Lesson 81 December 15, 2002

Gal. 6:7 Deception related to Sowing and Reaping

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

To claim that one accepts the whole counsel of God as found in His Word and then to act in contradiction to what the Word commands so clearly is to treat God with contempt, to mock Him.

for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

- This a principle which relates results to causes.

Here Paul states the basic principle of sowing and reaping to lay the groundwork for the spiritual principles to come in the next verse.

Summary

1. We must learn that God is not going to conform His thinking or change His immutable laws to conform to or accept man's standards.

2. Yet this is precisely what the legalist or the works oriented religious type who is just going through the motions is attempting to do, that is fool God into accepting what he thinks.

3. The fruit or result of this sowing is being deceived that is producing from the flesh and therefore will not result in the contentment or what they expect.

4. In the context the self deception and attempts to mock God result from failure to produce divine good, manifesting the fruit of the Spirit in a number of areas:

a. failure to forgive the one caught in a trespass who desires restoration 6:1.

b. failure to help another believer with a heavy burden when it was possible to do so 6:2.

c. failure in self examination by the right standard the Word not another's works 6:4.

d. failure to orient within one's own niche, bearing one's own load 6:5.

e. failure to support the local assembly when able to do so.

Gal. 6:8 Principle of Sowing and Reaping related to the Spiritual life - application.

For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption,

This sowing to the flesh and reaping corruption is parallel to not inheriting back in 5:21.

Now the contrast

but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Couple of basics:

1. Eternal life is fundamentally a quality of life in relationship with God.

2. E.L. given at salvation is by faith alone; in a sense is static, your possession from the moment you believe in Him all the way through eternity.

3. E.L. that is related to what we do in time is dynamic and related to faith and obedience,

4. This use of E.L. is not unusual at all. Of the 41 times eternal life is found in Scripture, 11 of them do not refer to a free gift as a result of faith but they refer as our passage does to something earned, earned from walking by the Spirit manifest the fruit of the Spirit.

- Examples: Rom. 2:7; John 12:25-26; 1 Tim. 6:12

Summary 6:8

1. Two important factors from the context give us clues as to the primary interpretation.

#1. The immediate context down through vs:10 deals with money, giving, meeting material logistical needs.

#2. Paul is dealing here with the character of the believer, that is what is the sphere of rulership of the believer's life, the flesh or the Spirit.

Sowing from one or the other.

2. Sowing to the flesh/sin nature indicates that the overt production in the life is always corruption, what is decaying from God's viewpoint.

3. The only harvest that this kind of sowing reaps is a harvest of divine discipline, no rewards, no inheritance as we noted in 5:21.

4. On the other hand sowing to (eivj) the Spirit, living our life empowered by the Spirit and therefore walking by the Spirit. This results in benefits in our life now as well as an inheritance for eternity.

5. These rewards from the DGP in time, the 'fruit of the Spirit' will be received at the Judgement seat of Christ, the Bema Seat. 2 Cor 5:10; 1 Cor 3:12-15; Rom 14:10, 12

6. What Paul is trying to get across to us is this: The believer who takes all his assets and sets his priorities and sows to please his sin nature, that one will reap a harvest that will fade into oblivion, be worthless, have no value.

7. On the other hand the believer who sets his priorities and values to pursue his life in Christ to the maximum will produce much DGP (divine good production) and will reap a harvest that will not fade away and result in a reward, an eternal inheritance.

6:9 Encouragement not to loose heart

And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.

And let us not lose heart in doing good evgkake,w speaks of growing weary; to give up, become discouraged, to lose heart

for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.

- The reference to time here has to refer to God's timing, not always ours, idea is that of due or proper time.

Summary 6:9

1. We are never to give up and quit doing good, what is right and honorable before the Lord even when our doing is not producing the results we would like to immediately see. 2 Ths. 3:13

2. We should always look to the example of Jesus Christ and not become fatigued so that we stop producing DGP in our lives Heb. 12:2-3

3. The only way to prevent this potential hazard is through the consistent consumption of spiritual nourishment, from the Word of God.

- lack of physical food leads to physical fatigue.

- lack of BD/RS leads to soul fatigue - fainting due to lack of resources

4. This renewal of the inner man, the new man in Christ encourages us so that we do not loose heart. 2 Cor 4:16

5. We may never realize in life overt material blessing that others do, but we are guaranteed surpassing blessing in eternity, our inheritance in Christ.

6. God will not forget your DGP Heb. 6:10

7. The P/T can never afford to loose his determination in his objective to communicate the truth 2 Cor 4:1-2.

8. The congregation should not loose heart, their determination over the various CHP's that I as the P/T might experience. Eph 3:13