I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Read Chapter 4
Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
For in a contest there is much labor needed. After the contest victory falls to some, to others disgrace. Is the palm ever given or the crown granted before the course is finished? Paul writes well when he says, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but to all who love his appearing.” .
There is, of course, the passage where he speaks of immortality after good works, as if he really demands it as his due, for he says: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall render to me at that day.” Do you think, perhaps, that because he said “shall render” he meant that it was his due? But when “he ascended on high and took captivity captive,” he did not render but “gave gifts to men.” How could the apostle speak presumptuously as of a debt being paid back to him, unless he had first received grace which was not due to him, being justified by which, he fought the good fight? To Simplician—On Various Questions.
“Turn, O my soul, into your rest: for the Lord has been bountiful to you.” The brave contestant applies to himself the consoling words, very much like to Paul, when he says: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. For the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice.” These things the prophet also says to himself: Since you have fulfilled sufficiently the course of this life, turn then to your rest, “for the Lord has been bountiful to you.” For, eternal rest lies before those who have struggled through the present life observant of the laws, a rest not given in payment for a debt owed for their works but provided as a grace of the munificent God for those who have hoped in him.
As someone has said, you will scarcely ever find that when a person prays, some empty and external reflection does not impede him, causing the attention which the mind directs on God to be sidetracked and interrupted. So it is a great and most wholesome struggle to concentrate on prayer once begun, and with God’s help to show lively resistance to the temptations of the enemy, so that our minds may with unflagging attention strain to be ever fastened on God. Then we can deservedly recite Paul’s words: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.
I have fought a good fight, or strived a good strife. The Latin and Greek may signify any kind of striving for a prize.
I have kept the faith, not only the Christian faith, but been faithful in my office. (Witham)
For I am of the opinion that no creature can be perfect according to true and consummate justice. Moreover, no one denies that one individual differs from another individual. I know that there are different measures of justice among men, that one individual is greater or lesser than another individual and that individuals who are not just in comparison with other individuals can still be called just according to their own standard and measure. The apostle Paul, the chosen vessel, who labored more abundantly than all of the apostles, was certainly just when he wrote to Timothy: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. For the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord, the just judge, will give to me in that day; yet not to me only, but also to those who love his coming.” Timothy, who was his disciple and follower, who was guided by him in the way of life that he was to follow and the course he was to pursue in the acquisiti...
Often, when I have taken the Apostle into my hands, and have considered this passage, I have been at a loss to understand why Paul here speaks so loftily: I have fought the good fight. But now by the grace of God I seem to have found it out. For what purpose then does he speak thus? He is desirous to console the despondency of his disciple, and therefore bids him be of good cheer, since he was going to his crown, having finished all his work, and obtained a glorious end. You ought to rejoice, he says, not to grieve. And why? Because, I have fought the good fight. As a father whose son was sitting by him, bewailing his orphan state, might console him, saying, Weep not, my son; we have lived a good life, we have arrived at old age, and now we leave you. Our life has been irreproachable, we depart with glory, and you may be held in admiration for our actions. Our king is much indebted to us. As if he had said, We have raised trophies, we have conquered enemies, and this not boastfully. Go...
He is desirous to console the despondency of his disciple and therefore bids him be of good cheer, since he was going to his crown, having finished all his work and obtained a glorious end…. As a father whose son was sitting nearby, bewailing his orphan state, might console him, saying, Weep not, my son; we have lived a good life, we have arrived at old age, and now we leave you…. These things then he wrote to console Timothy. Indeed the whole epistle is full of consolation and is a sort of testament.
One must give gentle council to the depressed student, urging him to be courageous, as if he was far from his crown, fulfilling everything, you must rejoice, he says, not agonize.
If anyone should think it out of all reason that a godly man should suffer grievously so that someone else should be put right, let him reflect that this life is a contest and a striving ground for virtue. The victors’ chaplets are splendid in exact proportion, therefore, to the pains with which they are won. That is why Paul was allowed to fall into countless afflictions. The purpose was that the crown of victory which he should bear off might be the greater.
Feed them under Thy right hand, and cover them under Thy wings, and grant that they may "fight the good fight, and finish their course, and keep the faith"
