Galatians 6:7–9

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.