Gálatas 6

Gálatas 6:8

Cole - So here the opposite of phthoran, corruption, is zoēn aiōnion, eternal life, one of the many biblical expressions for salvation. To see ‘salvation’ in terms of ‘life’ is as old as the Old Testament (e.g. Ps 16:11, to take a random example); but in the New Testament the concept takes on a new richness, as shown in an excellent article in BAGD, since ‘life’ is no longer merely, or even primarily, physical. (Cole, R. A. Vol. 9: Galatians: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Page 231. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press) George Clark comments that "shall of the flesh reap corruption" speaks of "moral corruption, eternal death, the opposite of eternal life. (Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians) McKnight - That the antithesis of flesh and Spirit has been in Paul’s mind since he began these injunctions at verse 1 becomes clear with Gal 5:8. What we envision here is a divisiveness that was leading to shunning sinning brothers and sisters, to arrogant leadership, to comparing one’s righteousness with another’s, and to outright ugly treatment of teachers. Such kinds of behavior are “works of the flesh” (Gal 5:19, 20, 21). So Paul enters with the strongest foundation that one can perceive: God is the Judge, and people cannot sneer at him. Paul knows that “moral indifference would be an imperfection in God, not a perfection.” If a person lives to the flesh, that person will “reap destruction” (condemnation); if a person lives “in the Spirit,” that person will “reap eternal life.” What Paul is saying is what I have said on numerous occasions in this book: while works do not save us, no one is saved without works. Why? Very simply, because works are the sure indicators of a person’s heart, orientation, and status before God. Every judgment in the Bible is a judgment according to works (cf. Mt. 7:13-27; 16:27; 22:1-14; 25:1-46; 2Co 5:10; Rev 20:11-15). A person’s final standing before God will be determined by that person’s relationship to Jesus Christ as revealed in his or her works. While it is absolutely true that our grounds of acceptance is the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on our behalf, our connection to that sacrifice is by way of a faith that works itself out in the many good works in a person’s life. (McKnight, S. The NIV Application Commentary: Galatians. Page 287. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) Burton… Yet in view of the Pauline use of pneuma (Ro 8:21, 1Co 15:42, 50), the reference to the flesh in the immediate context, and the antithesis of eternal life in the second member of the sentence, it seems probable that by phthoran Paul means that corruption and death of the body, from which, for those who have not lived according to the spirit, there is no rising to eternal life. (The Epistle to the Galatians Commentary) Adam Clarke… In like manner, he that sows to the flesh-who indulges his sensual and animal appetites, shall have corruption as the crop: you cannot expect to lead a bad life and go to heaven at last. According as your present life is, so will be your eternal life whether your sowing be to the flesh or to the Spirit, so will your eternal reaping be. To sow, here, means transacting the concerns of a man’s natural life. To reap, signifies his enjoyment or punishment in another world. (Galatians 6 Commentary) John Calvin… For he that soweth to his flesh. Having stated the general sentiment, he now divides it into parts. To sow to the flesh, is to look forward to the wants of the present life, without any regard to a future life. They who do this will gather fruit corresponding to the seed which they have sown, — will heap up that which shall miserably perish… And what else does this mean, but to be so entirely devoted to the flesh, as to direct all our thoughts to its interests or convenience? (Galatians 6:6-10 Commentary) NLT Study Bible… Those who trust in human effort and those who think they can do as they wish are in the same position: They live to satisfy their own sinful nature. Such people harvest decay and death. Those who live by the Spirit’s power and trust in God will harvest everlasting life. (New Living Translation Study Bible. 2008. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc ) Timothy George… In a perfectly balanced construction, he claimed that “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” (KJV). We see here drawn out on a canvas of eternity a scenario of the end results of the two catalogs of virtues and vices Paul enumerated in Gal 5:19-23. If we continue to indulge in the works of the flesh, moving deeper and deeper into the pit of depravity, then we can be certain of the harvest we will receive—corruption. The word phthora, “destruction,” “decay,” “corruption,” conveys the idea of a putrid corpse in the process of decomposition. As we saw in our earlier discussion of the works of the flesh, sarx as an ethical principle involves far more than the physical or material aspect of the human. Nonetheless, the consequences of sin are nowhere more vividly seen than in the ravaging of the human body through disease, decay, and death. As Burton correctly observes, “Paul here affirms that devotion of one’s self to the material, bodily side of life, brings physical death unrelieved by the Christian hope of resurrection which rests upon the indwelling of the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead.” However, we should not be misled by this graphic depiction of utter decay and desolation into thinking that the final destiny of those who sow to the flesh is annihilation or nonexistence. Hell is both final and eternal. In Rev 21:8 the role call of those who will find their place in the fiery lake of burning sulphur is remarkably similar to Paul’s category of evil in Gal 5: the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars. Apart from eternal separation from God, the most horrible thing about hell is the incorrigibility of those who go there. “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still” (Rev 22:11, KJV; italics added). This is the “corruption” of the second death. Like a chalk artist, Paul painted a vivid portrait of the dark side of reality—the certainty of judgment, the harvest of destruction and death, the inescapable and eternal outcome of sowing to the flesh. (George, T. Vol. 30: Galatians The New American Commentary. Page 423. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers) Hendriksen… Sowing to the flesh means to allow the old nature to have its way. So also, sowing to the Spirit means to allow the Holy Spirit to have his way. The one who does the latter is walking by the Spirit (5:16), and is being led by the Spirit (5:18). What happens to these contrasted representative individuals? Already in this life, but especially in and after the resurrection at the last day, he who has been sowing to please his flesh will from the harvest-field of the flesh reap destruction, decay. On the other hand, he who has been sowing to please the Spirit will from the harvest-field of the Spirit reap life everlasting. The two terms “corruption” and “life everlasting” must be understood in a double sense: quantitative and qualitative. With respect to the former, the two are alike: both last on and on and on. “Corruption,” for example, far from amounting to annihilation, indicates “everlasting destruction” (2Th 1:9). “ (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. NT Commentary Set. Baker Book) John MacArthur… Although his trust in Christ saves him from spiritual death, a sinning believer can nevertheless reap corruption, suffering physical death and many other tragic earthly consequences, as did some of the unrepentant Corinthians (1Co 11:30). (MacArthur, J. Galatians. Chicago: Moody Press or Logos or Wordsearch) (Note that MacArthur does not interpret sowing to the flesh as an unbeliever, which is surprising considering his stance on passages of a similar ilk.) Jamieson, Fausset, Brown… corruption—that is, destruction (Php 3:19). Compare as to the deliverance of believers from “corruption” (Ro 8:21). The use of the term “corruption” instead, implies that destruction is not an arbitrary punishment of fleshly-mindedness, but is its natural fruit; the corrupt flesh producing corruption, which is another word for destruction: corruption is the fault, and corruption the punishment (see on 1Co 3:17; 2Pe 2:12). Future life only expands the seed sown here. Men cannot mock God because they can deceive themselves. They who sow tares cannot reap wheat. They alone reap life eternal who sow to the Spirit (Ps 126:6; Pr 11:18; 22:8; Ho 8:7; 10:12; Lk 16:25; Ro 8:11; Jas 5:7). Matthew Henry… If we sow the wind, we shall reap the whirlwind. Those who live a carnal sensual life, who instead of employing themselves to the honour of God and the good of others, spend all their thoughts, and care, and time, about the flesh, must expect no other fruit of such a course than corruption—a mean and short-lived satisfaction at present, and ruin and misery at the end of it. (Galatians 6 Commentary) Joseph Beet… If to gratify our own flesh be our aim, the flesh will be to us a source of corruption. For corruption is inseparable from flesh of all kinds: by its own nature it goes to ruin, and in repulsive forms. For this reason (1Co 15:50: cp. 1Co 15:42) it cannot enter the kingdom of God. It is needless to say that Paul refers here to the ruin of eternal death. On the principle that a man’s actions will reappear in their results, Paul declares that they who choose as their aim gratification of the flesh will as an appropriate and inevitable consequence receive back from the flesh that corruption which essentially belongs to it. (Galatians 6 Commentary ) K L Boles… Those who follow the desires of their sinful nature will be too selfish to share in the mutual responsibilities Christians owe one another (vv. 1–10). Instead they will think only of their own desires and ambitions, and the pursuit of these desires and ambitions will likely ruin their lives here, and will surely ruin their hopes of life in eternity. It would seem that this ultimate destiny is primarily what Paul has in mind. (Boles, K. L. Galatians & Ephesians. The College Press NIV commentary. Joplin, Mo.: College Press) C F Pfeiffer… A selfish Christian soweth to his flesh, spending his resources to gratify his own personal desires. He may expect to reap corruption. That which might have brought reward by being invested in the Lord’s work will be nothing but a decayed mass, a complete loss in terms of eternity. (Pfeiffer, C F: Wycliffe Bible Commentary. 1981. Moody) John Wesley… Reap corruption-Death everlasting. (Wesley's Notes) Charles Simeon (Bio)… Our final state will be exactly answerable to our present conduct—Under the metaphor of a sower the text affords a striking discrimination of character: Some “sow to the flesh”—To sow to the flesh, is to seek in the first place our carnal ease and interests. This we may do notwithstanding we are free from gross sins. Every one comes under this description who “sets his affections on things below.” They whose life is so occupied will “reap corruption”— The present enjoyments they will have are both corruptible and defiling. The future recompense will be everlasting destruction. This is elsewhere affirmed in the plainest terms. Others “sow to the Spirit”— The Holy Spirit invariably inclines men to the love of God, and of holiness. The new nature of the regenerate affects also spiritual objects and employments. To sow to the Spirit therefore is to seek and delight in spiritual things. They who do this will reap everlasting life— A life of devotedness to God can never issue in misery. God has promised that it shall terminate in glory. Thus, not our pleas and pretences, but our life and conduct, will determine our eternal state—Our harvest will accord with the seed we sow. These different ends are inseparable from the different means. The punishment, however, will be as wages earned; the reward as a gift bestowed. Infer— 1. What extreme folly is it to live regardless of God and our own souls! No husbandman expects to reap wheat, when he has sown only tares. How absurd then to hope for heaven while we seek not after it! Let us be convinced of our folly, and learn wisdom even from the children of this world. 2. How absurd would it be to be diverted from our duty by any difficulties we may meet with in the discharge of it! The husbandman does not regard inclemencies of weather, much less would he be deterred from his work by the advice or ridicule of the ignorant and supine. Shall we then be discouraged, whose seed-time is so precarious, and whose harvest is so important? Let all go forward, “sowing in tears that they may reap in joy.” (Galatians 6:7, 8 The Ground of God's Final Decision) Mohrlang… The point of the warnings in 6:7 becomes clear in 6:8 as Paul relates these verses with word links involving sowing and reaping. Paul’s metaphor envisions two lifestyles of sowing, one “to the flesh” or sinful nature, and the other “to the Spirit” (flesh and Spirit are contrasted elsewhere in this letter at Gal 3:3; 4:29; and Gal 5:16-25). The expected results, according to Paul, would be apparent at the time of reaping; those oriented to the flesh should expect to harvest the tragedy of destruction (identified in the NLT as “decay and death”), whereas those oriented to the Spirit should expect a harvest of eternal life. (Mohrlang, R., & Gerald L. Borchert. Cornerstone biblical commentary, Vol 14: Romans and Galatians. Page 331. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers) Herman Ridderbos… Corruption is not the cessation of human existence, but is the positive existence of grief and woe, temporal and eternal. That nothing less is meant is apparent also from the second clause. Whoever sows in the Spirit, devotes his life to Him and lets himself be governed by Him; he shall reap eternal life from the Spirit (Ed: Do not misconstrue what he is saying - he is not saying sowing to the Spirit MERITS eternal life, for that is only obtained by grace through faith. He is saying that in some way which only eternity will fully disclose, believers are "contributing" to their future "eternal life". We simply cannot say much more until we are there!). For the Spirit is the grand life-giver and preserver operating through an inner law of life laid down by God. Eternal life speaks of the whole of life, both of body and soul, the glorified life of the resurrection on the new earth. The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia. (The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia) Warren Wiersbe… “Sowing to the flesh” means living for the flesh, investing time and money on things that will not last; “sowing to the Spirit” means spending time and money on things eternal. How many Christians use their time and money (and money is merely time minted so we can spend it again) on things fleshly—and they wonder why they never grow in grace or reap spiritual fruits! Certainly it takes faith and patience to sow to the Spirit, but God promises the harvest in due season. It takes time to grow a spiritual harvest. We must be faithful sowers in our activities. (Wiersbe, W. W. Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books) Dunman and Ogilvie - It is probable that Paul knew Jesus’ picture of the separation of sheep and goats in Matthew 25. So he is talking about a final judgment when we will be rewarded with “life” or “death” according to how we have sown. (The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 31: Galatians/Ephesians/Philippians / Colossians / Philemon. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc) In sum, while some excellent expositors (eg, MacArthur, Wiersbe) interpret sowing to the flesh as sinning believers and corruption as "loss of rewards", the majority of conservative commentaries (recent and old) interpret these phrases as referring to unbelievers who will reap eternal corruption separated from the holiness of God. Although, I also favor this interpretation based on the specific facts listed above (See here) BUT THE ONE WHO SOWS TO THE SPIRIT WILL FROM THE SPIRIT REAP ETERNAL LIFE: o de speiron (PAPMSN) eis to pneuma ek tou pneumatos therisei (3SFAI) zoen aionion: sows to the spirit: Ga 6:7 Ps 126:5,6 Ec 11:6 Isa 32:20 Jas 3:18 the Spirit: Mt 19:29 Lk 18:30 Jn 4:14,36 6:27 Ro 6:22 1Ti 1:16 Titus 3:7 Jude 1:21 Galatians 6 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries But - Introduces a striking set of contrasts - flesh/Spirit, corruption/eternal life. Sows - as noted above, "sows" is in the present tense which depicts one's lifestyle. Present tense does not picture perfection but direction, for no believer ever achieves perfection (in this life but only the life to come). It is absolutely impossible for an unregenerate person to sow to the Spirit, for they do not possess the Spirit of Christ. All their sowing is solely to the flesh and so all their earthly endeavors (thoughts, words, deeds) are but corruption! This sounds harsh but it is absolutely Scriptural. That we as believers can now even participate in such "holy horticulture" as sowing to the Spirit should be cause for great joy, humility, thanksgiving, and praise at "so great a salvation!" (He 2:3-note) May we never lose a sense of awe and wonder over what our great God hath wrought in each of our lives at the time of redemption and regeneration made possible by the payment of such a precious price, the blood of the Lamb, God's very own Son (cp 1Pe 1:18, 19-note) SOWING EITHER TO THE SPIRIT or FLESH To reemphasize, sowing is not something "mystical" -- We "sow" with our thoughts (even our motives! 1Co 4:5), our words (Mt 12:37) and our deeds (cp our "good works" Ep 2:10-note). It follows that essentially all of our life (sleep might be an exception) is characterized by continual sowing -- every moment of every day we are either sowing to the flesh or the Spirit.