Project
5/2/09
Galatians 6:7-10
Who- Paul is writing to the churches of Galatia
What- The overall theme of the Book of Galatians is justification of a man by faith
Where- Central Asia Minor
When- 49 or 55 A.D.
Why- Some members of the early church falsely believed in merit/works-based salvation
How- To expound on the basic theme, Paul uses the audience’s experience (3:1-5), Abraham’s example (3:6-9), Christ vs. Law (3:10-4:11), his personal testimony (4:12-20), using Abraham illustratively (4:12-31), and Application of faith (5:1-6:10)
Context of Galatians 5:2-6:10
5:2-12 Liberation from the Law by Christ’s sacrifice
5:13-15 Loving others in freedom from the law
5:16-24 Freedom from fleshly weakness
5:25-6:5 Freedom from pride
6:6-6:10 Works from faith
READ Galatians 6:6-10
Key words identified
Flesh-as human nature, see Gal 5:19-21
Spirit-the Holy Spirit
Good- see Gal 5:22-23
Faith- (from earlier context)
Sow- to scatter seed. It is likely viewed by this audience as an ongoing, rather than discrete, event (see picture below)
Prov. 11:18, Hos 10:12, James 3:18
Reap- harvest what is sown
Jer 12:13, Hos 10:13
http://www.wcg.org/lit/law/festivals/harvest.htm
Literal interpretation
V7- God knows the balance of all men’s lives, and they will receive according to their behavior
V8- If we live for our own corrupt desires, our reward will be spiritual corruption, but living for closeness to the Holy Spirit will yield eternal rewards
V9-Our rewards will be eternal, but perhaps not immediate
V10- Let us live (as Jesus lived) driven by concern for others
Contextual interpretation
Gal 2:16- Faith, not works, justifies a man
Gal 5:4-6- Confirms Gal 2:16, plus v6 shows faith working through love
Gal 5:13-14- Freedom from the Law should not turn the flesh loose, but be an opportunity to serve each other
James 2:21-26
Correlates precisely to Galatians Ch 5 & 6
V26 reasserts faith as salvation and declares the necessity of a manifestation of faith
Acts Ch. 6 & 7 provide a clear illustration of the power of one who sows to the Spirit in Stephen, who in turn influenced the author of Galatians in a remarkable way. See also 1 Cor 3:6-9 for explanation.
The Book of Proverbs asserts in numerous locations that the good in heart and deed will reap rewards as called for by Gal 6:7-8, exemplified by Prov 10:22-25. But where are the eternal rewards of Gal 6:9-10 specified. 1 Cor 3:10-15 describes this at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Application
The purpose of Paul’s letter to the Galatian church is to assert the supremacy of faith over legalism. However, chapter 6 clarifies that a life driven by faith will manifest itself in the fruit of the Spirit, which is described in Gal 5:22-23. This is the faith that is also described by James, one that justifies a man and glorifies God by his words and actions for all to see.
Just as Abraham was justified by faith, so can we be also. We can also observe the heart of the Law by loving our neighbor as an exercise or manifestation of that faith
Additional study needed: How does v6 fit in with the rest of the text?
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