Harry Foster
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap. 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." Galatians 6:7-8
"SOWING to the Spirit" is a striking phrase which embodies Paul's last words concerning the Holy Spirit to the would-be 'spiritual' Galatians. Although it is simple and unsensational, it gets right to the heart of the whole question of how to please God. Already in the letter mention has been made of being born of the Spirit, of miracle-working by the Spirit, of praying, 'Abba Father' by the Spirit, of hoping and being led, of producing fruit, living and walking by the Spirit; now the final appeal comes that Christians should 'sow' to the Spirit. What did Paul mean?
The passage begins with a general statement that a man reaps what he sows. This is true in nature though, of course, there are accidents of pest and weather which can modify it. The apostle however was not dealing with nature but with moral and spiritual issues, and above all with the reminder that it is God with whom we have to reckon. The Galatians could deceive others with a show of spurious spirituality, just as we can also deceive our fellow believers. They could deceive themselves, and so can we, for the human heart is deceitful above all things and particularly so in the realms of imagined spirituality. But neither the Galatians nor we can deceive God. When we sow to the Spirit, we sow to God. We do not even deal with the inexorable laws of God, but with God Himself, for the Spirit is God. I have observed that in this life there is often an amazing fulfilment of this logical sequence of sowing and reaping. It is quite startling at times to see how relentless -- or rewarding -- the truth is that actions and attitudes have a remarkable way of boomeranging back on their authors. As we treat others, so in due course we shall find ourselves being treated, as others can observe, even if we do not realise what is happening. This call to sow to the Spirit, however, seems to refer to something even more certain and inevitable in the life of every Christian, which is the eternal outcome of present procedures in time. Although this is a text which has often been effectively used as an evangelistic warning and appeal, its original meaning was not in such a context, but was rather a message for men 'in Christ', reminding them that their present way of life, their sowing, will bring its own harvest in one way or another. Above all it was an encouragement to all believers to know that if they patiently continue to obey the Spirit's urges and seek His pleasure, they will reap in the 'due season' of eternity.
IN this sense "every man shall bear his own burden" (verse 5). Others may fulfil the law of Christ by rendering sympathetic aid, but, in the final issue, each of us has an inner life to lead which is peculiarly our own. Each Christian is regarded as a continual 'sower' with personal responsibility as to what he sows and with the constant possible alternatives of acting according to his flesh, and so wasting his time and strength in what will not last, or acting according to the Spirit, and so saving up a harvest of eternal gain. "God is not mocked." Although this is true, the statement is not made with regard to the matter of salvation, for in this connection God, who is marvellously merciful, does not press the law of sowing and reaping. We have sowed rebellion and iniquity, and yet God gives us a free pardon as soon as we ask Him to do so. We never sowed eternal life before we came to Christ, and yet we have received this life as a gift, without any need for working or waiting. In this matter we reap from our Saviour's sowing on the cross. Once we have entered into life by being born from above, however, we cannot escape from the law of the Spirit; we can never hoodwink God nor avoid receiving the harvest of what we have done [105/106] in the body, whether it be good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10). God's grace is infinitely great, but in this matter of sowing and reaping He has made it quite plain that He will not deviate from His declared principle of seedtime and harvest. Let us not be deceived by wishy-washy ideas of God's kindness. His love is deep and unchangeable, but His principles are as fixed as His throne, being that, as the Lord Jesus Himself said, "Whatsoever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatsoever is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). No amount of sincere wishes can change the specific nature of a seed once it is sown. Not even prayer can alter it. Our deceitful hearts will try to convince us that we can take advantage of God's love to reap differently from what we have sown, but when the harvest comes they will be proved wrong. On the other hand, in our discouragement we may sometimes accept Satan's lie that spiritual sowing is vain, and that there will be no harvest, but equally we shall be proved wrong -- happily wrong in this case. What we sow we shall reap.
This makes us the more concerned to know what is involved by this activity of sowing to the flesh. How is it done? The answer to this question is that we sow to the flesh by giving expression to our own natural ideas and desires. Like many weeds, the flesh has its own way of self-propagating and hardly needs much deliberate sowing, but if allowed to do so, will spread into every area of life, even in the things of God. Let us not be misled by the word 'flesh' into imagining that the Scriptures are only speaking of obviously evil and unclean actions and habits. No, the flesh is something much more comprehensive than that; it includes just the normal reactions and activities of our self life, it is indeed what we are. As the Lord Jesus said, the flesh can only produce flesh; there is no miracle by which it can be turned into spirit, for its nature, like that of the seed, is permanent and final. Since all that is human is mortal, and therefore has the seeds of corruption within itself, sowing to the flesh can only produce 'corruption', i.e. that which will not be able to stand the test of eternity.
