Galatians Chapter 6 Study Guide
Galatians Chapter 6, Verses 1a
“If Someone Is Overtaken In A Fault!”
[4-25-21]
Review: “Let’s Believe What God Said To Us, About Us!”
Galatians 5:19-26) [KJV] (GW) Now, the effects of the corrupt nature are obvious: illicit sex, perversion, promiscuity,
See our Galatians Chapter 5 Study Guide
20) (GW) idolatry, drug use, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, conflict, factions,
21) (GW) envy, drunkenness, wild partying, and similar things. I’ve told you in the past and I’m telling you again that people who do these kinds of things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
NOTE: Walking in the flesh produces 9 horrible worldly sins {adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, murders, drunkenness, revellings} and 8 church sins {hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying}.
NOTE: Every one of these things found in verses 19-21 are “repugnant” to the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.
22) (CEV) God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful,
23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
NOTE: Walking in the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
NOTE: Every one of these things found in verses 22-23 is “repugnant” to our unredeemed flesh. Our bodies, which are not yet saved, and therefore have sin dwelling in their members, crave to do those things mentioned in verses 19-21.
NOTE: Paul’s entire purpose for writing this epistle is to teach the Galatian believers that now that they are Christians they must choose how they will walk out their Christian experience. Will they attempt to please God by keeping the commandments of Moses, or will they continue their Christian experience by doing the very thing they did to become Christians?
Galatians 3:2-3) [KJV] This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
NOTE: We became Christians by believing what God said to us about us!
NOTE: We should continue to believe what God said to us about us in His Word!
NOTE: I walk in the flesh by trying really hard to keep the rules so God will love me more.
NOTE: I walk in the Spirit by believing everything God says to me about me, in the Gospel message of the New Testament.
24) And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
(GNB) The Spirit has given us life; he must also control our lives.
26) Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
NOTE: Walking in the flesh is all about our trying to outshine our fellow believers, our trying to keep the rules better than they do so we can feel superior to them. Let’s not do that! Let’s walk in the Spirit instead!
This Week’s Lesson: “If Someone Is Overtaken In A Fault!”
Galatians 6:1a) [KJV] Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Regarding “overtaken,”
“It is probable that the latter here is the true sense, and that it means, if a man is found to be overtaken by any sin; if his passions, or if temptation get the better of him” [Barnes].
“Not, be detected in the act by someone else before he can escape, but surprised by the fault itself; hurried into error” [Vincent].
(AMP) BRETHREN, IF any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also.
(NAS) Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.
QUESTION: What does “overtaken in a fault” mean?
ANSWER: The consensus seems to be that a man’s passion/weakness was tested by the devil, and the man succumbed to the temptation. There was no plan to sin, but the man’s passion got the better of him.
QUESTION: What was the end result of the man falling into sin?
ANSWER: He needed restoration.
“Greek, ‘a transgression,’ ‘a fall’; such as a falling back into legal bondage” [JFB].
“Literally, a falling aside, a slip or lapse in the papyri rather than a willful sin” [Robertson].
“papyri” – “The pith of the papyrus plant especially when made into strips and pressed into a material to write on” [Merriam-Webster Dictionary].
QUESTION: What does the JFB commentary suggest this fault might be?
ANSWER: They suggest it might be the fault of falling back into legalism; that is, the trusting of our own ability to keep all the rules satisfactory to get a faultless God to love us.
NOTE: Looking at these two possibilities, the possibility that the fault refers to a giving in to the desires of the flesh, or the possibility that the fault refers to believing bad doctrine, that doctrine being that we must keep the Law of Moses, one thing remains constant in verse 1.
QUESTION: What remains constant regardless of who is right?
ANSWER: The individual needs restoration.
QUESTION: Having said that, which opinion, that of Vincent and Barnes, or that of the JFB commentary, should we agree with?
ANSWER: The context of this passage could support either argument. The argument that Paul is making throughout this epistle is that we must turn to grace, not the law. However, in making that argument he does tell us that when we turn to the law that we are putting our faith in our ability, not God’s, which is walking in the flesh, and that the flesh produces the works of the flesh that we discussed last week. If Paul is referring to the falling into one of those sins, which would be a normal thing when we walk in the flesh, then it would still be within the context of his argument.
QUESTION: What then is our conclusion to be?
ANSWER: Either conclusion might be correct, but the end result is the same. If I am overtaken by a temptation to commit one of the works of the flesh it’s because I’m walking in the flesh. If I’m walking in the flesh it’s because I was overtaken by the temptation to turn to the Law of Moses.
**NOTE: I make the above statement because if I am walking in the Spirit I will not fulfill the desires of my flesh [Gal. 5:16].
John 13:34-35) [NAS] “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35) By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
PLEASE NOTE: “Christians still have a law to fulfill, the law of Christ. They can fulfill it only in the power of the Spirit, as they serve one another in the fellowship of the Church” [Wycliffe].
QUESTION: How powerful is this “LAW OF CHRIST”?
ANSWER: It is so powerful that it causes you to do what you could never do by gritting your teeth and trying harder!! Please note the following passage:
Rom. 13:8-10) [KJV] Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9) For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10) Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Galatians Chapter 6, Verses 1b-3
“Bear With Others When They Fail!”
[5-2-21]
Review: “If Someone Is Overtaken In A Fault!”
Galatians 6:1a) [KJV] Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
“It is probable that the latter here is the true sense, and that it means, if a man is found to be overtaken by any sin; if his passions, or if temptation get the better of him” [Barnes].
“Greek, ‘a transgression,’ ‘a fall’; such as a falling back into legal bondage” [JFB].
QUESTION: What does “overtaken in a fault” mean?
ANSWER: The consensus seems to be that a man’s passion/weakness was tested by the devil, and the man succumbed to the temptation. There was no plan to sin, but the man’s passion got the better of him. However, others suggest it might be the fault of falling back into legalism; that is, the trusting of our own ability to keep all the rules satisfactory to get a faultless God to love us.
NOTE: The context of this passage could support either argument. The argument that Paul is making throughout this epistle is that we must turn to grace, not the law. However, in making that argument he does tell us that when we turn to the law that we are putting our faith in our ability, not God’s, which is walking in the flesh, and that the flesh produces the works of the flesh that we discussed last week. If Paul is referring to the falling into one of those sins, which would be a normal thing when we walk in the flesh, then it would still be within the context of his argument.
This Week’s Lesson: “Bear With Others When They Fail!”
Galatians 6:1b-3) [KJV] Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Galatians 6:1b) [KJV] ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;
QUESTION: Who are the “spiritual” that Paul refers to?
ANSWER: Possibilities:
- Pastors and elders;
- Those operating in the gifts of the Spirit;
- Those who have the motivational gift of exhortation/encouragement;
- Those who are walking in the Spirit.
QUESTION: Which possibility does the context suggest?
ANSWER: It suggests the final possibility; it suggests that those who are walking in the Spirit should restore those who are walking in the flesh, and thus have fallen into one of the works of the flesh.
QUESTION: What should those who are “spiritual” do?
ANSWER: They should consider themselves before trying to help the others.
NOTE: If I am going to try to “restore such an one” then I need to first look at myself. I need to make certain that I am not guilty of the very thing I am trying to correct in the other.
Matthew 7:1-5) [GNB] “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you,
2) for God will judge you in the same way you judge others, and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others.
3) Why, then, do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the log in your own eye?
4) How dare you say to your brother, ‘Please, let me take that speck out of your eye,’ when you have a log in your own eye?
5) You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
NOTE: What? A person with a log in his eye is trying to get a speck out of another person’s eye!
**QUESTION: What sin is so big that Jesus calls it a “log” in comparison to the “speck” in the other person’s eye? In other words, what sin can be so big in my life that it is multiple times bigger than the sin in the other person’s life that I am determined to get fixed?
ANSWER: It is the sin of being judgmental!
NOTE: Paul tells us in our passage in Galatians that we must approach someone “in the spirit of meekness” if we hope to restore that individual. If we are judgmental then we are not meek.
Matthew 11:28-30) [NLT] Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
29) Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls.
30) For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”
QUESTION: How does Jesus approach us when we are weary from our burdens that we bear?
ANSWER: He approaches us with humility and gentleness.
QUESTION: Why should I approach the individual who is struggling with sin in “the spirit of meekness,” which is the same Greek word rendered “gentle” in the Matthew passage above? In other words, why should I approach you, when you are struggling, the same way that Jesus approached me when I was struggling?
ANSWER: How dare I, who am a sinner, approach you with an attitude of superiority when God, the Son, Who has never sinned, approaches me with “humility and gentleness?”
Galatians 6:1c) [KJV] considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
QUESTION: Why else should I approach you “in the spirit of meekness”?
ANSWER: I should because I know that I will face many more temptations throughout this life.
2) Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
(BBE) Take on yourselves one another’s troubles, and so keep the law of Christ.
(CEV) You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.
QUESTION: What is “the law of Christ”?
John 13:34-35) [KJV] A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
ANSWER: We are to love each other the very way that Christ loves us.
QUESTION: How did Jesus love us?
**ANSWER: He loved us enough to bear our heavy load when He bore our sins to Calvary.
QUESTION: What has to happen before I will be willing to help my brother carry his burden?
ANSWER: I have to consider myself the way the Scripture (vs. 1c) tells me to. I must understand that I too sometimes give in to temptation.
QUESTION: Why?
ANSWER: If I see myself as better than my brother because “I would never do what he just did!” then I can’t help him bear his burden because I’m too busy thinking he’s a loser.
3) For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
(AMP) For if any person thinks himself to be somebody [too important to condescend to shoulder another’s load] when he is nobody [of superiority except in his own estimation], he deceives and deludes and cheats himself.
NOTE: Note these warnings in the Scriptures.
John 13:34-35) [KJV] A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
1 Corinthians 8:1-2) [KJV] Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
2) And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
1 Corinthians 10:12) [TLB] So be careful. If you are thinking, “Oh, I would never behave like that”-let this be a warning to you. For you too may fall into sin.
(GNB) Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall.
(CEV) Too much pride will destroy you.
NOTE: We had better not think that we are somehow above temptation. If we think we’re all that then that very pride will lead to our downfall.
CONCLUSION: We must always trust God to give us the necessary strength to resist any coming temptations, but we must also understand that the minute we trust ourselves, instead of God, WE WILL FAIL!
Galatians Chapter 6, Verses 3-5
“Helping Others To Help Themselves!”
[5-9-21]
Review: “Bear With Others When They Fail!”
Galatians 6:1a) [KJV] Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault,
Galatians 6:1b-3) [KJV] ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;
NOTE: This suggests that those who are walking in the Spirit should restore those who are walking in the flesh, and thus have fallen into one of the works of the flesh.
NOTE: If I am going to try to “restore such an one” then I need to first look at myself. I need to make certain that I am not guilty of the very thing I am trying to correct in the other, which in this case would be walking in the flesh.
Matthew 7:5) [GNB] You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
**NOTE: What sin is so big that Jesus calls it a “log” in comparison to the “speck” in the other person’s eye? In other words, what sin can be so big in my life that it is multiple times bigger than the sin in the other person’s life that I am determined to get fixed? It is the sin of being judgmental!
Galatians 6:1c) [KJV] considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
NOTE: I should “consider myself” because I know that I will face many more temptations throughout this life.
2) (CEV) You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.
John 13:35) [KJV] By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
**NOTE: JESUS loved us enough to bear our heavy load when He bore our sins to Calvary.
3) For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
NOTE: We had better not think that we are somehow above temptation. If we think we’re all that then that very pride will lead to our downfall.
This Week’s Lesson: “Helping Others To Help Themselves!”
Galatians 6:3-5) [KJV] For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
QUESTION: What is the source of our pride, of our thinking too highly of ourselves?
ANSWER: We think too highly of ourselves when we compare ourselves to others who we think are not as good as we are.
QUESTION: What does Paul think of that kind of pride?
ANSWER: He says we think ourselves to be something when we are nothing.
QUESTION: What does that mean?
ANSWER: It means that when we are judgmental towards others, and think ourselves superior to them, then, in God’s eyes, we are nothing.
QUESTION: What causes a man to be so prideful?
ANSWER: He thinks he’s smarter than anyone else, and pride “puffeth up.”
1 Corinthians 8:1-2) [KJV] Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
2) And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
QUESTION: What is the opposite of pride, which has a big “I” in the middle of it?
ANSWER: Love! The Greek word rendered “charity” in the above passage means “love.”
NOTE: The “know it all” doesn’t know anything “as he ought to know.” In other words, living outside of the realm of Christian love is absolute ignorance.
4) But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
(GNB) You should each judge your own conduct. If it is good, then you can be proud of what you yourself have done, without having to compare it with what someone else has done.
NOTE: Paul is telling us that we should be so busy examining our own actions that we’re too busy to put others down.
NOTE: It took us thirty years to get to the point of our Christian walk where we are at and we expect the new believer to be there in thirty days.
NOTE: We should rejoice when we see the work the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. We should leave it up to the Holy Spirit to perfect our brother/sister in the Lord.
**NOTE: We should not be joyful because we think we are more spiritual than someone else; we should be full of joy because we are more spiritual than we once were.
**ANOTHER NOTE: We should give the same grace to the one struggling that we once desired that someone would give us when we were struggling.
5) For every man shall bear his own burden.
QUESTION: Why does Paul tell us that we should each bear “one another’s burden” in verse 2, then tells us that each of us must “bear his own burden” in verse 5? Isn’t that a contradiction?
ANSWER: Please note:
“It is doubtful whether any different shade of meaning is intended. Originally βάρη emphasizes the weight of the burden, φορτίον simply notes the fact that it is something to be born (φέρειν), which may be either light or heavy” [Vincent].
QUESTION: What is Vincent getting at?
ANSWER: He is saying that the “burden” in verse 2 is a specific weight; and he’s saying in verse 5 that the “burden” in verse 2, with its specific weight, must be carried.
QUESTION: Again, what is Vincent getting at?
ANSWER: He is saying that Paul isn’t using two different Greek words in verses 2 & 5 to tell us that there is a burden we help one another carry, and there’s another kind of burden we must carry individually.
QUESTION: Then why the seeming contradiction?
ANSWER: We can encourage those who are going through difficulties, but ultimately they have to bare that “burden.”
NOTE: If I comfort someone who has suffered the loss of a loved one it might encourage them to know that someone loves them, and understands the pain they are going through, but it doesn’t take the pain away. Unfortunately, they must bear that pain, that “burden.” I can’t bear their pain so that they don’t have to, but I can love them and pray for them.
Let’s Look At Verses 2-5 Together:
2) Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
3) For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
4) But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
5) For every man shall bear his own burden.
NOTE: It’s a burden that requires me to:
- Be helpful in some way;
- Not think that I’m better than the one whose “burden” is being considered;
- Remember my own frailties/weaknesses/struggles;
- Be thankful that God has helped me to arrive somewhere differently in my spiritual walk than where I once was.
NOTE: It’s appears that the “burden” he is referring to in the brother we are to help is the “burden” of spiritual immaturity.
Let’s Remember Verse 1:
1) Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
QUESTION: What kind of “burden” does Paul seem to have in mind?
ANSWER: The context appears to make it a “burden” caused by the individual’s “fault.”
Matthew 7:1) [GNB] “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you,
QUESTION: How must we help to bear this brother’s burden/fault?
ANSWER: We must be free of a spirit of condemnation. We must offer forgiveness through Christ and direction through His Word. Then, that brother must “bear his own burden,” in the sense of walking out what the Word teaches Him.
Galatians Chapter 6, Verses 6-10
“The Preacher Owes The Church! The Church Owes The Preacher!”
[5-16-21]
Review: “Helping Others To Help Themselves!”
Galatians 6:3-5) [KJV] For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
NOTE: We think too highly of ourselves when we compare ourselves to others who we think are not as good as we are.
NOTE: Paul concludes that we think ourselves to be something when we are nothing. That means that when we are judgmental towards others, and think ourselves superior to them, then, in God’s eyes, we are nothing.
4) But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
NOTE: We should rejoice when we see the work the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. We should leave it up to the Holy Spirit to perfect our brother/sister in the Lord.
NOTE: We should not be joyful because we think we are more spiritual than someone else; we should be full of joy because we are more spiritual than we once were.
**ANOTHER NOTE: We should give the same grace to the one struggling that we once desired that someone would give us when we were struggling.
5) For every man shall bear his own burden.
NOTE: If I comfort someone who has suffered the loss of a loved one it might encourage them to know that someone loves them, and understands the pain they are going through, but it doesn’t take the pain away. Unfortunately, they must bear that pain, that “burden.” I can’t bear their pain so that they don’t have to, but I can love them and pray for them.
This Week’s Lesson: “The Preacher Owes The Church! The Church Owes The Preacher!”
Galatians 6:6-10) [KJV] Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
(NLT) Those who are taught the word of God should help their teachers by paying them.
COMPARISON: Our taxes pay our school teachers; our tuition pays our college professors; our church contributions pay our ministers.
1 Peter 5:3) (NIV) Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;
**NOTE: Galatians 6:6 teaches us that compensating a minister for his ministry is the responsibility of all who receive spiritual benefit from his teaching. 1 Peter 5:3 teaches us that monetary gain must never be the motivation that drives a minister of the Gospel, but rather his/her love for God, and his/her love for God’s people must be his/her motivation.
1 Timothy 3:1-3) (TLB) It is a true saying that if a man wants to be a pastor he has a good ambition.
2) For a pastor must be a good man whose life cannot be spoken against. He must have only one wife, and he must be hard working and thoughtful, orderly, and full of good deeds. He must enjoy having guests in his home and must be a good Bible teacher.
3) He must not be a drinker or quarrelsome, but he must be gentle and kind and not be one who loves money.
NOTE: Paul tells Timothy that a minister must not love money. Money must not be his motivation.
Looking At Verses 7-9 In Light of Verse 6:
7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
QUESTION: What does the doctrine of “sowing and reaping” teach us?
ANSWER: If we want corn we won’t get it by planting wheat!
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.
QUESTION: What message does this verse on “sowing and reaping” teach us?
ANSWER: If we want to reap a harvest of spiritual blessing then we must plant seeds that produce a spiritual harvest. If we do everything the “human” way, which Paul refers to as “he that soweth to his flesh,” we can only reap a harvest of natural blessings, which ultimately fade away, which Paul refers to as reaping “corruption.”
QUESTION: How do these harvest times of reaping natural blessings ultimately fade away?
ANSWER: We die! There are no eternal benefits to natural blessings. The things that follow you to Heaven are the spiritual blessings that you have harvested as a result of your being one of those “that sows to the Spirit.”
NOTE: Loving your children, your parents, your spouse, your siblings, your friends, etc. is sowing to the Spirit because God is Love (1 John 4:8, 16).
*ANOTHER NOTE: Loving someone in this life who doesn’t love you back (I’m not talking about romantic love) may bring pain to you in this life, but you will reap the wealth of Almighty God in the life to come.
9) And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
QUESTION: What promise does God give us in this passage?
ANSWER: If you’re doing God’s work keep after it! It might not seem worthwhile at the moment but at some point, even if that point is in the next life, we will reap the benefits of our planting spiritual seeds.
10) As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
QUESTION: As a Christian, who should I actively “do good” to?
ANSWER: I should do good to everybody.
QUESTION: What else does this verse teach us?
**ANSWER: We should do good to everybody, but we should have extra diligence to “do good” to God’s people.
Looking At Verses 7-9 In Light of the Main Subject of This Epistle:
7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
QUESTION: What does the doctrine of “sowing and reaping” teach us?
ANSWER: If we want corn we won’t get it by planting wheat!
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.
QUESTION: What does the doctrine of “sowing and reaping” teach us?
ANSWER: If we want the benefits of walking in the Spirit we won’t get them by trying with our own strength!
QUESTION: What is this “sowing to the flesh” in light of our wanting to live a good Christian life?
ANSWER: Paul teaches us in Galatians 3:2-3 that “sowing to” the flesh is our trying to keep all the rules by our own human effort. It’s a “gritting our teeth and trying harder” method.
QUESTION: What is this “sowing to the Spirit” in light of our wanting to live a good Christian life?
ANSWER: Paul teaches us in Galatians 3:2-3 that “sowing to” the Spirit is our hearing, and believing, God’s promises to us.
QUESTION: Then, what is Paul teaching us in verse 8?
ANSWER: If you try to be a good Christian by your own human strength/your flesh, then your harvest will be contaminated; because the flesh can only produce what the flesh produces (Galatians 5:19-21). However, if you simply believe what God says about you in His Word you will begin to do things that are in accordance with His teachings. It’s called walking in the Spirit, and it produces wonderful things (Galatians 5:22-23).
NOTE: Just try living badly after the Holy Spirit produces His “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control” (GNB) in you.
9) And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
QUESTION: What promise does God give us in this passage?
ANSWER: If we keep doing our best to align ourselves with God’s Word we will eventually reap the results of walking in the Spirit.
Galatians Chapter 6, Verses 11-18
“Don’t Become Entrenched In The Law of Moses!”
[5-23-21]
Review: “The Preacher Owes The Church! The Church Owes The Preacher!”
Galatians 6:6-10) [KJV] (NLT) Those who are taught the word of God should help their teachers by paying them.
COMPARISON: Our taxes pay our school teachers; our tuition pays our college professors; our church contributions pay our ministers.
Looking At Verses 7-9 In Light of Verse 6:
7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
NOTE: If we want corn we won’t get it by planting wheat!
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.
NOTE: If we want to reap a harvest of spiritual blessing then we must plant seeds that produce a spiritual harvest. If we do everything the “human” way, which Paul refers to as “he that soweth to his flesh,” we can only reap a harvest of natural blessings, which ultimately fade away, which Paul refers to as reaping “corruption.”
NOTE: Loving your children, your parents, your spouse, your siblings, your friends, etc. is sowing to the Spirit because God is Love (1 John 4:8, 16).
*ANOTHER NOTE: Loving someone in this life who doesn’t love you back (I’m not talking about romantic love) may bring pain to you in this life, but you will reap the wealth of Almighty God in the life to come.
9) And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
ANSWER: If you’re doing God’s work keep after it! It might not seem worthwhile at the moment but at some point, even if that point is in the next life, we will reap the benefits of our planting spiritual seeds.
10) As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
NOTE: We should do good to everybody; but we should have extra diligence to “do good” to God’s people.
This Week’s Lesson: “Don’t Become Entrenched In The Law of Moses!”
Galatians 6:11-18) [KJV] Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.
12) 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.
QUESTION: Why did some first century preachers want Christian Gentiles to be circumcised?
ANSWER: They didn’t want to be persecuted by the Jews! Many of the Jewish “converts” to Christianity help tightly to the Law of Moses, and to the rite of circumcision. They didn’t take kindly to preachers, like Paul, who taught Gentile believers to steer clear of the Law, and of circumcision.
13) For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.
14) But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
15) For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
QUESTION: According to these closing verses why did those false teachers insist that non-Jewish converts to the Christian faith get circumcised?
ANSWER: They wanted to boast about numbers.
QUESTION: Do we struggle with that these days?
ANSWER: Absolutely! We want to boast about how many people we baptized, or how many came down front to be saved, or how many were sanctified, or how many were baptized in the Holy Spirit.
QUESTION: What did the Apostle Paul boast about?
ANSWER: He took pride in the fact that he was so loved by God that Jesus died for him at Calvary. He wanted his readers to rejoice in the very same thing.
QUESTION: What resulted from God loving him enough to die for him?
ANSWER: Paul was now dead to the world, and the world was dead to him.
QUESTION: What does that mean?
ANSWER: It is a statement of faith, of believing what God had said about him in His Word. In other words, it’s a reflection of Paul walking in the Spirit. Paul believed that because Christ had died for him he was now dead, in Christ, to the world. Therefore, he didn’t do the things he used to do, those things that were contrary to God’s teachings. He was walking by faith; i.e., he was walking in the Spirit.
QUESTION: What was his final point on this subject?
ANSWER: The Jews saw circumcision as an initiation into the Jewish faith that was built upon the Law of Moses. Many Christian Jews wanted to merge faith in Christ with Moses’ Law. Therefore, they wanted non-Jewish converts to the Christian faith to yield to circumcision as a means to be initiated into the Jewish faith that they had attempted to merge with the Christian faith. Paul, a good Jew himself, concluded that being circumcised or not being circumcised was totally irrelevant to the Christian faith. The fact is that when you place your faith in the Lord Jesus you become a brand new creature/creation in Him. That’s what matters!
16) And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
QUESTION: Wasn’t it Paul’s desire that all men experience peace?
ANSWER: No! He wanted those who were teaching these bad doctrines to experience a lack of peace that would hopefully drive them to a deeper study of God’s Word, with the end result being that they would discover the true doctrines of the New Testament.
NOTE: The Old Covenant, that was built upon the Law of Moses, and the New Covenant, which is built upon Christ (His birth, perfect life, death, resurrection, and ascension back to Heaven), cannot be merged together. They are diametrically opposed to one another. The first was given to the unregenerate; the last was given to the born again, blood washed children of God.
17) From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
QUESTION: What were these “marks of the Lord Jesus” that Paul bore in his body?
ANSWER: Paul had so many physical marks in his body that were the results of all the physical sufferings he endured for preaching Jesus.
QUESTION: What did he mean when he said “let no man trouble me” from now on?
ANSWER: I think Paul was tired of starting churches by teaching converts what Jesus accomplished for them at Calvary, and then having to reteach them all over again because false teachers had introduced bad doctrine to them.
18) Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
To the Galatians written from Rome.
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