The Strand Study Bible

1959

GALATIANS

GALATIANS

kingdom of God ” - Mt 5:5 a,b and I Cor 6:9 a ). 5:22 If you have no soil (a place for seed to grow into fruit), you will have no fruit. Just as the “fruit of the womb” within a woman is the soil that incubates growth, so the “ fruit of the SPIRIT ” within a believer is the soil ( Jere 14:1 – point #8) that develops growth. Interestingly enough, the “ fruit of the SPIRIT ” (the characteristics of the SPIRIT – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance) are likened to that of a mother ( I Thess 2:7 -9), not a father ( I Thess 2: 10- 11 ). 6:1 It is the “spiritual Christian” ( ye which are spiritual ) who seeks to forgive others, yea desires forgiveness (Prov 10:12 & 17:9, Lk 17:3-4 and Mt 6:12,14-15). Christians who gossip about the sins of others are not only acting unspiritual, but they have forgotten Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 7:1-5. Charles L. Allen in The Ten Commandments notes:

I have had people confess to me the breaking of every one of the Ten Commandments except this one. I have never heard a person admit gossiping. We say, “I don’t mean to talk about him, but…” and off we go. We assume a self-righteous attitude which we feel gives us license to condemn sin. But all the time we enjoy talking about the sin and, in a backhanded way, brag of ourselves because we have not done exactly what the person we are telling about has done. 1

There is an old adage that every person, who claims to be a believer, should adhere to. It goes like this: There is so much good in the worst of us,

And so much bad in the best of us, That it ill behooves the best of us, To talk about the rest of us. 6:3 This word ( deceiveth ) is the Greek word M ρεναπατα ( phrenapata ) and means “ to deceive the mind ; to persuade oneself of the existence of that which has no reality ; to place oneself under a hallucination .” NOTE - Of the ten areas of deception that God warns people to beware of ( Jere 37:9 ), the greatest deception is that of “self- deception.” Identify someone with a problem and more than likely you’ll be identifying someone who resists the suggestion that he has a problem. That’s what self-deception is. It’s the inability to see that one has a problem. According to the Bible, there are five questions every believer must ask himself to determine whether he is being self-deceived or not: 1. Do I believe I’m spiritual? If you do, then according to Galatians 6:3, you’re self-deceived. According to Galatians 6:1, those who are spiritual don’t know it (that is, they consider themselves as spiritually weak as the people who have fallen). Christians who make themselves out to be some kind of “spiritual giant” have already persuaded themselves of the existence of that which has no reality (that is, they’ve fooled themselves spiritually). Just as some men think they are God’s gift to women, some Christians, unfortunately, think they are God’s gift to God. 2. Do I believe I’m intelligent? If you do, then according to I Corinthians 3:18, you’re self-deceived. Compared to God, every human is an absolute idiot, no matter how many “manmade” degrees he has earned ( Eccl 12:12 -13). Why do you think so-called “intelligent” people become atheists? Get rid of God and before you know it, you’ll look pretty smart. King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live warned God’s people not to get caught up into too much “human” education (Acts 4:13 and I Cor 1:27-28 ). Why? It’s too deceiving. 3. Do I at times listen to the Scriptures without applying them? If you do, then according to James 1:22, you’re self-deceived. 4. Do I often speak my mind? If you do, then according to James 1:26-27, you’re self-deceived. Just because I think it, doesn’t mean I have the right to say it (Prov 18:21 & 10:19 & 17:27-28). 5. Do I think I’m above doing wrong? If you do, then according to I John 1:8, you’re self-deceived ( Isa 1: 16- 17 ). 6:6 Those being fed “spiritually” ( taught in the word ) are commanded to “share materially” ( communicate ) with those who are teaching. In so doing, the believer participates in the work of the Lord (Rom 15:27, I Cor 9:11,14 and Phil 4:15). 6:7 This word ( mocked ) is the Greek word µυκτηριξεται ( mukterixetai ) and means “ to turn up the nose at, to sneer at, to treat with contempt .” What Paul is saying here is that no one can “ snub ” God, , i.e., violate His natural laws (like gravity) or His spiritual laws within His Word and get away with it (Prov 1:30). God’s law of sowing and reaping is constant. THE ADAGE IS TRUE: What we reap will always be greater than what we sow NOTE – Paul often used the phrase “ Be not deceived ” (I Cor 6:9 & 15:33) probably because so many of us are. Here in Galatians 6:7 he wants to remind us that our actions always have consequences, either for good or for bad. To think otherwise is to be deceived. THE ADAGE IS TRUE: Life is an echo –what you send out comes back 6:8 Those believers who spend their resources in order to gratify the flesh ( he that soweth to his flesh – the temporal) will experience loss at the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST . However, those believers who support Christian work (the eternal) will only add to their eternal rewards. READ NEXT - Acts 19:8-22

1 Allen, Charles L. The Ten Commandments , Westwood, NJ, Fleming H. Revell, 1965. Print.