Part CXXVIII Galatians Study

Galatians 6:8
“For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
This is the theme of this whole letter. In like manner, he that sows to the flesh - who indulges his sensual and animal appetites (the old Adam-Satan nature), shall have corruption as the crop: we cannot expect to lead a bad life and go to heaven at last. According as our present life is, so will be our eternal life whether our sowing be to the flesh or to the Spirit (this is the Spirit of Christ which we receive at the moment of our consummation into His Body through the revelation of the Pesach Meal or the Last Passover and His sufferings by way of resurrection into Eternal Life), so will our eternal reaping be. To sow, here, seems to mean transacting the concerns of a man’s natural life. To reap, signifies his enjoyment or punishment in eternity be it good or bad. Probably by flesh and Spirit the apostle means Judaism and true Christianity. Circumcision of the flesh was the principal rite, remember that Paul was so hard on and worked so hard to keep those Gentile converts from, of the former; circumcision in the heart, by the Holy Spirit, a thing done by the hand of God the Father of spirits and the chief rite of the latter; hence the one may have been called flesh, the other, Spirit. He who rejects this Gospel, and trusts only in the rites and ceremonies of the old law for salvation, or even the blinding of them will reap endless disappointment and misery. He who trusts solely in Christ, and receives the gift of Grace and of the Holy Spirit, shall reap Life Everlasting. Now lets look at Hebrews chapter 12 verse 3 for we need to compare scripture with scripture.


Hebrews 12:3-8
“For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth (Job 5:17-18; Psalm 94:12, 119:17). If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”
Paul knew well the source of his chastening as did all Israel because of her rebellion of disobedience. In both we're to learn that when we actually move into the right relation with God that He'll chasten us as sons for our good and profit from it all. Now back to Galatians chapter 6 verse 10.


Galatians 6:10
“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
We saw the burden that Paul carried for the Hebrews Christians still in Jerusalem and how he collected gifts for them wherever he went and so he is doing here. These gifts are not as we see in our day where church groups are collecting money and food and clothing for the local assembly and for the missionaries to take to the pour. But is rather for those of the family of God who have the same mind set as Christ within the local assembly, a big difference. This was Paul's
doctrine of meeting the needs of those within the faith who were in need. It may be good to reach outside our assembly but let the first objects of our regards be those who are of the household of faith - the members of the Church of Christ, who form one family, of which Christ is the head. Those have the first claims on our attention, as our immediate families do but all others have their claims also, and therefore we should do good unto all. Now moving on to the next verse.


Galatians 6:11
“Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.”
Many have said that this means the size of the letters he penned but we think he meant the size or length of his hand written letter as he wrote it on his own without aid of anyone.


Galatians 6:12-13
“As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.”
 Paul makes this one last appeal to his church to refrain from the pressure of the Judaizers to abstain from the full requirements of the Laws keeping. As to fall under that pressure would nullify the Word of God and the finished work of the cross and thereby render God's Grace and Faith useless. Then he adds that they only want it as a means to glory in their flesh.


Galatians 6:14-16
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me (the practical reality of all exterior influences he's dead to), and I unto the world (as an impotent enemy is crucified to him). For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature (as a new creature we have no past for all has become new). And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.”
 Paul in his usual manor tells us to glory in the cross as it is the power of God to work the works of our crucifixion in us of both dieing to self and to the spirit of the world and the power of the prince of the power of the air, darkness in which both he and we live. Then he tells us the secret of this power of the cross as it has wrought out a complete deliverance from the world, and is the means of flesh or heart circumcision which makes us a new creation in Christ. That its when we live by this rule that we acquire peace and the mercy of God. When Christ overcame the world on the cross, He made us over-comers too. He calls us now, at whatever cost of self-denial, to regard the world, in its hostility to God and His kingdom, as a crucified enemy over whom the cross can ever keep us conquerors. Then he closes this letter in a spiritually strengthening note.



Galatians 6:17-18
“From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”
He's tired of the Judaizers following him and troubling his assemblies to come under the now defunct traditions of religion. He goes on to remind them that he's paid the cost or price in his body for them just as the Lord has done for them and us. Then the encouragement to keep the faith and the Grace of Christ Jesus in our hearts.




We'd like to acknowledge the sources of materials used throughout this study first and foremost is the Holy Spirit without whom we'd be and do nothing of this kind. Then Les Feldick as the source of the material of the outline itself. Then both the Strong's and Thayer's Bible Dictionaries and Daniel Webster's 1828 Dictionary. Also Adam Clarke's Commentary, James, Fausset and Brown Commentary, the Treasure of Scripture Knowledge Commentary. And a host of many other find writers from the early 1500's on, some of which we listed in the introduction.