Prophecies Once Made About You

1 Timothy 1:18-19 - Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.

1 Timothy 6:12 - Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

2 Timothy 4:7 - I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Acts 13:2 - While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

Conclusions:

• Timothy had possessed eternal life since he had first been saved, but Paul urges him to claim its benefits in greater fullness
• “When you made your good confession” is probably a reference to Timothy’s confession of faith at his baptism during Paul’s first missionary journey
• In 2 Timothy 4:7 Paul looks back over 30 years of labor as an apostle
• Like an athlete who had engaged successfully in a contest, he had finished the race and had kept the faith, i.e., had carefully observed the teachings of the Christian faith
• Or, in view of the Pastorals’ emphasis on sound doctrine, perhaps the faith refers to the deposit of Christian truth
• Paul’s first missionary journey did not result from a planning session but from the Spirit’s initiative as the leaders worshiped
• The communication from the Holy Spirit may have come through the prophets

Application:

• Are you fighting the good fight of the faith?
• Are you carefully observing the teachings of the Christian faith?
• Have you been set apart for the work you have been called to?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible