Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Galatians 6:8
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.
8. A particular application of the general truth just stated. True in the material world, it is equally so in the moral and spiritual. Embracing the whole sphere of human action, it includes the special case under consideration. Such as is the seed sown, such will be the harvest garnered. To hoard earthly ‘good things’, is one form of sowing to the flesh, and silver and gold are ‘corruptible things’. To give liberally is to lay up treasure in heaven, “where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt”.
soweth to his flesh ] Some expositors regard the flesh as the ground into which, metaphorically, the seed is cast. It is perhaps better to take it as that for the purpose of which its indulgence and the gratification of its desires, men live and act. The word is used here, as elsewhere in this Epistle, of the unrenewed nature of man, in strong contrast to the spirit the ‘new man’, the ‘new creation’.
to his flesh ] Gr. ‘ to his own flesh ’.
corruption ] That which he has saved and that which he has gained will turn to decay. But from the corresponding expression in the second clause, ‘life everlasting’, we must regard the ‘corruption’ as affecting the man himself, as well as his possessions and enjoyments. A course of self-indulgence corrupts the moral nature and ends in destruction. The sowing here spoken of represents the thoughts, desires, words, and deeds which go to make up the active side of a human life.
life everlasting ] This life, like the corruption to which it is antithetical, is begun now (Joh 3:36), although its full development is future; for ‘the harvest is the end of the world.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For he that soweth to his flesh – That makes provision for the indulgence of fleshly appetites and passions; see the notes at Gal 5:19-21. He who makes use of his property to give indulgence to licentiousness, intemperance, and vanity.
Shall of the flesh – From the flesh, or as that which indulgence in fleshly appetites properly produces. Punishment, under the divine government, is commonly in the line of offences. The punishment of licentiousness and intemperance in this life is commonly loathsome and offensive disease; and when long indulged, the sensualist becomes haggard, and bloated, and corrupted, and sinks into the grave. Such, also, is often the punishment of luxurious living, of a pampered appetite, of gluttony, as well as of intemperate drinking. But if the punishment does not follow in this life, it will be sure to overtake the sensualist in the world to come. There he shall reap ruin, final and everlasting.
Corruption –
(1) By disease.
(2) In the grave – the home to which the sensualist rapidly travels.
(3) In the world of woe.
There all shall be corrupt. His virtue – even the semblance of virtue, shall all be gone. His understanding, will, fancy – his whole soul shall be debased and corrupt. No virtue will linger and live on the plains of ruin, but all shall be depravity and woe. Everything in hell is debased and corrupt; and the whole harvest of sensuality in this world and the world to come, is degradation and defilement.
But he that soweth to the Spirit – He who follows the leadings and cultivates the affections which the Holy Spirit would produce; see the notes at Gal 5:22-23.
Shall of the Spirit – As the result of following the leadings of the Spirit.
Reap life everlasting – See the note at Rom 2:7.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. He that soweth to his flesh] 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. Probably by flesh and Spirit the apostle means Judaism and Christianity. Circumcision of the flesh was the principal rite of the former; circumcision in the heart, by the Spirit, the chief rite of the latter; hence the one may have been called flesh, the other, Spirit. He who rejects the Gospel, and trusts only in the rites and ceremonies of the law for salvation, will reap endless disappointment and misery. He who trusts in Christ, and receives the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, shall reap life everlasting.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
For he that soweth to his flesh; he that layeth out his estate, or spendeth his time and talents, for the gratifying of the flesh;
shall of the flesh reap corruption; shall or may reap some carnal satisfaction, of a corruptible, dying, perishing nature.
But he that soweth to the Spirit; but he who layeth out his estate, or spendeth his time, strength, talents, whatsoever God hath given him, for the glory of God, in obedience to the commands, motions, and dictates of the Spirit, or the revelations of the Divine will;
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting; he shall not of merit, but of grace from the Spirit, reap everlasting life, reward, and satisfaction. So that as in the world, that man doth not suffer loss that layeth out his money, time, or strength about good things of a valuable and enduring nature; but he only who layeth them out about things perishing, and transitory, and of a corruptible nature: so that man shall not lose his estate that layeth it out for the maintenance of the gospel, and upholding the ministry of it; for he soweth to the Spirit, and shall thereof reap eternal life and salvation: he only loseth his estate, &c., who spendeth it to gratify his lusts, and please his flesh, for all the return which he shall have, will be in poor, sensible, perishing good things, which perish with the using, and will be of no significancy to him beyond this life.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. Translate, “He thatsoweth unto his own flesh,” with a view to fulfilling itsdesires. He does not say, “His spirit,” as he doessay, “His flesh.” For in ourselves we are not spiritual,but carnal. The flesh is devoted to selfishness.
corruptionthat is,destruction (Php 3:19). Compareas to the deliverance of believers from “corruption” (Ro8:21). The use of the term “corruption” instead,implies that destruction is not an arbitrary punishmentof fleshly-mindedness, but is its natural fruit; the corruptflesh producing corruption, which is another word for destruction:corruption is the fault, and corruption the punishment (see on 1Co3:17; 2Pe 2:12). Futurelife only expands the seed sown here. Men cannot mock God becausethey can deceive themselves. They who sow tares cannot reap wheat.They alone reap life eternal who sow to the Spirit (Psa 126:6;Pro 11:18; Pro 22:8;Hos 8:7; Hos 10:12;Luk 16:25; Rom 8:11;Jas 5:7).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For he that soweth to his flesh,…. Not that taking due care of a man’s body, seeking the preservation of its health, providing proper food and raiment for himself, and all necessaries for the good and support of his family, is to be called sowing to his flesh, nor is he to be called a carnal sower; but he is such an one that pampers his flesh, gratifies and indulges the lusts of it, who minds the things of the flesh, lives after it, and does the works of it, who spends his substance in a luxurious way upon himself and family; or whose whole bent, and study, and employment, is to increase his worldly riches, to aggrandize himself and posterity, to the neglect of his own soul, the interest of religion, the poor of the church, and ministers of the Gospel:
shall of the flesh reap corruption; shall by such carnal methods procure for himself, in this world, nothing but what is corruptible, as silver and gold be, and such treasure as moth and rust corrupt; such substance as will not endure, but is perishing, and may be by one providence or another taken from him; so that all his care in sowing comes to nothing, and is of no advantage to himself, nor to his posterity; see Hag 1:4, and shall fall into the pit of corruption, and be punished with everlasting destruction, and die the second death in the world to come.
But he that soweth to the Spirit; not his own, but the Spirit of God; or that soweth spiritual things, that minds and savours the things of the Spirit, lives in the Spirit, and walks in the Spirit; that lays out his worldly substance in promoting spiritual things, in encouraging the spiritual ministers of the word, in supporting the interest of spiritual religion, in relieving the poor of Christ’s churches, in contributing to the spread of the Gospel, and the administration of the word and ordinances in other places, as well as where he is more immediately concerned:
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting; in the use of such spiritual means, though not as meritorious, or as causes, he shall attain to, and enjoy eternal happiness in the other world; or of, and by the Spirit of God, by whose grace and strength he sows, and does all the good things he does, by and of him sanctifying him, and making him meet for it, and not of himself, or any works of righteousness done by him, shall he inherit eternal life; which is the pure gift of God through Jesus Christ, and bestowed as a reward of his own grace.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Corruption (). For this old word from , see on 1Co 15:42. The precise meaning turns on the context, here plainly the physical and moral decay or rottenness that follows sins of the flesh as all men know. Nature writes in one’s body the penalty of sin as every doctor knows.
Eternal life ( ). See on Mt 25:46 for this interesting phrase so common in the Johannine writings. Plato used for perpetual. See also 2Th 1:9. It comes as nearly meaning “eternal” as the Greek can express that idea.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
To his flesh [ ] . Rather, his own flesh. Eiv into : the flesh being conceived as the soil into which the seed is cast. Comp. Mt 13:22. His own, because the idea of personal, selfish desire is involved.
Corruption [] . Primarily, destruction, ruin; but it also has the sense of deterioration, decay, as 1Co 14:42. Comp. Aristotle, Rhet. 3 3, 4 “And thou didst sow [] shamefully [] and didst reap [] miserably [] .” See also Plato, Phaedrus, 260 D, and on defile, Rom 3:17.
The Spirit. The Holy Spirit : not the higher nature of man.
Eternal life [ ] . See on 2Th 1:9 (additional note).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “For he that soweth to his flesh,” (hoti ho speiron eis ten sarka heauton) “Because the one sowing to his own flesh”; the carnal, fleshly will, to his inborn, selfish, covetous flesh cravings and desires, to the will of the old nature, Jas 1:15; Job 4:8; Psa 7:14; Pro 22:8; Hos 10:13.
2) “Shall of the flesh reap corruption,” (ek tes sarkos therisei phthoran) “out of the flesh will reap corruption,” because all that is of, proceeds from, the flesh nature is corrupt, polluted, offensive to holiness and tends toward untimely death and unfruitfulness to God, 1Co 11:29-30; Deu 28:58-61; Mal 3:5.
3) “But he that soweth to the Spirit,” (ho de speiron eis to pneuma) “moreover the one sowing to the Spirit,” to the call, will, and leadership of the Holy Spirit to a Holy life and holy service, Rom 8:14; Gal 5:16; Gal 5:25. Every child of God should sow to the will of God in witnessing, light-bearing, and holy living, Mat 5:15-16; Act 1:8; 1Co 9:26-27.
4) “Shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting,” (ek tou pneumatos therisei zoen aionion) “Shall reap out of the Spirit life eternal things”, fruit. It is fruit that is reaped– not Spirit life itself, but fruit of the Spirit, that produces life-eternal-like, or Divine, holy things in the life of the sower, as described, Gal 5:22-25; 2Pe 1:3-11. Eternal life (per se) is not a reward for work one does, but the Gift of God to everyone who Trusts in Jesus Christ, Joh 3:16; 1Jn 5:1; 1Jn 5:13; Joh 10:27-29.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
8. 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. To sow in the flesh, ( seminare in carne ,) is supposed by some to mean indulgence in the lusts of the flesh, and corruption to mean destruction; but the former exposition agrees better with the context. In departing from the old translation and from Erasmus, I have not acted rashly. The Greek words, ὁ σπείρων εἰς τὴν σάρκα ἑαυτοῦ, literally signify, he that soweth into his flesh. 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?
But he that soweth to the spirit. By the spirit I understand the spiritual life, to which they are said to sow whose views are directed more to heaven than to earth, and whose life is regulated by the desire of reaching the kingdom of God. From their spiritual employments they will reap in heaven incorruptible fruit. Those employments are denominated spiritual on account of their end, though in some respects they are external and relate to the body, as in the very case now under consideration of supporting pastors. If the Papists shall endeavor, in their usual manner, to build upon these words the righteousness of works, we have already shewn how easily their absurdities may be exposed. Though eternal life is a reward, it does not follow either that we are justified by works, or that works are meritorious of salvation. The undeserved kindness of God appears in the very act of honoring the works which his grace has enabled us to perform, by promising to them a reward to which they are not entitled.
Is a more complete solution of the question demanded?
1. We have no good works which God rewards but those which we derive from his grace.
2. The good works which we perform by the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, are the fruits of that adoption which is an act of free grace.
3. They are not only unworthy of the smallest and most inconsiderable reward, but deserve to be wholly condemned, because they are always stained by many blemishes; and what have pollutions to do with the presence of God?
4. Though a reward had been a thousand times promised to works, yet it is not due but by fulfilling the condition of obeying the law perfectly; and how widely distant are we all from that perfection!
Let Papists now go and attempt to force their way into heaven by the merit of works. We cheerfully concur with Paul and with the whole Bible in acknowledging, that we are unable to do anything but by the free grace of God, and yet that the benefits resulting from our works receive the name of a reward.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) He that soweth to his flesh.The seed sown is a mans actions here on earth. If the object of those actions is merely self-indulgence, they are, as it were, sown in a field the owner of which is the flesh (i.e., the lower, carnal self). The flesh alone benefits by them, and for it alone are they garnered up.
Shall of the flesh reap corruption.If such has been a mans conduct, he must look to the flesh for his reward, and all the reward it can give him will be a share in its own corruption. The flesh perishes, and so shall the fruit of his actions perish, and leave not a wrack behind.
He that soweth to the Spirit . . .On the other hand, where all the actions are like seed deposited in the field of which the owner and lord is the Spirit, that same Spirit will reward them in the world to come with the gift of everlasting life.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. To his flesh Flesh and Spirit do not designate the different fields in which we sow, nor the different seeds, but the different interests to please which we sow. Yet the seed is different according to the different interests in which we sow, as the responsible act is different according to which interest it regards.
To his flesh To the gratification of his flesh.
Reap corruption That absolute ruin of which bodily putrefaction is the image, and which, as the opposite of eternal life, is eternal death.
Of the Spirit As the flesh is corruptible, so from the flesh is reaped corruption; as the Spirit is pure, perfect, living and eternal, so the life from him is eternal life. There is a lower and a higher system of things in life, including different masses of men. The one is the system of the flesh, particularly conspicuous in a sensual age like the present. It runs to sensual gratifications and excitements, to the revelling room, the liquor saloon, the horse race, the gambling hell, and the theatre. Opposite to this is the system of intellectual and spiritual aspiration; which tends to the school, the Christian association, the Sabbath dedicated to self-improvement, the Bible, and the Church. The latter accords with the healthful recreation in which reason, but not mere animal, is gratified. The former tends downward, and ends in endless ruin; the latter is upward, and rises to eternal life. Let no one be deceived; for as sure as God is not mocked, these, to the fleshly, will be the result.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gal 6:8 . Ground assigned for the foregoing proposition. “So it is, since in fact the two opposite sorts of ground which receive the seed will also yield two opposite kinds of harvest .” In the words . . Paul, as was required by the matter which he would figuratively present ( evil good ), has conceived two different classes of seed, with two sorts of recipient soil likewise essentially different; one class comprises all the kinds of seed which are sown to a man’s own flesh, the other class includes all those which are sown to the Holy Spirit. He who scatters the former class of seeds, and therefore sows to his own flesh, will from this soil, which he has furnished with the corresponding seed, reap corruption, etc. Therefore we have not here any alteration in the figure, by which Paul leaves the description of the seed , and passes over to that of the soil (Rckert, Hofmann, according to whom it is only this alteration which explains the connection with Gal 6:6 ), but a proof that the state of the case, in accordance with the two kinds of soil which come into view, will not be other than is said in Gal 6:7 . Observe the , for the most part neglected by expositors, which is not explanatory, but causative (“ quoniam ,” Vulgate).
. ] that is, he who is minded and acts so that his own flesh his sinfully-determined corporeo-psychical nature (comp. Gal 5:16 f.) is the element conditioning and prompting his thoughts and actions. is added, because afterwards an objective principle, , is opposed to this selfish subjective principle. [256] The idea that . applies to circumcision (Pelagius, Schoettgen; comp. Rckert and also Usteri) is entirely foreign to the context.
] corruption, destruction (Rom 8:21 ; Col 2:22 ; 2Pe 2:12 ; LXX. Psa 102:4 ; Wis 14:12 ; Thuc. ii. 47; Plat. Pol . viii. p. 546 A; and frequently), that is, here, in accordance with the contrast of , the eternal . [257] But the suggestion that is used in reference to the corruptibility of the flesh (Winer, Schott, Reithmayr, and others; comp. also Chrysostom and Theodoret) cannot be entertained, because the true Christians who die before the partake the lot of corruption, and the point of time for the harvest is conceived as not earlier than the nearly approaching (Gal 6:9 ), in which either or will be the result of the judgment . According to de Wette, Paul has chosen this expression in order to denote the perishableness of carnal aims , and at the same time their destructive consequences for the soul. This is arbitrary. The general idea of obtains its more precise definition simply from . Comp. 1Co 3:17 ; 2Pe 2:12 .
] No more than in chap. 5 does here mean the higher nature of man (Rckert, Schott, and most expositors; also Ernesti Urspr. d. Snde , I. p. 60, II. p. 90 f.), but (so also Wieseler and Hofmann) it denotes the Holy Spirit . Jerome aptly remarks, that for this very reason Paul did not again add (which Ernesti would arbitrarily again supply ). The less, therefore, the ground for misapplying the passage in favour of the meritoriousness of good works. The sense, when divested of figure, is: “he who is minded and acts so that the Holy Spirit is the element which determines and prompts him.”
. . .] At the . See also Rom 8:11 ; Rom 8:15-17 ; 2Co 5:5 ; Eph 1:14 . and are conceived as the two kinds of produce which shall have sprung up from the two different sorts of recipient soil .
[256] Luther (1519 and 1524), with strange arbitrariness, holds that Paul desires to obviate the thought “ de seminatione masculi in carnem feminae .” But in 1533 he consistently abides by the reference to the attitude towards the teachers, and explains: “qui nihil communicat ministris verbi, sed se solum bene pascit et curat , id quod caro suadet,” etc. Comp. Calovius and others; also Hofmann: he who applies that which he possesses to his own flesh , in order to gratify its desires. We may add that the Encratites made use of our passage (see Jerome) as a ground for rejecting sexual intercourse and marriage; holding that he who takes a wife sows to the flesh, etc.
[257] The same thought is expressed in Rom 8:13 : , . Comp. ver. 23.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
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.
Ver. 8. For he that soweth to his flesh ] He that neglecting his poor soul, cares only to feather his nest and to heap up riches. Si ventri bene, si lateri, as Epicurus in Horace; if the belly may be filled, the back fitted, let the soul sink or swim, he takes no thought.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
8 .] , for i.e. and this will be an example of the universal rule.
, he that (now) soweth, is now sowing .
, unto, with a view to not local, ‘ drops his seed into ,’ ‘tanquam in agrum,’ Bengel: this in the N. T. is given by (Mat 13:24 ; Mat 13:27 . Mar 4:15 ), or (Mat 13:20 ; Mat 13:23 .Mar 4:16Mar 4:16 ; Mar 4:20 ; Mar 4:31 ): (Mat 13:22 . Mar 4:18 ) rather being ‘ among the thorns ’ (see Ellic.).
, not apparently with any especial emphasis to his own flesh .
] (not as Php 3:19 ) corruption because the flesh is a prey to corruption, and with it all fleshly desires and practices come to nothing (De W.): see 1Co 6:13 ; 1Co 15:50 : or perhaps in the stronger sense of (see 1Co 3:17 ; 2Pe 2:12 ), destruction (Meyer).
. . ] See Rom 8:11 ; Rom 8:15-17 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Gal 6:8 . Every action produces an effect on the character of the actor corresponding as exactly to its motive as the fruit to the seed. If it springs from selfish desire, it stimulates the growth of evil lusts, and issues in a harvest of inward corruption. If, on the contrary, it be done in obedience to the spirit, it quickens spiritual growth, and issues eventually in a harvest of eternal life. The heart of man resembles a field in which he sows, by the mere exercise of his will, a future harvest of good or evil.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
to. Greek. eis. App-104,
his = his own.
of. Greek. ek App-104.
corruption. Greek. phthora. See Rom 8:21,
Spirit. App-101.
Spirit. App-101.
life. Greek. zoe. App-170.
everlasting. App-151.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
8.] , for-i.e. and this will be an example of the universal rule.
, he that (now) soweth,-is now sowing.
, unto,-with a view to-not local, drops his seed into, tanquam in agrum, Bengel: this in the N. T. is given by (Mat 13:24; Mat 13:27. Mar 4:15), or (Mat 13:20; Mat 13:23. Mar 4:16; Mar 4:20; Mar 4:31): (Mat 13:22. Mar 4:18) rather being among the thorns (see Ellic.).
, not apparently with any especial emphasis-to his own flesh.
] (not -as Php 3:19) corruption-because the flesh is a prey to corruption, and with it all fleshly desires and practices come to nothing (De W.): see 1Co 6:13; 1Co 15:50 :-or perhaps in the stronger sense of (see 1Co 3:17; 2Pe 2:12), destruction (Meyer).
. .] See Rom 8:11; Rom 8:15-17.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Gal 6:8. , into) as into [upon] the ground.- , the Spirit) Here his is not added [as in his flesh]. In ourselves we are carnal, not spiritual. The flesh is devoted to selfishness.- , eternal life) The article is not added, for the question here is not about faith, but about the fruit of faith.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Gal 6:8
Gal 6:8
For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;-He who spends his time and means in gratifying the flesh sows to the flesh and will of it reap corruption. As used here the word corruption applies to the condition of the soul. [But if a corrupted, decayed, putrefied body is a thing to be abhorred, what must be a putrefied, corrupted soul? He who sows the actions and thoughts and money and energies of his life to the flesh shall as his harvest reap a corrupted soul. The process of decay begins already on this side of the grave; and is often made visible by appalling signs. The bloated face, the restless, vicious eye, the sullen brow indicate what is going on within. The mans soul is rotting in his body. Lust and greed are eating out of him the capacity for good. And if he passes on to the eternal harvest as he is, what can possibly await him but the awful words: Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels.]
but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life.-To give to those who preach the gospel, to help the sick, the poor, the needy, to use his time, talent, and means according to directions of the word of God is sowing to the Spirit, and the fruit will be life everlasting.
Men often deceive themselves, but God is never deceived as to mans character or as to his ability or as to the motives that actuate him in anything he does. Self-deception is the most common phase of deception among men. This warning grows out of mans tendency to deceive himself. Many while gratifying the flesh imagine they are following the Spirit. Many preachers preach for money and ease, and imagine that they are preaching to save souls. Men often build costly houses to gratify their pride and persuade themselves that they are doing it to serve God. Most of lifes failures come from self-deception. The divine warning is: Be not wise in your own conceits. (Rom 12:16). That is, he is to learn to distrust his own wisdom as folly, that he may learn the wisdom of God; for what the world esteems wise is foolishness with God. All the provisions of human wisdom for the advancement of the church of Christ result in evil, and not in good. The works that human wisdom devise for good bring evil to themselves and to the world.
There never was a time when there were so many human helps and so much money expended at home and abroad as at present to hold and convert the people, and yet the churches are growing relatively weaker and are losing ground. Which certainly shows that the Lord has taken the wise men of the churches in their own craftiness. They have thought that they could improve, by their wisdom and craft, on the ways of God, and he has shown them that they bring weakness to the churches and drive men away from God. The church of Christ, which is his temple, is defiled, and it is growing weaker under the addition of these human organizations and helps. They are parasites that sap the life from the church, while for a time seeming to add to its verdure and life.
Yet with all these warnings of God in the scriptures confirmed by the example of the destructive effects of the human inventions, the churches and men claiming to be sensible and to believe in the Bible follow the same path of ruin. This is not an evil omen for the truth. There has drifted into the churches an amount of unbelief in the scriptures. All disposition to bring human organizations into the work and worship of the church comes from a feeling of worldly wisdom which is foolishness with God. It is a manifestation of unbelief, and this must be thrust out of the churches before they can be blessed of God. It is not often that a church organization that starts wrong ever turns. They usually run the path of folly and ruin. Lack of confidence in the appointments of
God is lack of faith in God. The introduction of every new society is a new declaration of distrust in God. Be not deceived as to these; God is not mocked. When a man or a church turns from Gods appointed ways to mans he turns from God to man. But this falling away is no new experience in the church.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
soweth to his: Rom 6:13, Rom 8:13, Rom 13:14, Jam 3:18
reap: Pro 22:8, Jer 12:13, Hos 10:13, 2Pe 2:12, 2Pe 2:19, Rev 22:11
soweth to the: Gal 6:7, Psa 126:5, Psa 126:6, Ecc 11:6, Isa 32:20, Jam 3:18
of the Spirit: Mat 19:29, Luk 18:30, Joh 4:14, Joh 4:36, Joh 6:27, Rom 6:22, 1Ti 1:16, Tit 3:7, Jud 1:21
Reciprocal: Gen 26:12 – an hundredfold 2Ch 29:11 – negligent Job 4:8 – they that plow Job 13:9 – as one Job 15:31 – for vanity Job 15:35 – conceive Job 22:2 – as he that Job 34:11 – cause Psa 97:11 – sown Psa 129:7 – he that bindeth Pro 1:31 – General Pro 5:22 – His Pro 6:14 – soweth Pro 11:18 – but Pro 14:14 – a good Ecc 11:1 – for Isa 3:10 – they shall eat Isa 17:11 – the harvest Jer 4:3 – Break Jer 17:10 – fruit Jer 21:14 – according Jer 31:30 – General Eze 18:22 – in his Eze 33:9 – if thou Mic 7:13 – for Mat 7:24 – whosoever Joh 3:21 – that his Joh 5:29 – done good Rom 2:6 – General Rom 2:11 – General Rom 6:21 – What Rom 6:23 – For the wages Rom 8:6 – to be carnally minded 1Co 3:8 – and every 1Co 14:37 – any 2Co 5:10 – receive Gal 5:16 – Walk Gal 5:19 – the works Eph 5:6 – no Eph 5:11 – unfruitful 1Ti 6:19 – Laying Heb 10:35 – great 2Pe 1:4 – having 1Jo 2:25 – General 1Jo 3:7 – let Rev 14:13 – and their
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gal 6:8. The previous verse presented the mere figure of sowing and of reaping, with certainty of reaping what may happen to have been sown. But the seed may be of two kinds, or the seed may be sown with two different purposes, and each purpose naturally and necessarily leads to its own result-
, -For he who is sowing unto his flesh, from the flesh shall reap corruption. The various readings are of little value: only by an evident correction, F, G read ; and so the Vulgate and Claromontane, in carne sua. Matthias divides into , and joins it to the previous clause: was es auch sein mge,-a useless suggestion. The statement is confirmatory-, and the phrase does not present the flesh as the field in or on which the seed is sown–tanquam in agrum (Bengel, Borger, Brown); for and are employed for this purpose: the former in Mat 13:24; Mat 13:27, Mar 4:15, Exo 23:16, Hos 2:23; the latter as in Mat 13:20; Mat 13:23, Mar 4:16; Mar 4:20; Mar 4:31. , however, is found Mat 13:22, Mar 4:18, and is regarded by Ellicott as signifying among. But in that place may bear its own meaning of on-the seed was sown on the thorns, which were invisible at the moment, and under the ground; and thus , Plato, De Leg. 8.838, E. The verb is sometimes followed with the accusative of the seed, Mat 13:24, Herod. 4.17, and sometimes with the accusative of the field sown, Sept. Exo 23:10, Xen. Cyr. 8.3, 28. is to be taken here in an ethical sense, with a view to; and is the unregenerate nature-the leading sense of the word throughout the epistle-the nature which specially belongs to him-, but not emphatic. The flesh is thus neither the field nor the seed; but that for the gratification of which the seed is sown, or that which forms the ruling end to the man’s desires and actions, which governs and moulds the aspirations and workings of his present life. The seed sown is much the same as the . It is too narrow an interpretation to refer it to undue care for the wants of the present life (Calvin), or to a sumptuous table and viands (Chrysostom and his followers), or to withholding support from the ministers of God’s word, and feeding and caring for themselves only (Luther, Olshausen). The reference to circumcision (), allowed by Pelagius, Schoettgen, Rckert, and Usteri, may be at once discarded; and any allusion to such asceticism as that which characterized the Encratites is also out of the question. Jerome condemns Cassian or Tatian as finding in the clause a prohibition of marriage. See also in Luther.
The harvest is -corruption. The noun means something more than that the flesh is a prey to corruption, and with it all fleshly desires and practices come to nothing (Alford, after Chrysostom and De Wette). 1Co 6:13; 1Co 15:42; 1Co 15:50. It is here opposed to , and must have its strongest and most awful signification, as in 1Co 3:17, 2Pe 2:12. It may have been suggested by the use of ; but in meaning it is tantamount to , Php 3:20. Compare Mat 7:13, Rom 9:22. Hesychius defines by . Herod. 7.18; Thucyd. 2.47; Plato, Leg. 677; Sept. Psa 103:4, Jon 2:7. The meaning, then, is different only in form from Rom 8:6, . Rom 8:13; Rom 7:23.
But the converse is also true-
, -but he who is sowing to the Spirit, from the Spirit shall reap life eternal. As in Gal 5:16, etc., the Spirit is not the higher or renewed part of man’s own nature (Rckert, Schott, Olshausen, Borger, Baumgarten-Crusius, Brown, and others), but the Spirit of God; and there is no with it as with . Sowing to the Spirit produces eternal life as its harvest. Mat 19:16-17; Mat 25:46; Mar 10:17; Mar 10:30; Luk 10:25; Luk 18:18; Joh 3:15-16; Joh 5:24, etc. etc. is an epithet of quantity, not of quality. Compare its use with , 2Co 4:17, 2Ti 2:10, 1Pe 5:10; with , Heb 5:9; with , 2Th 2:16; with , Heb 9:15. The future verb refers to the harvest at the end of the world, though indeed it is enjoyed even now. Joh 3:36; Joh 5:24; Joh 6:47. The clause is virtually the same in meaning with , Rom 8:6; Rom 8:13. The has reference specially to blessedness in the future world, as the fruit of present grace and holiness, and as the object of hope. Rom 2:7; Rom 5:21; Rom 6:22; 1Ti 1:16; Tit 1:2; Tit 3:7. The life created by the Spirit, and sustained through believing oneness with Christ, can have neither pause nor end. It is immortal from its living union with Him who only hath immortality.
The continued and wilful indulgence of our unrenewed nature becomes its own penalty, as it does not realize the end of its being, and unfitting itself for blessedness, sinks and darkens into ruin; but the work of the Spirit of God, fostered within us and consciously elevated into predominant and regulative influence, ripens surely into blessedness. The process in both cases is a certain one–as certain as that between sowing and reaping; and the identity of the harvest with the seed sown is emphatically marked- . . . .
The apostle now encourages to the second kind of sowing-
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Gal 6:8. The word to is from Els, and Thayer uses three and a half pages of his lexicon in defining it in its various shades of meaning. However, his Introductory paragraph gives the gen eral meaning of the word as follows: “Into, to, towards, for, among.” We should use the word that is best adapted to the connection in which it is found. When a man sows a field, he does it (or is supposed to) for the purpose of raising a certain kind of crop, hence the word italicized would be the proper one of the definitions for our use here. In temporal matters no man thinks he can sow his field with weeds and expect to raise wheat. Yet in moral and spiritual matters man seems to think he can ignore that law, sow the seeds that are qualified for the production of a fleshly crop, and then gather a spiritual harvest from it. The apostle warns that it will not be so, but that a man will reap as he has sown. There are only two kinds of seed and hence only two kinds of harvest possible. The fleshly seed will produce corruption which Thayer defines, “the loss of salvation, etrnal misery.” The opposite is life everlasting to be reaped at the harvest which will be at “the end of the world” (Mat 13:39). The two kinds of seed are described as the kinds of human conduct in verses 19-23 of chapter 5. Every man is sowing just one or the other of these kinds of seed, and he will reap accordingly at the day of judgment.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Gal 6:8. He that soweth unto (upon) his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto (upon) the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap life eternal. Gal 6:7 speaks of the kind of seed sown (whatsoever), Gal 6:8 of the kind of soil on which the seed is sown. The soil of the flesh, that is of corrupt human nature, yields blighted and rotten fruit; the soil of the Holy Spirit yields sweet and healthy fruit, even eternal happiness and peace.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life. [God is not to be deceived by false appearances, and whoever hopes to overreach him only deceives himself (2Ki 5:15-27; Act 5:4-5; Act 5:9). It is a broad law of God’s (and he can not be deceived about it) that whatever a man sows he shall reap. As in the natural world he reaps grain for grain, so in the moral world, if he sows fleshly indulgence, he shall reap corruption, and so in the spiritual world, if he sows to the Spirit of God, he shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
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.
Let me be blunt here for Paul seems to be. If a man and a woman, outside the bounds of marriage, decide to have a little pleasure in the flesh, they cannot wonder why they reap a child in nine months. Many couples are like Aaron when he declared that he dumped a bunch of gold into the fire and out came this golden idol – like how did that happen?
Man is infamous for declaring innocence, but this verse calls us to understand that principle of God and of life – you sow – you will reap in like kind no matter how hard you want or try to make that principle change – it will not.
The reverse of sowing to flesh or sin is to sow to the spiritual side of the equation. Sow spiritual and you shall reap life everlasting. I might add that if you sow to the spiritual you will reap abundance in the spiritual realm as well. You may leave this life a pauper, a despised individual, and one that seemingly has failed in life, but you will enter a life that is so full of abundance that the lackings of this life will matter little.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
6:8 For he that soweth to his {g} flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
(g) To the commodities of this present life.