in Ephesus not being unified and not being effective in doing God's will. They were concentrating on themselves and not looking to the needs of others. It kept them from doing what God wanted. How true that is of some churches today as well. We would do well to promote love for others and unity in order to do the work God has called us to as a local body of believers and as a universal body of God's children!