The Spiritual Person
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Important messages
My comments on the book of Galatians conclude with this article. I hope they have been of use to you...
Galatians 6:1-18
1. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any
transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of
gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
2. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
4. But let each one test his own work, and then his
reason to boast will be in himself alone and not
in his neighbor.
5. For each will have to bear his own load.
6. Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with
the one who teaches.
7. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows,
that will he also reap.
8. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap
corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap
eternal life.
9. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we
will reap, if we do not give up.
10. So
then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone,
and especially to those who are of the household of faith
God is the God of restoration. Shall we term
restoration a second chance? My favorite biblical example of God’s willingness
to restore is that of Samson, after he miserably compromised his Nazarite
secret with a foreign woman, who immediately betrayed him. As a result, the
covenant hair of his head was shaved, he was taken prisoner, his eyes were put
out and he was made to grind at a mill. The next verse brings tears to my eyes
and hope to my heart: “But the hair of
his head began to grow again after it had been shaved” (Jud.16:22). As
simple as it is, I love this verse, because it reveals the nature of Samson’s
God. The Holy Spirit wants to convey the fact that He is the God of
restoration. The duty of the spiritual Christian is to restore a fallen brother
and to do so in a spirit of gentleness.
The whole history of Israel is a testimony to God’s patience
in dealing with its failures and waywardness. God Himself makes this statement:
“I will seek the lost, and I will bring
back the strayed…” (Ez.34:16). It is the cause behind the fact that Christ
came into the world, and therefore, it is the very reason that we have a gospel
to preach and receive. Jesus declared it: “Go
and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not
to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mt.9:13). Of course, many
other examples could be given and many quotes made concerning restoration.
I was a little surprised in my study to find the
example of Nathan, the prophet, dealing with King David, among the restoration
cross references. It shows to us the means, by which restoration can take
place. God does not grant restoration without an acknowledgment of the sin,
which caused the person to stray in the first place. Under the wise direction
of the Holy Spirit, Nathan very forcefully brings David’s sin to his attention,
concluding, “You are the man!” (see 2 Samuel 12:1-14). David confesses, “I
have sinned against the Lord” and Psalms 51 shows the depths of his remorse
and repentance: “My sin is ever before
me” (Ps.51:3). Nathan gently assures, “The
Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” Nathan was David’s
true friend.
No one can effectually be of any real help to a friend
or brother without the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. It is a spiritual person… someone
who is full of God’s Spirit and is able to follow His leading… who can restore.
He does this as gently and humbly as possible, because a spiritual person is
also aware of his own weakness and vulnerability. He knows that he could be the
one, who transgressed, just as easily as the one, who fell. I suppose many men
could be given credit for a statement, which I read many years ago, concerning
D. L. Moody. He and a walking companion came upon a drunk in the street and
Moody made this observation to his friend, “There,
were it not for the grace of God, am I.”
The same spirit also applies to bearing one another's
burdens. The spiritual person sees the possibility of being under an unbearable
load, just as the one, which a neighbor is bearing. There is no guarantee that
sickness, financial disaster, or even more tragically, some spiritual test might
strike him. Therefore, he stretches out his hand to one, who is stumbling under
a burden. Even Jesus, on the way to Calvary, needed the help of Simon of Cyrene
to carry His cross. It is a mutual obligation in Christ’s kingdom and it is
another law of the heart. The Christian willingly gives himself to help another
advance.
Probably one of the most disturbing areas of pride is
that of one who “thinks he is something, when he is nothing”. Pride is ugly enough, when
someone has something to brag about, but the one, who is self-deceived, overrates
his wisdom, knowledge and spirituality, in general. He thinks himself well
capable of handling any situation, when in truth, he is deficient. Spiritual
pride not only occurs in individuals, but to bodies of Christians, as well,
such as the Laodicean church: “I have
need of nothing” (Rev.3:17). They thought outside help was not necessary for
them, when in truth, they were the weakest, most needy, and most miserable in
the eyes of Christ. God hates this attitude.
Concerning such a
situation, verse four is interesting and helpful. The apostle invites the
believer to a sincere evaluation of his condition. It can only take place in the Spirit and only by someone, who
is willing to humble himself and be totally honest. This is a person with an
open Bible, willing to study the Word and then, in earnest prayer, look at
himself with the same seriousness, with which he will one day stand before
Christ. If he is honest and humble, he will get an accurate assessment from the
Holy Spirit. Interestingly, he will be able to rejoice, if he sees that he has
been useful. There is nothing wrong with the honest satisfaction of being a
faithful servant. If you find this to be truly the case, my friend, humbly rejoice
in it! In this same context, he can recognize an individual usefulness, and not
only that which comes, because he is associated with a good team… “his reason to boast will be in
himself alone.” Notice the Corinthian boast: “‘I follow Paul’, or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or “I follow Cephas’” (1
Co.1:12).
Burden is the word
translated in verse 2 and load is
used in the ESV in verse 5. Burden in
verse 2 refers to going down under a
weight. In verse 5, Paul is continuing from his last thought in verse 4, in
which each one is encouraged to look singularly at his own Christian service.
This word means task or service. Most of the commentators, to
whom I refer, relate this verse, in one degree or another, to the Judgment Seat
of Christ. Everyone will stand alone on that day and “will give an account of himself to
God” (Ro.14:12).
An important part of the
Christian life is the ability to discern priorities and put them in their
proper place. The religious people of Christ’s day had a serious deficiency in
this area, “straining out a gnat and
swallowing a camel” (Mt.23:24). In verse 6, Paul points to the value of the
true teaching of the word of God and the proper appreciation that is to be
shown for it.
Then, he speaks of the
uncompromising law of sowing and reaping… what one sows, he will reap. He applies
it to the previous subject of the flesh against the Spirit and puts it into the
context of these verses, referring to final judgment before Christ. Someone may
fool men throughout his life, but “God is not mocked”. To try to serve Him in a
fleshly manner, is mockery to His holy majesty. This may relate to the subject
that Paul has taken in this entire epistle… that of coming under the law in an
attempt to please God and obtain salvation, or any other manifestation of the
flesh in divine service.
Fleshly service, in the
long run, always is self-pleasing, and is a seed of corruption that will reap
corruption. It means to cater to the ego, glory in its ability, and it is short-lived,
though it may seem highly successful among men. The flesh is destined to destruction
and so are the deeds done in the flesh.
That which is done through
the Spirit always is eternal, so the person, who walks in the Spirit, will
bring forth fruit that endures. Therefore, let us not “grow weary of doing
good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up”. True spiritual
seed is not only permanent, it is also certain. Someone may live a lifetime
without seeing results, but if he has sown in the Spirit, the harvest will come
someday. Some will live and die, without experiencing the harvest, but these
will finally see the smile of Christ and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a
little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Mt.25:23).
Eternal rewards are not for the impatient, as the writer of Hebrews counsels: “You have need of endurance, so that when
you done the will of God you may receive what is promised” (He.10:36).
The only way to impart
good in another person’s life is through the Spirit. “As we have opportunity,
let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of
faith.” I think of Rehab and the good done to the Israelite spies… Israel was the
‘household of faith’ in her day. God gave her that opportunity and she entered
into it by faith. It was not a work of self-righteousness, an attempt to do
some good deed and thereby please God. From the time that a work began in her
heart, to the time that she hid the spies; from the time that she found a place
in Israel, to the time when she became a human ancestor of the Messiah; and to
this time, in which she rejoices in the presence of God, it was from beginning
to end, all a work of the Spirit.
11. See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own
hand.
12. It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who
would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be
persecuted for the cross of Christ.
13. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the
law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your
flesh.
14. But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
15. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor
uncircumcision, but a new creation.
16. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon
them, and upon the Israel of God.
17. From now on let no one cause me trouble,
for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,
brothers. Amen.
Paul generally dictated
his letters and another wrote them; Paul would then add his signature. Tertius
mentions himself as the writer at the end of the epistle to the Romans
(Ro.16:22). However, in this case, probably to show his personal care for the
Galatians and because of the criticism given him by his Judaizing opponents, he
writes the letter himself. Some believe he only wrote these last verses himself
and some believe that the “large letters” are due to an eye problem. He writes
of a bodily ailment in 4:13 and in verse 15, he seems to hint that this illness
had to do with his eyes.
The apostle shows again
that the teaching of circumcision and the keeping of Moses’ law is a convenient
one that compromises with the entire Judaic system (5:11). In this way, the
false teachers avoid persecution from the Jews. There are always preachers and
teachers, who tell people what they want to hear. Their work is done for
selfish reasons and they are looking for success at the cost of truth,
indicated by phrases in verse 12 and 13… “a good showing in the flesh” and “that
they may boast in your flesh”. You will also notice, as is the case of all
cultish leaders, that they are authoritarian manipulators: “Would force you to be circumcised”.
Verse 14, in which Paul
says that he glories only in the cross, is very significant. The true preaching
of the cross was, and still is, an unpopular message. It not only presents the
only way to salvation, but also, the only way to true Christian living. It is
the theme of God’s strength manifested through weakness and of life gained
through death. Those who live by the flesh will never want to take these measures,
but Paul, taught by the Holy Spirit, sees the glory of this message.
Here, for the third time,
Paul teaches the need to identify with the cross. Not only is the cross a
substitutionary sacrifice, but it forever transforms the true believer. This
time, Paul speaks of the cross in relation to the world. Because of the cross, “the
world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” It is another affront to
those who like the message of liberty presented in this letter, but refuse to understand
that there is a cross, standing in the way to liberty. The cross crucifies the
world in the life of the Christian. He is not free to participate in the things
of the world, he is freed from them. The world is not his attraction, any more
than a crucified man is attractive. Notice also, that the world does not find
Paul attractive. We already saw the reason in chapter 4. Paul does not own,
either the personality or the message, that the world is seeking.
Verse 15 also holds a very
key truth to the essence of Christianity: New birth, bringing forth a new
nature, is its rule and law. No outward act or sign can ever suffice to mark
the life of a believer; he must be born again (Jn.3:3)! A new mind and a new
heart dwell in a true Christian and he wills and does the purposes of God.
Christianity must be heart religion, performed freely by the power of a new
nature.
Paul reserved his blessing
for this kind of people and not for the whole of outward Christendom. Few there
are, who find this way, because broad and pleasing to the natural man, is the
way that the majority take. The apostle has been dealing with Judaism and now
he shows, who the true Jew is. The Israel of God are those who have wrestled
with the Lord and have been transformed from Jacob to Israel. Paul does not
mean that God has rejected natural Israel from His plan, in any way. He gives
us clear teaching of their ultimate salvation in Romans, chapter 9 through 11.
Paul bore the marks of his
crucifixion physically. He holds the scars, as the consequences of being
faithful to the unpopular message of the cross (see 2 Corinthians 6:4-5 and
11:23-33). All his hardships only served to soften his spirit. He communicated
with his Galatian brothers from his heart to theirs. He is concerned, above
all, for the welfare of their spirits, and his blessing is meant to go in that
direction. Paul knows the value of the soul and spirit and that is what has
motivated him to write this letter. The Holy Spirit has inspired him in order
that it can be for our use today.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away,
our inner self is being renewed day by day. For
this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to
the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the
things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Co.4:16-18).
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