From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it (Mat 11:12).

We learned last time that we as heirs of God must go and forcefully lay hold of the kingdom of God together with all kinds of blessings associated with this inheritance. Although the kingdom of God exists in our world, it does not exist physically. Where the will of God is carried out through the name of Jesus, there is the kingdom of God. So, then, the questions we ask are: what kind of battle are we to fight, and what kind of force do we need to have in order to lay hold of our inheritance?

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 (1 Tim 6:12).

Since the kingdom of God is a spiritual kind of kingdom, the battle we fight takes place in the spiritual realm. This scripture encourages us to "fight a good fight of faith." Faith substantializes what is hoped for and not seen, making the spiritual realities of God's word real in our physical world. So, our task as fighters of faith is to make the spiritual realities promised concerning the kingdom of God real in this physical world following the example of Abraham. The word "good (kalos)" can mean good in a legal sense—"right" or "correct." Players in a sports-related game must fight according to the rules set for the game, otherwise they will be disqualified. In the same way, we need to fight this fight correctly by following the rules set in the Bible, if we want to win. In fact, the Bible tells us that we are more than conquerors, and we do not fight wondering whether we will win or not. Every fight we fight is always a "good" fight because we are already winners.

The word "fight" naturally comes to be associated with negative feelings in our mind. We instinctively try to avoid any involvement in a fighting situation where some extra efforts, energy, and even sacrifices are demanded. We remember the story of Num 13-14: the people of Israel refused to go into the Promised Land because of their fear and unbelief, and it provoked the anger of God. Not knowing that the fight they were to fight was a "good" fight, they were defeated in the battle of faith by not fighting, and failed to take possession of what was promised to them. It is a "good" thing to fight, and God even trains his children, as he did to Abraham, to make them good fighters. Thus, a refusal to fight this fight is considered a rebellion against God as seen in the story of Num 13-14, and is as bad as making a golden calf as in Exod 32.

More importantly, God expects his heirs to go and fight for the sake of others who have not yet received what is promised to them. God said to Joshua after Moses died:

No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; …. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them (Josh 1:5-6).

The task given to Joshua was not for his own possession, but for the inheritance that the whole assembly of Israel were to receive. This applies now to every worker of God, who has received the Spirit of God and become his heir in Christ. Moreover, note the way God commanded those two and a half tribes (the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh) who had already received their lands in Transjordan to cross the Jordan ahead of the other tribes and help them take possession of the land.

… all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, … east of the Jordan toward the sunrise (vv. 14-15).

This is exactly what God expects you to do as his heir while you are here on earth.