Galatians 6:6–10 – Sowing and Reaping
📖 Passage
Galatians 6:6–10
Read Galatians 6:6–10 (NKJV)
🧠 Context & Background
After urging the church toward gentle restoration and burden-bearing (Gal 6:1–5), Paul now turns to stewardship and the principle of sowing and reaping. Grace in Christ does not erase the reality of consequences; it reorders them under God’s design.
- Sharing with teachers (v.6): In a community shaken by agitators, Paul insists on supporting faithful gospel instruction, grounding the church’s health in the Word rightly taught.
- Sowing and reaping (vv.7–8): Using agricultural imagery, Paul explains that life has a moral grain—what we consistently “sow” (invest, cultivate, pursue) bears fruit. To sow to the flesh is to follow self-centered desires, reaping corruption; to sow to the Spirit is to invest in Christlike obedience, reaping eternal life.
- Perseverance in good (vv.9–10): The Spirit’s harvest requires patient endurance. Believers must not lose heart in doing good but press on, trusting God for the appointed season of reward.
- Priority of love (v.10): Paul widens the circle—do good to all people, yet with special care for the household of faith, the family God has formed in Christ.
Pastoral thrust: Christian freedom is never detached from responsibility. Our habits, investments, and loyalties reveal whether we live by the flesh or by the Spirit, and the Spirit calls us to persevere in generous, kingdom-oriented sowing until the final harvest
🌿 Key Themes
- Gospel Partnership — Those taught the word should share generously with their teachers (v.6), ensuring that faithful instruction is sustained in the church.
- God Is Not Mocked — The moral order is inescapable; to live as though God does not see is to deceive oneself (vv.7–8).
- Two Fields — Every life sows in one of two soils: the flesh yields corruption and decay; the Spirit yields eternal life (v.8).
- Persevering Good — Believers must not lose heart in doing good, trusting that God will bring the harvest in His time (v.9).
- Ordered Love — Christian love is expansive (“do good to all”) yet prioritized (“especially to the household of faith”), reflecting God’s covenant family (v.10).
📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Galatians 6:6 — Share with Your Teachers
“Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.”
- Koinōnia of support: Financial and material partnership is a spiritual duty (cf. 1 Cor 9:14; 1 Tim 5:17–18).
- Gratitude & guardrails: Honoring faithful teaching guards churches from error by anchoring them to truth.
Galatians 6:7 — God Is Not Mocked
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”
- Self-deception warned: People may fool themselves, but not God. His moral order cannot be mocked, gamed, or bypassed.
- Habitual sowing: It is the pattern of sowing—daily practices and loyalties—that shapes the inevitable harvest.
Galatians 6:8 — Two Sowings, Two Harvests
“He who sows to his flesh… corruption; he who sows to the Spirit… everlasting life.”
- Flesh-sowing: Feeding self-centered desires breeds decay and alienation, ending in eternal loss.
- Spirit-sowing: Habits formed by the Spirit—Word, prayer, generosity, obedience—participate in the life of the age to come now and forever.
Galatians 6:9 — Do Not Lose Heart
“Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
- Eschatological patience: God appoints the kairos—the fitting time of harvest—not us.
- Perseverance: Weariness is real, but quitting forfeits the harvest. Faith presses on in hope of God’s reward.
Galatians 6:10 — Do Good to All, Especially the Church
“As we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
- Opportunity-awareness: God gives providential seasons and openings for good—be alert to them.
- Ordered charity: Love extends universally (“all”) but prioritizes the covenant family, the “household of faith.”
🔍 Trusted Insight (R.C. Sproul)
“Right now counts forever. What you do today has eternal significance. The choices we make, the way we live, is not irrelevant. Every moment matters for eternity.” — R.C. Sproul, Ligonier Ministries teaching series
Summary: Sproul stresses that the ordinary decisions of daily life carry eternal weight. Paul’s sowing and reaping imagery reminds believers that every Spirit-led act of faith, love, and perseverance is seed for eternal harvest.
🌎 Worldviews
- Pragmatism / Short-Termism: Modern culture prizes immediate results—if it doesn’t pay off quickly, it’s worthless. Paul insists that sowing and reaping is seasonal: the Spirit’s harvest comes “in due season” (v.9), not on-demand. Faithfulness may look unproductive now but yields eternal fruit.
- Self-Indulgence / Consumerism: The flesh’s creed is “invest in yourself, follow your desires, maximize pleasure now.” Paul calls this sowing to corruption (v.8)—a lifestyle that decays and collapses. True life comes by sowing to the Spirit, even when it requires sacrifice.
- Karma Confusion: Many worldviews say “what goes around comes around” in a mechanistic cycle. Paul reframes: sowing and reaping is not impersonal fate but personal accountability before God. The Judge of all ensures harvest according to the kind of seed sown.
- Gospel Investment: The biblical worldview sees every choice as seed for eternity. Supporting gospel teaching (v.6), persevering in good (v.9), and prioritizing the household of faith (v.10) are Spirit-sown acts that carry eternal weight.
🧩 Review Questions
- Why does Paul connect **financial/material support** (v.6) with the health of gospel ministry? How might neglecting this open the door to false teaching?
- What does it mean that “**God is not mocked**” (v.7)? How can people deceive themselves into thinking their sowing will not yield a harvest?
- In what ways might you be tempted to **sow to the flesh**? What does it look like to **sow to the Spirit** in daily habits?
- How does Paul’s emphasis on **kairos** (“due season”) in v.9 challenge our impatience and call us to **perseverance**?
- How should we balance the call to **do good to all** people (v.10) with the special priority Paul gives to the **household of faith**?
- How does the principle of sowing and reaping encourage long-term **faithfulness** even when results seem invisible now? ---
🔍 Definitions
- Share (κοινωνείτω) — Participate/partner with; material support in gospel fellowship (v.6).
- Mocked (μυκτηρίζεται) — To sneer at/turn up the nose at; presume you can defy God’s order (v.7).
- Sow/Reap (σπείρω/θερίζω) — Agricultural metaphor for habits → outcomes over time (vv.7–9).
- Flesh (σάρξ) — The self-ruled principle opposed to God (v.8).
- Corruption (φθορά) — Decay/ruin; disintegration of life under sin (v.8).
- Due season (καιρῷ ἰδίῳ) — God’s appointed time for harvest (v.9).
- Household of faith (οἰκεῖοι τῆς πίστεως) — The church as family (v.10).
❓ Common Objections
- “Is this just Christian karma?”
No. Karma is an impersonal cycle of payback. Paul teaches personal responsibility under a personal God. The harvest is not random fate but God’s righteous ordering of the universe. - “If salvation is by grace, why does Paul warn about sowing and reaping?”
Grace saves apart from works, but grace also transforms how we live. Our sowing doesn’t earn salvation; it reveals allegiance. Those who live for the flesh prove they belong to it; those who sow to the Spirit show they are Christ’s. - “Does supporting teachers mean buying influence?”
No. Paul never promotes flattery or profit-driven ministry. Sharing “all good things” with teachers is about gospel partnership, sustaining those who faithfully feed God’s people with the Word (v.6). - “Why prioritize the household of faith (v.10)? Isn’t that partiality?”
Paul’s logic is familial, not tribal. Christians are to do good to all people, but just as families care for their own members first, so the church must prioritize care for its spiritual family—the covenant household God has formed.
🙋 Application Questions
- What seeds are you sowing daily (media, money, time, words)? Where will those habits likely harvest?
- How can you practice v.6 this month—concrete support for those who teach you the Word?
- Where are you tempted to lose heart in doing good? Identify one small, repeatable act of faithfulness to keep sowing this week.
- What does ordered love (v.10) look like in your budget and calendar—all people, and especially your church family?
🔤 Greek Keywords
- κοινωνείτω (koinōneitō) — Let him share/partner (v.6).
- μυκτηρίζεται (myktērizetai) — Is mocked/treated with contempt (v.7).
- σπείρειν / θερίζειν (speirein / therizein) — To sow / to reap (vv.7–9).
- φθορά (phthora) — Corruption/decay (v.8).
- ζωὴ αἰώνιος (zōē aiōnios) — Everlasting life (v.8).
- ἐγκακεῖν (enkakein) — To lose heart/grow weary (v.9).
- καιρῷ ἰδίῳ (kairō idiō) — In due/own season (v.9).
- οἰκεῖοι τῆς πίστεως (oikeioi tēs pisteōs) — Household of faith (v.10).
📚 Cross References
- 1 Corinthians 9:11–14 — Material support for gospel workers.
- 2 Corinthians 9:6–8 — Sow bountifully, reap bountifully; God loves a cheerful giver.
- Hosea 8:7 — Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.
- Proverbs 11:24–25 — Generosity and refreshment.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:13 — Do not grow weary in doing good.
- Ephesians 2:10 — Created for good works prepared by God.
📦 Next Study
Next Study → Galatians 6:11–18 – Boast Only in the Cross