Galatians 6:6–13

Two examples of its use will be enough. In Romans 12:13 it appears as "contribute to the needs of the saints." In 1 Timothy 6:18 it appears as "ready to share." So the apostle commands that the one taught in the word share his good things with the teacher. The one taught has the privilege of meeting the teacher's daily needs. He states the same principle from another angle: "if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings" (Rom. 15:27). Do many recognise this duty? The reader must answer that, not the writer.

"Have fellowship" means "share." Suppose a man has a good business or a good job. He is well off, and his wife and family have everything they need. Share these good things, says the apostle, with those who gave up their business or their job to spend their time and ability teaching the Word. This is God's order and arrangement. If the Lord's people would only listen to it, how good that would be — for them and for the Lord's labourers.

The apostle asks for generosity "in all good things" towards those who teach: this is a precious thing. But why try to attach the idea of payment to it, and destroy the idea of love, of honour, of attachment, of affection?

While the servant of God is to share in the material things of the saints, there is not a hint of a bargain between them. To fix and take a salary is to degrade the whole service, and to make the labourer not a servant of Christ but of man. He is to look to the Lord who has employed him for support.

Love is active; it does not wait for poverty to force its hand. It would be a real loss, and a shame to the saints, if the taught had no room for love just because the teacher was not poor. If such ideas were to replace or weaken plain Scripture, the saints would be demoralised.

We are in danger of forgetting this link with all those whom the Lord has raised up for the good of the Church... It does not say, To him who teaches them; but, "To him who teaches." What a large-hearted way of putting it! Suppose there is no such need where you live. Would you be so shortsighted as to overlook the Lord's claims elsewhere? That would be selfish indeed.

By nature we are selfish creatures. Most of us are glad enough to receive, but very tight-fisted when it comes to giving. Verses 7 and 8, with their solemn warning, are written with this in view. Scripture tells us that our own spiritual prosperity depends on this matter. We are quick to invent reasons for not giving, and for keeping as much as we can. So the apostle opens his warning with, "Do not be deceived." It is so easy to deceive ourselves.

The Spirit warns us again and again against deception. We deceive ourselves, and Satan's agents deceive us too. Take that warning to heart. One thing at least is certain: God is not mocked. The wise and clever of this world once mocked Him in the person of His Son. Even so, God will not be treated as nothing forever. He is a God of knowledge. He weighs our actions, and in due time He will make the results plain. For He will give to every man according to his work. What is more, in His wise plan, men judge themselves and repay themselves.

Here the point is the order God has set up in His holy government, both in the natural things around us and in the moral affairs of our lives. So we are told that even if we do deceive ourselves, we shall not be able to mock God by changing the results. In nature every seed produces "according to its kind," a phrase repeated ten times in Genesis 1.

The word means to turn up our noses at God. The apostle tells the Galatians to share with their teachers. But Paul knows some of them will hear this command and turn up their noses, saying, "Why should we listen to this man Paul? We have our new teachers from Jerusalem. Let us hear them." It is not Paul you are turning up your noses at. Far from it. Paul is only God's messenger, bringing you God's message. It is at God you are turning up your noses when you refuse to heed His Word.

The apostle goes on to show something about believers here on earth. Their lives fall under the general principles of God's government, just like anyone else's. Our souls are apt to forget this, and to act as if, because we are subjects of grace, we are free from responsibility. Not at all. Grace can never be lost. God will carry every believer safely through the wilderness and present each one in glory. But on the way there, God's unchanging principles of government touch us just as they touch anyone else.

"Whatever one sows, that will he also reap." God may forgive the sin of sowing weeds, but the reaping still matches the sowing. The former is grace, the latter is government. Each acts in its own sphere, and neither interferes with the other. As a subject of grace, David walked in the courts of the sanctuary. Later, as a subject of government, he had to climb the rough slopes of the Mount of Olives. And we may say that David's heart never felt divine grace more deeply than at the very time he was under the righteous action of divine government.

Though, as born of God, we have a new nature, the old nature — the flesh — is still in us. We pass through our lives like a man walking through a field with two baskets of seed. The basket on his left has in it the things of the flesh. The one on his right has in it the things of the Spirit. Everything depends on what he does. Which basket does he dip his hand into to scatter seed?

The question here is self-indulgence in one way or another. If someone has a heart for the Lord, he will soon find a way to serve Him. But that way often demands much self-denial. No circumstances set this aside… Someone might say to me: I understood you to teach that those who believe already have eternal life. But here it says, "the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." Both statements are of the greatest value, but the point of view is different. If God is urging His people to a holy walk, He shows that everlasting life is the crown of that walk, and the end of it.

To sow to the flesh is to cater for it and its desires. To sow to the Spirit is to give Him His place and to give yourself to His interests. If the first, we reap corruption. If the second, eternal life. The corruption comes from the flesh. Eternal life, from the Spirit.

Anyone who learns God's truth from another person has a responsibility to give back whatever help he can to the teacher. This matters most when the teacher gives his time to teaching the Word… Paul is addressing the believer here, not the unbeliever, though the principle covers everyone. Anyone who lives independently of God and disobeys Him is sowing to the flesh, and the sad harvest will come in due time. The sowing here refers directly to the use of our possessions.

It is, of course, true that we reap as we sow in quantity. 2 Corinthians 9:6 stresses that side of the question… Our verse presses the truth that as surely as God is God, we reap as we sow in character or kind. We cannot sow one kind and reap another kind… Men cannot sow thistles and reap wheat… The same is true in the spiritual world. If we sow to satisfy the flesh we reap corruption, always corruption, and nothing but corruption.

So flesh and corruption are tied together as cause and effect… The "old man" is corrupt through deceitful desires (Eph. 4:22). Those desires are so deceitful that what looks like the most intellectual and refined philosophy may in fact be human minds wandering, driven by the desires of the flesh. Such people simply end up thinking what they want to think. All the corruption that fills the world today starts in thought. Words and actions follow.

Our souls are apt to forget this, and to act as if grace freed us from responsibility. Not at all. No one can ever forfeit grace. God will surely carry every believer safely through the wilderness and present him in glory. But along the road the unchangeable principles of God's government touch us just as they touch anyone else. Never indulge the flesh.

So it is not that the believer can lose his salvation; it is a matter that he can lose the enjoyment of fellowship with God. Whatever we do, we will face the consequences. King David's sin was forgiven, but in God's government he still lost four of his sons… God examines every action. We are under His government.

A person might say to me, "I understood you to teach that those who believe have eternal life already. But here it says that the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." Both statements are of the utmost value. But the point of view is totally different. If God is exhorting His people to a holy walk, He shows that eternal life is the crown of that walk, and the end of it. Whatever salvation grace brings in, it never sets aside the value of holy devotedness to God… The eternal life spoken of here is clearly what we are to have in glory. The eternal life John writes about is what the believer already has on earth. Both are true.

The Apostle now adds a solemn warning. He pictures God's government in our path through this world as sowing and reaping. Let us not fool ourselves. We are Christians by the grace of God, but that does not mean we escape the results of our folly in this life. "God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." On the one hand, if we act in the flesh, we shall suffer. God's mercy may lessen that suffering when we judge the failure. On the other hand, to act in the Spirit will carry its bright reward not only down here but in the life everlasting.

But we must not weary in the right path, for God is faithful, and if we persevere, we shall reap in His own time. We often want to see the fruit of our labours at once, like someone who turns up the earth to see if the seed is springing. But if the work is real, it is God's work. We must wait until He finishes it. Then we shall see fruit ripened to match the perfection of His workmanship.

"Let us not be weary in well doing" (an older translation), or, as J. N. Darby renders it, "Let us not lose heart in doing good." It is so easy to lose heart in doing good. That poor soul you helped the other day turned out to be a crook, not in need at all. So you vowed nobody would fool you so easily again. No, no; let us not be discouraged; let us not give in to evil. Next time you may turn away somebody really in need.

Near the end of this verse older translations have the word "faint" (the ESV has "give up"). It is a completely different word from en-kakeo. The word used here is ek-luo, "I loose," or "I unloose" — like a bowstring being let go slack.

This should encourage the heart of the believer in the middle of all the trials of this present life. Often now we have to put a foot on the neck of something we love. Often we have to cut away what our hearts cling to. But the path will soon end in joy and glory, where the divine life in us can grow with nothing to spoil it. We must not let our hands drop, however much the heart urges it. Keep on with every good work until the Lord Jesus comes. The "due season" is not far off; then joy will crown the servant's work. We need to remind each other of this now. Serving Christ in these last days is often very discouraging, and the worker is likely to faint on the road or give up in despair. Take courage — the Lord is near.

The principle of sowing is widened in verses 9 and 10 to include our whole conduct of life. Well-doing of whatever sort is sowing pure seed. May we never become weary in doing it! The season of final reaping is close at hand — the Judgment Seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10). There is no reason to faint or be discouraged, however, and we shall not faint if Christ is the Object before our souls. Opportunities for doing good are abundant if we keep our eyes open, and we are to exclude no one from our thoughtfulness and care.

He pictures God's government of our path through this world as sowing and reaping. Let us not fool ourselves. We are Christians by the grace of God, but that does not mean we escape the results of our own foolishness in this life... In the presence of opposition and conflict we may faint, seeing little result of "well doing" we may grow weary, but let us press on, waiting God's "due season."

Verses 9 and 10 widen the principle of sowing to cover our whole way of life. Well-doing of whatever sort is sowing pure seed... Chances to do good are everywhere if we keep our eyes open. We are to leave no one out of our thoughtfulness and care... This is not just enjoying people and giving them what they want. It is real, positive good done to them.

The word for "labor" makes us think of the hard work that is needed. And if we are to do good towards all, it does require hard work... And it is only as we have time! "But this I say, brothers: the time is short!" (1 Cor. 7:29, older translation.) Soon our opportunities will be gone. Soon it will be too late. We will not have the opportunities in heaven to do good towards all as we have now down here.

We are to love all (1 Thess. 3:12), to pray for all (1 Tim. 2:1), to do good to all (Gal. 6:10), to love and to help our enemies (Rom. 12:19-21), and to be kind to the unthankful and the evil (Matt. 5:43-48). At the same time we are especially to do good to the household of faith. We are to love our brothers and sisters as Christ has loved us. That means we must be willing to lay down our lives for them. (1 John 3:16.)

The power of our testimony for the Lord depends more on our actions than on our words! The world may not study Scripture, but often it knows how to judge our behaviour. How many a soul has been broken down, not only by the pure gospel, clearly presented, but also by the mercy shown!

We are to be givers and doers of good to all men; while the household of faith has the first claim on us. By creation we are connected with all men. Redemption and its results place us in the household of faith. The first tie is natural, the second is spiritual, and the spiritual comes before the natural.

"The faith" is a term which tells us of the faith in Christ Jesus, and the household of faith includes every believer. May we remember that we all belong to the same household. People may build walls. They form groups and societies that shut other believers out. But in God's eyes we all belong to the same household.

Surely, if there is a special duty to the household of faith, I am also bound to do good to all men. But in this there is no yoking together with those outside Christ, and no communion. The worldly man gives because he is generous, or feels for the need of the person, or is expected to give. The child of God does it because it is the will of God. The one acts on the ground of nature, the other in faith.

What was at stake was nothing less than the gospel, and so the salvation of the soul. That is why the language is so severe — unmatched among the apostolic writings. This cruel attempt to undermine the gospel and destroy souls fully explains the tone of the letter and the strength of the words used. It also explains an interesting fact. Paul's usual practice was to use a secretary to write his letters, and then to prove they were his own by signing them (2 Thess. 3:17). Here the occasion was so serious that he writes the letter himself. That is why he points to the size of his letters — writing was a public trade.

Paul attached great importance to this letter of his to the Galatians, and that is why he writes verse 11. Some translate it "how long a letter," in keeping with the King James Version. Others give "in what large letters." If the first is right, it shows that Paul did not use one of his helpers to write the letter. He wrote it all with his own hand. If the second, it means that he now took up the pen to add the last few lines with his own hand and wrote in extra large letters. Either way, it was to give added emphasis to his words as he begins his closing summary.

His letter was short, but its content was weighty indeed. His very way of writing said the same. He used a larger and more careful hand than he seems to have used normally, and it showed how anxious he was that they should read his words with matching care. He acted quite naturally in this. When we want to stress a passage in a modern book or letter, our common habit is to use capitals. In Paul's day only one form of letter was in use. In the hand of a sensitive and earnest writer it grew or shrank with the weight and interest of what he had to say.

In those days writing was hard work, and being a writer or scribe was a profession of its own — printing was not yet known. Paul loved the Galatians so much, and yearned over them so much in their danger, that he wrote the letter with his own hand. He draws particular attention to this fact before he closes... It was the fire of love and grief. His purpose was so earnest that he could not bear to use a go-between here. Just as he had shown that God in His love to man gave the promise directly, so Paul acts in his care for the saints of God, where the very foundations were in danger.

Was Paul's heart in all he wrote? Was there no exaggeration in the words he used? The Galatians may well have asked this. Verse 11 shows that they and their spiritual conduct meant enough to Paul to write with his own hand. He did it despite his "infirmity in the flesh," which may have been, or included, very poor eyesight. That is likely why he used a scribe to write his other letters. In this case he wrote the letter himself.

Two styles of writing were in use when Paul wrote this letter. One used large letters, each one separate, like print. The other was more like our handwriting, with small letters joined together. Paul clearly used the large bold letters, and that style suited the subject well, for the subject is of such basic importance. May God write this whole letter on our hearts in such great, large, bold letters, that we may never forget them or lose sight of them.

Before closing, he turns once more to the great subject of his letter. He exposes the character and motives of those who were troubling them. He has already warned us that such men were seeking to attract people to themselves (Gal. 4:17), driven by a spirit of "vain glory" (Gal. 5:26). Now he charges them outright with the "desire to make a fair show in the flesh," and so to escape "persecution for the cross of Christ."

In this verse we see again the religious world wanting to have a fair appearance. This is the way to show off. This is the natural action of the religious man… He wants to be the tallest, and he wants to be the highest. This was the attitude of the Pharisee, and even Samuel was affected by this way of thinking. The Lord, by contrast, looks on the heart, but man looks on the outward appearance (1 Sam. 16:7).

Suppose the whole world went to church. Suppose people lived soberly and in a decent, orderly way. What universal rejoicing there would be over the improved state of Christendom! And what would all this be in the sight of God? I say without the slightest hesitation that, if there were no more than this, it would only be "a fair show in the flesh." As Christians we have a right to look for more, and we should never be content without it: souls passing from death to life.

They worked to draw the converted Gentiles into Judaism. They hid the truth of the gospel under circumcision and a mass of religious rules. This led men to seek their own righteousness by their own works, and it denied the perfection of the work of Christ. They shunned the reproach of the cross, for man is never ashamed of a religion he can carry out himself.

What is this fair show in the flesh? It is nothing but accepting the popular, established religion of the day, and so escaping persecution for the cross of Christ. And the cross denies the formalism of a merely outward, established piety. In this case persecution — the natural companion of a true confession of the cross — is separated from it.

They want you to submit to these religious forms. The reason is that they dread suffering for Christ… He shows that selfishness, after all, is at the bottom. When people are walking with the world, there is never an easy conscience. Nothing pleases the world so much as to get real Christians to walk with them.

The words translated "would force you" mean they were trying hard at that time to force the Galatians to be circumcised. But these words do not mean they had succeeded. We in China know how easy it is for us to do something that will help us escape persecution. None of us like persecution, and the Galatian Christians were no different from us in this matter. In their hearts they may have said: circumcision is a small thing, and if it helps me escape persecution, I will accept it. But they forgot something. The man who received circumcision put himself in the position of a Jew. He was now responsible to keep the whole law, and if he did not keep it, he must perish. Christ must be all, or nothing.