Just as one another is a key phrase in the Christian vocabulary, so is the word fellowship (translated “communicate” in Gal. 6:6). From the very beginning of the church, sharing was one of the marks of Christian experience (Acts 2:41–47). The Greek word has now worked its way into our English vocabulary, and we see the word koinonia here and there in religious publications. It simply means “to have in common,” and refers to our common fellowship in Christ (Gal. 2:9), our common faith (Jude 3), and even our sharing in the sufferings of Christ (Phil. 3:10). But often in the New Testament, koinonia refers to the sharing of material blessings with one another (Acts 2:42; 2 Cor. 8:4; Heb. 13: [Greek text]). It is this that Paul had in mind in these verses.
He began with a precept (Gal. 6:6), urging us to share with one another. The teacher of the Word shares spiritual treasures, and those who are taught ought to share material treasures. (Paul used a similar approach when he explained why the Gentile churches ought to give an offering to the Jewish believers, Rom. 15:27.) We must remember that what we do with material things is an evidence of how we value spiritual things. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21).
Because the apostle Paul did not want money to become a stumbling block to the unsaved, he earned his own living (see 1 Cor. 9), but he repeatedly taught that the spiritual leader in the church was to be supported by the gifts of the people. Jesus said, “The laborer is worthy of his hire” (Luke 10:7), and Paul echoed this statement (1 Cor. 9:11, 14).
But we must realize the spiritual principle that lies behind this precept. God does not command believers to give simply that pastors and teachers (and missionaries, Phil. 4:10–19) might have their material needs met, but that the givers might get a greater blessing (Gal. 6:7–8). The basic principle of sowing and reaping is found throughout the entire Bible. God has ordained that we reap what we sow. Were it not for this law, the whole principle of cause and effect would fail. The farmer who sows wheat can expect to reap wheat. If it were otherwise, there would be chaos in our world.
But God has also told us to be careful where we sow, and it is this principle that Paul dealt with here. He looked on our material possessions as seed, and he sees two possible kinds of soil: the flesh and the Spirit. We can use our material goods to promote the flesh, or to promote the things of the Spirit. But once we have finished sowing, we cannot change the harvest.
Money sown to the flesh will bring a harvest of corruption (see Gal. 5:19–21). That money is gone and can never be reclaimed. Money sown to the Spirit (such as sharing with those who teach the Word) will produce life, and in that harvest will be seeds that can be planted again for another harvest, and on and on into eternity. If every believer only looked on his material wealth as seed, and planted it properly, there would be no lack in the work of the Lord. Sad to say, much seed is wasted on carnal things and can never bring glory to God.
Of course, there is a much wider application of the principle to our lives; because all that we do is either an investment in the flesh or the Spirit. We shall reap whatever we have sown, and we shall reap in proportion as we have sown. “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6). The believer who walks in the Spirit and “sows” in the Spirit is going to reap a spiritual harvest. If his sowing has been generous, the harvest will be bountiful, if not in this life, certainly in the life to come.
Paul’s enemies, the Judaizers, did not have this spiritual attitude toward giving and receiving. Paul sacrificed and labored that he might not be a burden to the churches, but the false teachers used the churches to promote their own schemes and fill their own coffers. This is also what happened in the Corinthian church, and Paul had to write them: “In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face” (2 Cor. 11: niv).
How many times we have seen the sacrificing godly pastor persecuted and driven out, while the arrogant promoter is honored and gets everything he wants. The carnal believer thrives under the “spiritual dictatorship” of a legalistic promoter-pastor, because it makes him feel secure, successful, and spiritual. The carnal believer will sacrifice what he has to make the work more successful, only to discover that he is sowing to the flesh and not to the Spirit.
Having given us the precept (Gal. 6:6) and the principle behind the precept (Gal. 6:7–8), Paul now gave us a promise (Gal. 6:9): “In due season we shall reap if we faint not.” Behind this promise is a peril: getting weary in the work of the Lord, and then eventually fainting, and stopping our ministry.
Sometimes spiritual fainting is caused by a lack of devotion to the Lord. It is interesting to contrast two churches that are commended for “work, labor, and patience” (1 Thess. 1:3; Rev. 2:2). The church at Ephesus had actually left its first love and was backslidden (Rev. 2:4–5). Why? The answer is seen in the commendation to the Thessalonian church: “Work of faith, labor of love, patience of hope.” Not just work, labor, and patience, but the proper motivation: “faith, love, and hope.” How easy it is for us to work for the Lord, but permit the spiritual motivation to die. Like the priests of Israel that Malachi addressed, we serve the Lord but complain, “Behold, what a weariness is it” (Mal. 1:13).
Sometimes we faint because of lack of prayer. “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). Prayer is to the spiritual life what breathing is to the physical life, and if you stop breathing, you will faint. It is also possible to faint because of lack of nourishment. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). If we try to keep going without proper food and rest, we will faint. How important it is to “wait upon the Lord” to get the strength we need for each day (Isa. 40:28–31).
But the promise Paul gave us will help to keep us going: “In due season we shall reap.” The seed that is planted does not bear fruit immediately. There are seasons to the soul just as there are seasons to nature, and we must give the seed time to take root and bear fruit. How wonderful it is when the plowman overtakes the reaper (Amos 9:13). Each day we ought to sow the seed so that one day we will be able to reap (Ps. 126:5–6). But we must remember that the Lord of the harvest is in charge, and not the laborers.
Sharing blessings involves much more than teaching the Word and giving of our material substance. It also involves doing good “unto all men” (Gal. 6:10). There are those in this world who do evil (Ps. 34:16); in fact, there are those who return evil for good (Ps. 35:12). Most of the people in the world return good for good and evil for evil (see Luke 6:32–35; 1 Thess. 5:15). But the Christian is supposed to return good for evil (Rom. 12:18–21) and to do this in a spirit of Christian love. Actually, the Christian’s good works are a spiritual sacrifice that he gives to the Lord (Heb. 13:16).
We are to “do good unto all men.” This is how we let our light shine and glorify our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16). It is not only by words that we witness to the lost, but also by our works. In fact, our works pave the way for our verbal witness; they win us the right to be heard. It is not a question of asking, “Does this person deserve my good works?” Did we deserve what God did for us in Christ? Nor should we be like the defensive lawyer who tried to argue, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25–37). Jesus made it very clear that the question is not “Who is my neighbor?” but “To whom can I be a neighbor?”
As we “do good unto all men,” we must give priority to “the household of faith,” the fellowship of believers. This does not mean that the local church should become an exclusive clique with the members isolated from the world around them and doing nothing to help the lost. Rather, it is a matter of balance. Certainly the believers in Paul’s day would have greater needs than would the outsiders, since many of the believers suffered for their faith (see Heb. 10:32–34). Furthermore, a man always cares for his own family before he cares for the neighborhood (1 Tim. 5:8).
We must remember, however, that we share with other Christians so that all of us might be able to share with a needy world. The Christian in the household of faith is a receiver that he might become a transmitter. As we abound in love for one another, we overflow in love for all men (1 Thess. 3:12).
This is how it was meant to be.