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Galatians 6:6-10
The false teachers who had come to Galatia were trying to undermine the gospel of grace with a system of
works in the assemblies. Even those who had genuinely believed into Christ were bewitched with the idea
that they could control their flesh and improve themselves through keeping the Law.
Paul had made it plain in his letter that, just as unbelievers could not be justified by the works of the Law,
believers could not be sanctified by the works of the Law, either.
The Law served a three-fold purpose: to show men that they were sinners; to preserve Israel as a nation
until Christ came; and to lead men to Christ, showing Him to be their Savior (Gal 3:19, 23, 24). But the
Law itself was powerless to save; instead of justifying a man, the Law condemned him (Rm 2:12). And the
Law was powerless to make a man holy; instead of sanctifying a man, it made sin abound (Rm 7:13).
Paul reminded the Galatian believers that Christ had made them free; they were not to get tangled up again
in bondage to the Law. But they were not to be lawless, either; they were not to use their liberty as an
opportunity for their flesh to sin. Their conduct was not to be either of these self-denial, or selfindulgence both acts of the flesh.
Instead, they were to walk in the Spirit; to follow the Spirits leading in their lives. And as they yielded
themselves to God, and their members as instruments of righteousness to Him, they would not in any way
fulfill the lusts of their flesh. They were to live where they now had their being in Christ a new creation
in Him. The old had passed away they had been crucified with Christ so they were not to live there
anymore.
Such a one a Christ One, walking in the Spirit needs no external law to control him, since he is yielded
to the influence of the Holy Spirit within him. Such a one is governed in his heart by the law of Christ
the royal law of Love.
Paul then wrote of how the Galatian believers were to walk together in the Spirit (Gal 5:25). The Galatian
assemblies were being been torn apart in their attempts to keep the Law; those with seeming success were
lording it over the more blatant offenders, provoking them to envy. Instead of being ruled by love, the
assemblies were consumed with hate for one another.
This would undermine the spread of the gospel, as Christ could no longer be seen in Galatia. So Paul laid
out some specific, practical remedies for the Galatians to take in, in order to restore the unity of the Spirit in
the bond of peace (Eph 4:3).
First, Paul pointed out that if any believer lapsed into sin, and repented, the others in the assembly were to
restore that brother. They were to do so in a spirit of gentleness meekness to have compassion on him,
knowing that they too were capable of such lapses. They were to empathize with him in his failure did
they not know what it was to fail, themselves?
This would encourage those who had sinned to resume their walk in the Spirit. And it would also help the
brethren who took too high a view of themselves to see themselves rightly; through the Spirits eyes.

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The brethren were not to compare themselves to one another, but instead to allow the Spirit to shine His
light on their own work to see if it was truly the good work of God, or if it was a deed done in their flesh.
As the brethren walked in the Spirit in submission to the will of God, His work would be done in their
lives, and they would have valid cause to rejoice glorying, not in themselves, but in God for they were
simply walking in His good works (Eph 2:10).
These remedies would serve to heal the rifts that had been created by the false teachers, as they tried to
impose the Law on the assemblies. But the remedies could only be accessed through the Spirit.
Gentleness, meekness, compassion, empathy, humility and glorying in God alone these are not
characteristics of the natural man. The flesh has no part in these traits. They are the fruit of the Spirits
work in the life of the believer as the believer submits himself to the Spirit, and follows His leading.
Having shown the Galatians how their assemblies might be healed, Paul then proceeded to share with them
what was needed for the ongoing health of the assemblies. In a word, what would you say was needed in
order for the assemblies to be healed of their division? It took love; Gods love. And thats what it would
take in order for the assemblies to remain healthy and continue to thrive.
Gods love is the supernatural glue that brings the Body of Christ together, and keeps it together. Paul will
later write to the Ephesians that the whole Body of Christ is joined and knit together by what every joint
supplies.
Each and every member of Christs Body has been blessed with one or more spiritual graces the
charismata given to them by Christ in the moment that they believed into Him. These manifestations of
the Spirit are sometimes called the spiritual gifts, but since they are for others, we like to call them the
spiritual graces.
These graces equip believers for their work of ministry, and they also serve to edify the Body of Christ. As
each member, in love, does his share, the Body of Christ is edified; it grows in the grace and knowledge of
its Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Eph 4:11-16. 2 Pet 3:18).
The Spirit is doing His part, in continually supplying the graces to all believers. The Lord is doing His part,
in directing how those graces are to be administered. And the Father is doing His part, in planning out the
work, and showing forth His will (1 Cor 12:4-7).
But unless the believer is doing his part, those graces will not be availed; the Body of Christ will not be
edified; the work of reconciliation will remain undone. The believer must do his part, whatever that might
be, as directed by the Lord.
What would motivate the believer to do his part, when the immediate benefit is not for himself, but for
other members of the Body, or for those on the outside? The motivation is the believers love of Christ.
Apart from love, the believer will never have the motivation to do anything for the benefit of others; and to
keep doing it, continually, in order for the Body to thrive, and others to be reached, for Christ. Serving
others doing them good takes love. It will become evident that love is needed in order for the Galatians
to follow Pauls exhortation to share in all good things, and to do good to others.
Were going to read through this section of the letter together first, noting Pauls overall theme of sharing
and doing good. As we read it, see how verses 7-8 stand apart from this general theme.

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[Read Galatians 6:6-10] You can see how verses 7-8 reflect a different set of ideas, apart from Pauls theme
of doing good. Well look at that in a moment. First, lets consider verse 6.
v. 6 Paul had been writing about mending the rifts in the Galatian assemblies, completing these thoughts
with the idea that the believers were not to compare themselves to one another, to determine how well they
were doing.
Thats what the world does; it pits one man against another, as they compete to outdo each other, whether it
is in their work, their possessions, their knowledge, whatever. Here the believers had been competing in
the area of righteousness who was more righteous; who was more holy.
But how could they judge that from the outside, anyway? And what bearing did it have on how they were
doing? Looking to each other, they would always have a relative standard. They needed to measure
themselves against the absolute standard, Christ.
And as long as their eyes were on each other, they were not looking up and thats where they needed their
eyes to be, in order to keep walking in the Spirit they needed to be looking unto Jesus, or they would stop
walking, and get tripped up in the flesh.
As Paul reflected on the idea of each believer being responsible directly to God, he began to think of what
some of those responsibilities were that needed to be addressed in the Galatian assemblies. His first
thought was of those who faithfully taught the word in the assemblies. Who were these men? We can find
a glimmer of light on the subject back in Lukes account in Acts. Turn to Acts chapter 14.
You may remember that Paul and Barnabas evangelized Galatia initially on their first missionary journey.
After they had passed through the region, preaching in the cities, they returned to those cities again, to
strengthen the assemblies there.
[Acts 14:21-23]
v. 21-22 this was the city of Derbe, the furthest east of the cities of Galatia that they evangelized.
As they went back into the other cities, they strengthened the disciples. How would they have done that?
With the Word of God. The exhortation of Paul and Barnabas reflects that the new communities of
believers were already experiencing persecution. This persecution certainly came from unbelieving Jews,
but even the pagan Gentiles were inclined to harass other Gentiles who had renounced the pagan pantheon
of gods to follow the one true and living God.
v. 23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in all the new assemblies in Galatia. What was their purpose?
Elsewhere in Acts, we learn that the elders were to be overseers, to shepherd the church of God under the
authority of the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ (Acts 20:28-32, 1 Pet 5:1-4).
A shepherd is to take care of the flock; he is to lead it, feed it, protect it. When that flock is an assembly of
believers, the care they need comes through the Word of God. So the elders were the teachers in the early
church.
It is likely those chosen as elders were believers who had adhered closely to all the teaching of Paul and
Barnabas; and certainly a prior knowledge of the Scriptures would have been a great help to an elder, but
that may not have always been available or even necessary.

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Theres one thing you can be sure of, in terms of the men who were appointed as elders. Paul would not
have entrusted his precious converts to anyone other than whom the Spirit directed him.
[Return to Galatians 6]
So Paul was exhorting the assemblies in Galatia to share in all good things with their elders, who taught
them; who were appointed by the Holy Spirit to share the Word of God with them.
The term good things definitely refers here to material goods. The idea is that the assemblies were to
support their teachers; to see to their material needs. These elders took care of the spiritual needs of the
assemblies; it took much of their time.
We dont know if generally the elders continued in their livelihoods as well, but this verse suggests that
they may not have; that they may have devoted themselves to full-time study and teaching.
In return for what the elders shared with the believers in Galatia, to meet their spiritual needs, the believers
were to share with the elders, supporting their material needs. Here we see the idea of every part of the
Body of Christ doing their share. And what is the result of that? The Body is edified in love (Eph 4:16)
it grows; it flourishes.
Why do you think that Paul singled out this responsibility first, to the Galatians? Because they might not
have been inclined to do this.
For one thing, Paul always set the pattern of working to meet his own needs in the various cities he
evangelized, which he undoubtedly did in Galatia. He did this so that no one could accuse him of being one
of those itinerant preachers who made their living off of their disciples (2 Cor 11:7-12) the gospel was
freely given. In addition, Paul was purposing to set a good example of hard work for those who came to
believe (2 Th 3:6-10).
But here, Paul was encouraging them to support their teachers, financially. The gospel had been freely
given; but now each believer had to assume responsibility for the part that the Lord gave them in His Body.
If they were financially able, and their teachers were financially needy, Paul was calling upon them to meet
that need for loves sake.
This might have been particularly important in the case of elders who were former Jews. They would have
been shunned by unbelieving Jews once they professed belief in Christ, and so would have lost their
livelihoods.
It would seem that as Paul exhorted the believers in Galatia to support those who taught them the Word of
God, his thoughts returned to those who were not teaching the truth in the Galatia the false teachers, who
were sowing their lies within the assemblies. It appears that what Paul wrote next was a brief aside, a
warning issued to those who were subject to their deceptions.
v. 7-8 Paul had been addressing the members of the assemblies in Galatia who had truly believed into the
Lord; but as he reflects on the false teachers sowing their lies, he addresses the assemblies as a whole, that
they might take time to examine their hearts. Paul warns them not to be deceived. The word for deceived
here means to be misled; to be led astray.

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When Paul had come to Galatia, he had sown the incorruptible seed of the Word of God: the gospel of
grace. There were those who had heard that Word, and taken it into their hearts; they placed their faith in
Jesus as their Lord, and had been saved by Gods grace. There were also those who had rejected the gospel
outright.
But there were in addition those who had begun to be enlightened, yet had not made a definite decision
about placing their faith in Jesus (Gal 5:7). They had been continuing in the Way of Grace, heading toward
Jesus to be their salvation, but some had now wandered off-course, led astray by the false teachers, who
had sown their lies in Galatia, proclaiming a counterfeit doctrine of faith plus works.
In following that false leading, these men were doing no less than mocking God: He sent His Son to save
them, and they were despising His provision.
Pauls warning takes the form of a well-known maxim: you reap what you sow. This is a metaphor of a
grain harvest. Whatever seed is sown determines what grain will be harvested: for instance, millet seed
does not produce a barley harvest; millet seed produces millet.
Likewise, Paul was saying that you cant turn your back on Gods salvation in Jesus, the one and only way
to life everlasting, and think you can get there some other way of your own making. God is not mocked; if
you choose to work for your salvation, you are in effect rejecting Gods salvation, and you will reap the
fruit of your doing.
Two kinds of seed were sown in Galatia. Paul had sown good wheat; the gospel of Christ. But after Paul
had departed, the enemy had surreptitiously come and had sown tares amidst the wheat the false teachers
with their lies.
Some hearts had taken in the good seed, the Word of God, sowing to the Spirit. That seed germinated, and
they were born from above, born of the Spirit. Christ was formed in them (Gal 4:19), and the Holy Spirit
was renewed to their spirit. These believers were sealed with the Holy Spirit; He is the guarantee that they
will receive their inheritance a spiritual body, a body of glory like unto their Lords.
Those who placed their faith in Jesus for their salvation had sown to the Spirit, and would reap what they
sowed; a spiritual body, which fits them for the presence of God, with whom they will live forever.
Taking in the good seed sowing to the Spirit requires that a man be willing to turn over his life to God.
It takes submission to receive Jesus as your Lord; and after that, He is Lord of you Hes your Master. It
takes submission to receive of the Spirit; you must yield yourself and your body to God, as He works
righteousness in you and through you. To sow to the Spirit, then, is to relinquish the control over your life
to God.
Those who had not taken in the good seed were unwilling to give God the control. Some of these took in
the counterfeit doctrine sown by the false teachers, instead. This doctrine, by which the Law was added to
the gospel of grace, provided a way for a man to work for his salvation. It gave a man something he can
do, in his flesh, to please God; to make his own way to Him; and thereby, to retain the control.
Those who were pursuing this way of salvation were sowing to their flesh. But was it the way of salvation?
No; it was the way of destruction. Does any good dwell in the flesh? No (Rm 7:18). Can the Law be
kept by the flesh? No; the Law is weak through the flesh (Rm 8:3). Can those who are in the flesh ever
please God? No; their minds are at enmity with God (Rm 8:7, 8).

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Those who were trying, hard as they might, to keep the Law were sowing to the flesh just as much as those
who were lawlessly fulfilling the desires of their flesh. They just looked better. And thats where the great
deception lies; the deception that men in the flesh who are legalistic are good people. Paul states it most
graphically; those who sow to their flesh will of the flesh reap corruption.
What exactly did Paul mean? Well, the body is dead, because of sin (Rm 8:10). It may not yet look
corrupt, but it is. It is corrupting as we speak; from dust it came, and to dust it will return (Gen 3:19). So if
you sow to your flesh; that is, if you continue to live your life in the flesh, and never receive the washing of
regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit to your spirit (Titus 3:5), what will you eventually reap?
Corruption.
The only thing that comes out of something dead is corruption. It is the Spirit who gives Life; the flesh
profits nothing (Jn 6:63); no matter how hard the flesh may try; no matter how good the flesh may look.
Its dead.
In Pauls metaphor here, sowing represents a mans earthly life; the harvest is what awaits him at the end of
that life. Who is responsible for what is sown in the mans earthly life? The man is; he makes that
decision. But that decision ultimately determines the mans destiny, as appointed by God.
Now, God is just; His judgments are always righteous. His justice is retributive; a man receives back
according to what it is that he gives out; just like harvest from the seed.
Lets take a look at the harvest that awaits those who sow to the Spirit and those who sow to the flesh. Turn
to John chapter 5.
Harvest, of course, speaks of resurrection. All those who die will be resurrected, but not all in the same
way, nor at the same time; and they will have different destinations.
Jesus spoke of this to the Jewish leaders, who were furious with Jesus for calling God His Father, and
making Himself equal with God. Jesus revealed to them that He had come in the authority of the Father to
give life and to execute judgment, and that only through Him, the One whom God had sent, could they
receive Life everlasting.
[John 5:19-30]
v. 19 Jesus limited Himself in coming to the earth as the Son of Man; He only did the will of His Father,
and He always did the will of His Father.
v. 20 Love here in the Greek is phileo. It describes the love between friends, in that they share the same
thinking. Here it reflects the like-mindedness of the Father and the Son; they have the same mind on all
things. In the phrase greater works than these, these is referring to the miraculous healing that Jesus
had just done. He will go on to describe the greater works.
v. 21 This is the first, greater work that Jesus will do to raise the dead. Jesus was not speaking of
resuscitating them back to this life, but to everlasting Life, as we shall see later.

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v. 22-23 The Father has delegated His authority to the Son to execute judgment, as well the second,
greater work that Jesus will do. In that Jesus does the work of His Father, to raise the dead and to execute
judgment, He shows Himself to be equal to the Father something these Jewish leaders most emphatically
denied. But Jesus is worthy of the same honor as His Father, for He is God. And in that Father and Son are
One, to dishonor the Son is to dishonor the Father.
v. 24 Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rm 10:17). The one who takes in the
words of Jesus, and believes the Father who sent Jesus receives everlasting Life. He passes out of that
condemned creation in Adam, and becomes part of that new creation in Christ, partaking of His Life. For
the Jews, who believed their heritage and their works would justify them before God, this would have been
quite a revolutionary thought.
Jesus continued.
v. 25 the hour is coming, and now is Jesus was saying the hour had come; He is speaking of the present.
Who are the dead that Jesus is speaking of? The dead are natural men; their bodies are dead because of
sin (Rm 8:10). Natural men dwell in dead bodies.
Those natural men, dead in trespasses and sins, who hear the voice of Jesus, believing His word, will live.
Jesus will share His life with them; His Spirit, given to them, is the guarantee that they will be resurrected
in bodies of glory. And they can walk in those bodies even now, by faith (Rm 6:4).
v. 26-27 The Father has granted the Son to have Life in Himself. Jesus is the seed grain that will be sown
in the ground through His death, to bring forth everlasting Life. And Jesus will give that Life to whom He
will (v. 21) to those who believe into Him to receive that Life.
But the Father has also granted the Son the authority to execute judgment. Those who refuse to honor the
Son who refuse the Life that He will die to give them will remain dead in their sins, will remain part of
that condemned creation in Adam. Those who will not receive the Son as their Savior, must receive Him as
their Judge.
v. 28-30 Now Jesus speaks of a coming hour a future time. This future time is when all the bodies in the
graves will be resurrected from the dead.
Jesus speaks of two groups: those who have done good, and those who have done evil. What is the one
good work that a man can do? To believe in the One whom the Father has sent Jesus (Jn 6:29). So what
would doing evil be? Anything else which would include the works of the Law done by the selfrighteous Jews. These were just works of the corrupt flesh, like some in Galatia were doing.
These two groups will have two corresponding destinies: either to be part of the resurrection of Life, or of
the resurrection of condemnation, or judgment. Jesus indicates that His judgment will be just; it will be
perfectly in accordance with the Fathers will, and it will be retributive, giving back what each man has
stored up for himself.
Although Jesus did not mention it, these resurrections will actually be separated by 1000 years. Were
going to look at the description of these resurrections in Revelation chapter 20. The first resurrection will
begin after Jesus has returned to the earth, His enemies having been defeated at the battle of Armageddon.
John continued with the revelation shown to him.
[Revelation 20:1-15]

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v. 1-3 Satan will be bound for 1000 years, during the reign of Christ on the earth. His world system will
already have been destroyed. This will remove these two key sources of temptation and deception for
mankind.
v. 4a From chapter 4, we learn that there were twenty-four elders sitting on thrones, representing the Body
of Christ the true church. To them it was granted to sit with the Lord Jesus Christ on His throne. This is
the Bride, who will rule and reign with Jesus over the earth. Shell have the authority of her Husband.
v. 4b These are the Tribulation martyrs the Jews and Gentiles who will have been put to death for their
faith in Jesus during the Tribulation. John writes that they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand
years. They lived but they had died. It is clear that these Tribulation martyrs will be resurrected from the
dead. They will be part of the resurrection of Life of which Jesus had spoken.
v. 5-6 The Tribulation martyrs will not be the only ones who have a part in the resurrection of Life the
first resurrection. The true Church, the Body of Christ, will have already been caught up to heaven, just
before the Tribulation begins. They will have been changed into their bodies of glory on their way to meet
with their Lord (1 Th 4:13-17).
And we know from the prophet Daniel that his people the Jews will be delivered after the Great
Tribulation the believing remnant; and that the OT saints will be raised to everlasting Life so we see
they are also part of the first resurrection (Dan 12:1-3). Having been raised to everlasting Life, they will
not be subject to the judgment of the second death, of which we will read shortly.
The next part pertains to when the thousand year reign of Christ on the earth ends.
v. 7-10 During the reign of Christ, men will continue to be born on the earth as usual; sons of Adam, dead
and in the dark to God, in need of redemption through Christ.
The truth will be freely taught without the deceptions of Satan to undermine it, and the temptations of
Satans world system will no longer exist. But still, some men will refuse to receive the Lord as their
Savior. Although men will incur the death penalty for any outward act of rebellion during the reign of
Christ, there will be those who do not rebel outwardly, harboring their rebellion within their hearts.
It is because of these rebels that Satan will be loosed again for a short time. They will be deceived by him
into open rebellion against God, and then God will put them to death. Then Satan will be cast into the lake
of fire, joining the beast and the false prophet, who have already been there for 1000 years.
v. 11 The Great White Throne is the place where Jesus will judge the unrighteous dead. There was found
no place for heaven and earth before this throne, because now they are filled with only the righteous; the
unrighteous are all dead. It is at this time that the resurrection of condemnation will take place, of which
Jesus spoke (Jn 5:29).
v. 12-13 The dead are the same here as what Jesus had spoken of in John chapter 5 they are natural
men, their bodies dead because of sin; they are just flesh. These were men who sowed to their flesh;
whether indulging it in fleshly pursuits, or trying to control it through the Law or other religious means.
But the corrupt flesh cannot bring forth anything good; all of its works are evil. They never did the one
good work believing into Christ to receive His Life and so they remained in their sins, remained in
Adam, and subject to the condemnation that creation is under.

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All of the unrighteous dead bodies will be raised in some way, and reunited with the souls who occupied
them during their earthly lives. The sea of humanity will give up its dead; the grave will give up the
bodies, and Hades will give up the souls. Each one will be judged individually according to his works his
corrupt works. Each name will be looked for in the Book of Life the Lambs book of all the redeemed
and their names will not be found there.
v. 14-15 As they never received the Life of Christ, these men remain in their corruption. Now they must
reap what they had sown; a harvest of corruption, reaped in the Lake of Fire, forever and ever the second
death.
This is what Paul was warning those in the Galatian assemblies of, as they weighed the words of the false
teachers against simplicity of the gospel. It is a somber warning to them to search their hearts, to ask
themselves if they really have believed into Jesus, to receive His life. It is of the uttermost importance for
them not to be deceived in this matter a matter of life and death.
Lets return to Galatians.
[Galatians 6]
After writing this aside concerning the lies that were sown in Galatia, Paul returns to his original point
concerning the responsibilities of the brethren to one another in the assembly. Having spoken about sharing
in all good things with their teachers, Paul now expands that idea to the believers doing good in general.
v. 9 The doing good spoken of here and in verse 10 are synonymous words in the Greek, and relate back
to verse 6. These are the righteous acts of a righteous character, specifically the character trait of goodness
a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). It refers to active goodness; goodness directed toward others. How do we
know what is good for others? This is why it is a fruit of the Spirit, and not of us; the Spirit must direct us
in working good toward others.
Paul told the Galatian believers not to grow weary in doing good; that is, not to abandon their efforts. They
must not lose heart; that is, faint, which is to lose sight of the spiritual realities. What should be in their
sight? The harvest that they will be reaping, in due season.
Now, the emphasis here is not on abandoning effort, and being disheartened. Paul was not making a
statement that if this happened, they would have no part in the harvest. It is true that if one completely
abandons his faith, it was unlikely true faith to begin with; true faith perseveres. But this is not Pauls
point. His emphasis is on the harvest that awaits everyone who believes; the body of glory that they would
receive.
Paul lays the harvest that they will reap before them as a motivation to persevere in doing good. Their
motivation to do good in the first place would come out of their love for Christ. Their motivation to
continue doing good would come from keeping that harvest in sight.
Was it wrong to motivate them in this way; is that a selfish motive? Not at all. That glorified body is the
reward of their faith in Christ; and the very glory of that body is Christs glory what they have taken in of
Him. Every good work that they do Gods work in them and through them is adding to Christs glory in
that body.
To recognize that is to rejoice in Christs glory; that is not a selfish motivation. So Paul lays before their
eyes the prize, so that they will continue to run their race with endurance.

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10

Paul used this same motivation for himself. Turn to Philippians chapter 3. Paul wrote this letter during his
first imprisonment in Rome. Paul had been speaking about counting all things in his life loss for the sake
of gaining Christ and His righteousness, and of attaining the resurrection from the dead.
[Philippians 3:12-16]
v. 12 Paul speaks here of not already having attained the resurrection from the dead; in terms of the
temporal, Paul was still in an earthly body. But he pressed on, determined to lay hold of that for which
Christ Jesus had laid hold of him. What is that? His glorification as a son of God.
v. 13-14 Paul kept the prize that body of glory before his eyes at all times, so that he could continue to
run his race with endurance even in prison.
v. 15-16 The word for mature means full-grown; it speaks of completed growth. The completion of a
son of God is in his body of glory.
Note what Paul says in verse 16 to that we have already attained. A believer can live as a completed
son of God, here and now, by faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. That hoped for body has
substance it is a reality when we believe it. Paul believed it, and so he walked there. He was
encouraging the believers at Philippi to do the same.
[Return to Galatians 6]
Paul then concludes his thoughts on persevering in doing good.
v. 10 Paul is playing off the idea of reaping in due season in verse 9. Due season refers to the proper
time, as determined by God. The harvest will come at the time which God appointed.
In verse 10, opportunity means opportune time. Until the proper time that has been appointed by God,
we have opportune times to do good. Those opportunities constitute our entire earthly lives. Paul was
saying, dont miss your opportunity to do good, before the appointed time comes to receive your reward.
This doing good was to all mankind, but especially to other believers for they are fellow members of
the household of Christ, our very own spiritual kindred.
The Lord is always ready to bestow His goodness on mankind, and on the members of His Body. Are we
always ready to be willing channels of that goodness, so men can receive His blessings? As we continue in
our love for the Lord, and we keep our eyes on the prize, we will always be ready.