The Ohio Independent Baptist, September 1972

DR. ORGE LAWLOR THE TRIPLE FILE OF THE MINISTRY Ha,,ing s nal harg er, ant ... f . gcncratt n - t f rth the la t great per– t T1n1 th)' . and to all od in ever)' ucceed ing ( I I T 1 n1 . 4 : 1- 5 ) , the p . tie Patil then refer to t /1 e i,11111 i- r1e11c(.> of /1i pa in .. f! on. He ay in , . 6...F or I an1 now ready to be of- fered ...... The e ~ ord are not boa t- f u 1: the) are de oid of all egoti m ~ the 1· do not con titute a di play of pride. Pau l i facing death; he i im– pl) tat1ng the fact. He on hi part ( e..f!O). i done: hi ervice i ended. T1moth)'. however, mu t continue on -a all true erva nt of Christ mu t do. a long a they are able. The po tle' reference to hi " being of– fered" i an intere ti ng one, for the Greek word i spendo,nai, the present pa i\. e form of spendo, to pour out a a drink-offering.' ' P au l used the ame \\-'Ord in Phil . 2: 17. The figure i taken from umbers 15:1 -10. A libation of wine was added to the sac– r ifice proper, and wa the last act o f the acrificial ritual. Pau l sees hi s ap– proaching dea th as completing his en– tire mini try and ervice. The pouring out of hi life will close hi s career in the great Gospel cause. The paral lel sta tement in v. 6 i lit– eral and fitting: '·and the time of my departure is at hand." The season ( kairos) for his moving on has come. The final appointment of his 1 ife is here. Thi s season of departing comes to all of us-let us be ready for it . The perfect tense verb "is at hand" ( epl1esteiken) i used with stress on the present. The time i right here , nO\.\. and the long pan of Paul' life I at the point of termination. Th e ea on for its con ummation i here . Paul a 1· .. my depa rting" to describe hi decea e. The \.\Ord is anali,seos, ..an up""ard loo ing. di solvi ng ." I t was U<ied in the sense of a ship being Joo ed from it mooring , preparatory to etting ail. It ""a al o used to de- cri be the breaking up of an ar111y encampment, prior to taking up the march . The Apo tie is engaged in the JO SEPTEMBER, 1972 preliminarie of departing for the family-home in glory. He i taking down hi tent ; ca ting off hi hip's mooring a we will one day do. He i in cribing the final word of his la t will and te tament, under in piration, for God' true ervant in the season to come. Can we read these words without tears? Th e inspiration of l1is great testi- 111on)' follow in the extra-ordinary word of v. 7, and constitutes what we have suggested as "The Triple File of the Mini try. ' ' Here are three great fact three heart-gripping compari– son , arranged in order, drawn respec– tively from the mi litary, athletic and tewardly domains by which Paul brings to a close the whole book of hi s Chri tian life and service. I t is the pattern for the Gospel Ministry, for every true servant of Chri st to fol– low. Consider: I . The Figh t h as been fought. Paul says literally: "The good fight I have fought." The metaphor here is generally taken to refer to a contest in the great athletic arena the athlete striving for the prize, straining every muscle in effort that is at times agon– izing. This figu re is legitimate, s ince the noun 'fight," and the verb ' have fought' ' are from the same r oot, agon , which was used to designate the place where the Greek Games were held. Paul i aying that he has striven in the mighty contest, and has played the good game of the true contender, has spent hi labor and effort in the good truggle, which is the arena of the Chri tian faith ( 1 Tim . 6:12). It hould be pointed out however, that the figure also has a definite mili– tary background. The word agona has a true sense of co111bat , and was con- i tently u ed in Greek literature to de cr ibe a battle, or a military cam– paign . Thi sen e of co,nbat i found in other passages in which Paul use thi term : ee Phil . I :30: I The . 2 :2 : I Tim. 6:12 . (cf. al o John 18:36). The first of the three perfect tense in tl1 i · gr ea t ·tatc111cr1t i s eigo11ir111<1i, " I l1Hvc fc..1 t1gf1t ' '-tl1c const1r11mativc per– t cct, <.lcno ting n protr, ctccl bt1t now co r1st111ln1atecl J)rocess of action. AJJ along, clown tJ1rot1gh the years, day in a nlf day otit , Patti has engaged the good co nt c\ t, fot1ght the gooc.J combat, co 11~lantl y and agoni71ngly having waged the good warfarc, as a gooc.l soldier of hri5t, and now he has come to the end, an<.J i5 to be mustered out . One thing is ce rt ain: with al l the weakne55c~ of the human frame, the mi stake , error of judgment perhaps, all tha t is aki n to tht\ physical body and mind- nevertheless, PaL1l fougl1t. He did what he was ordered to do by hi commander-i n-chief. He fought the good fight of faith, and did not waver in the fighting What have we done? H ave we fought a good fight? What kind of soldiers are we? 2 . The Finish of t he race.. Now Paul turns spec ifica ll y to the athletic arena , and speaks in the lan– guage of a particular event, i .e. the foot r ace. He says that he has now completed the course: he has covered the required di stance, and he is now at the fini sh line. The second of the three perfect tenses, " I have finished' ' ( teteleka) sums up the running of the race, and the reaching of the mark . It has been a long, steady, unfaltering pace and it has brought the Apostle to the goal. His ervice for the Lord is over now: hi s ambition h as been to complete thi s cour e with no regrets, and he has done so. (cf. Acts 20: 24). We must ask ourselves: How am I running the race? Am I running a good r ace? Am I keeping the training rules? What kind of a job am I doing in this cour e? Every Chri st ian, wher– ever God pl aces him ha hi s race to run-God's ervants, have a special (Continued on page 15) AVAILABLE FOR .. . Pu lpit Supply-Special Meetings– Weekend Meetings Rev. Elton C. Hukill Wellington Mobile Home Pa rk Wellington , O hio 44090 Phone: (2 16) 647-4378 Vi it ing - LAKE HOPE? Attending - OHIO U IYERSITY? A Warm Welcome Await you at . . . ALBANY BAPTIST CHURCH Albany, Ohio Paul G. Williams, Pastor lltSI ten 111iles frort1 1/1e A tl1 ens Ca111p1ts Call if ) 'Ott need transportation Phone ( 614) 698-3163 . THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST