1 Timothy 1:18 Fight well

1 Timothy 1:18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well,

Here Paul speaks in a very personal way to his son in the faith, Timothy. He gives him a command or, to be more accurate, entrusts him with it - the command to deal with the false teachers in Ephesus, making proper use of the law. Paul does this in keeping with the prophecies once made about Timothy, which he refers to again, later in the letter (1 Timothy 4:14). In New Testament times, when there was no New Testament, there were still prophecies (although Paul could be using the term more loosely). Today we would think of ordination promises and charges. In both cases, these things must be recalled. Paul's hope is that by recalling them Timothy may fight the battle well or more traditionally  fight the good fight that is the fight of faith. The place of memory can easily be overlooked. It is an important weapon, however, that the minister can and must use in his war on Satan. Too often the buzz of ordination day is forgotten in the hurly burly of the real world. There is no need for that to happen and it is detrimental when it does. The Christian life is a fight, a fight we will win if we make right use of the helps God provides.