2 Timothy 4:7

a good fight the good fight, see 1 Timothy 6:12, where the metaphor is discussed; the second clause here, -I have finished the course," certainly suggests that the foot-race is to be the chief thought in the -games contest," -the fair race "tis run; the course "tis finished; the faith "tis kept" may represent the perfect tense used: -per effectus suos durat," Poppo. The aspirations of Acts 20:24; Philippians 3:12, have now been realised; the Christian athlete is all but -emeritus." -He stands almost alone under the shadow of an impending death; but it is the last effort of a defeated and desperate cause: the victory is already gained.… With the assured conviction that the object of his life was fully accomplished, he might well utter these words on which seventeen centuries have now set their indisputable seal." Stanley, Apostolic Age, pp. 169 170.

the faith In the same objective sense as so often throughout these Epistles, the sacred deposit of historic truth and teaching, cf. 1 Timothy 6:20-21, &c.