Let him that is taught in the word communicate to him that teaches in all good things.
Paul has just told the Galatians to restore a fallen brother, carry each other's burdens, and test their own work. Now he turns to the person being taught and gives them something to do — and commentators ask both what "share" means here and what it rules out.
The Meaning of "Share"
An older translation reads "communicate." One writer settles the sense by tracking the same word elsewhere.
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.
What Is Shared
One person has plenty. The other gave up his earnings to teach, and so has need.
"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 sharing is wider than money. One writer keeps it broad: "This is not only financial, it says 'in all good things.'" (Alfred E. Bouter)
Not Wages
Generosity and payment are not the same thing.
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?
Another writer asks the same question from the side of who the labourer works for.
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.
Not Triggered by Poverty
If giving only starts when the teacher runs short, the verse has been misread.
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.
Wider Than Your Own Church
The verse says "the one who teaches," not "the one who teaches you," and that small difference carries weight.
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.
The claim behind the practice is not only the teacher's. As one writer puts it, God "looks for this from His own. What His servants are owed, He is owed too. He never gives that up, though everything rests on the ground of grace." (The Bible Treasury)
Why the Warning Follows
The next verses about sowing and reaping do not change the subject. They give the reason behind this command.
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.
At root it is a question of what a person thinks the word is worth. One writer notes that "people of the world pay a lot for their pleasures and amusements." Yet the apostle found "that even real Christians did not value the ministry of the word anything like enough." (James L Harris)
Summary
- Share, not pay. Hold your good things in common with your teacher. Scripture uses the same word for contributing to the needs of the saints.
- Love, not bargain. A fixed salary destroys love, honour and affection. It makes the labourer a servant of man, not of Christ.
- Love, not poverty. Love starts the giving, not the teacher's shortage. A comfortable teacher does not cancel your privilege.
- Church-wide, not local. It reads "the one who teaches," so a place with no need at home should look for the Lord's claims elsewhere.
- Harvest, not loss. "Do not be deceived" comes next. Our own spiritual prosperity hangs on whether we give or hoard.