From most physical to most spiritual the various types of love described by the Greeks were:
- Ludus -- a flirtatious, using-type of love; using love to get what self wants [use others for self]
- Mania -- obsessive love [gratification for self]
- Eros -- physical love, bodily love [physical gratification for self and/or other(s)]
- Philautia -- love of self [gratification of self]
- Pragma -- love based on practical necessity [gratification of self]
OTHERS FOCUSED
- Philia -- deep friendship love [gratification for self and friend(s)]
- Storge -- familial love [gratification for self and relatives]
- Agape -- "work for the good of all"; a love that perceives and comprehends what is in need, and that works to meet the need out of spiritual compassion [gratification for others]
Why is Love expressed towards others considered more spiritual than Love that is more focused on self-gratification?
Why does Paul's described shift in focus from physical self to spiritual self lead to more agape type of love being demonstrated?
Our purpose includes showing God's love to others. When we serve others in love, as God does, we better fulfill our purpose and that is what we look at as we study Galatians 6:1-10.
Serving others can be incorrectly viewed as a life of drudgery and devoid of personal benefit. The cliche, actually a bible verse from Acts,, "it is better to give than to receive" is often used, especially when someone wants to get something from you.
It feels good to give to others. Even those steeped in our secular culture will acknowledge that, but the Bible shows that blessings are in store for those who serve the good of all and serving under the power and direction of the Holy Spirit takes such love to a whole new level. We experience joy when we serve as God wants us to serve. Our purpose is experienced as we serve Christ through serving others. When we submit ourselves to carrying out God's love then we are expressing God's love through our selves. We become the physical embodiment of God's Love and purposes. What better joy can there be than knowing that God is working through you?
Galatians 6:1-5
1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted.
2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
3 For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
4 Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else.
5 For each person will have to carry his own load.
The word gentle is derived from ancient words indicating noble. We are to use a noble spirit to assist those caught in the trap.
The word restore in Greek denotes the mending of fishing nets. It means to adjust thoroughly, unite completely, or to knit together. More than just "patch things up" restoration works to mend the wound and allow it to heal completely. The process of restoration should be done with sensitivity, understanding and humility. This is so that the restorer will not become ensnared in the same sin. A gentle spirit is the remedy for pride, conceit, and self-righteousness that could lead to falling into a similar sin trap.
Paul encourages us to "carry one another's burdens." A burden is a heavy, oppressive weight that is carried. The word used in verse 2 describes something that is carried that is a heavy and oppressive weight, while the word used in verse 5 describes the usual cargo of a ship or a traveler. Christians who are led by and empowered by the Spirit will help each other with the heavy burdens that they bear. Sometimes the weight of life creates burdens that are more than one person can bear. In those times, those in step with the Holy Spirit should help carry such burdens.
Those believers who have a prideful attitude consider themselves to be more than they actually are in reality are not as spiritual as they believe themselves to be. The good deeds done in the power of the Holy Spirit will be rewarded, while the deeds done through human-nature will crumble to nothing under God’s examination. Nature wastes away. God never does.
What are some of the burdens people are carrying today?
How can we navigate the apparent tension between verses 2 and 5 -- carry one another's burdens, but each person has to carry his own load?
While we can all share one another’s burdens in life and support others in many ways, walking in the Spirit is something all believers must do for themselves as individuals in cooperation with the Holy Spirit.
Believers must be careful to avoid the view that serving others is just one of the many tasks on our daily to-do list, something we accomplish and then mark off the list for that day. If we approach agape as we approach a physical "to do list" item then we miss what God is calling us to do.
Galatians 6:6-8
6 Let the one who is taught the word share all his good things with the teacher.
7 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap,
8 because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.
Teaching the truths of Christianity was a part of the church’s ministry from the beginning, an important part of the early church’s discipleship – making students of Christianity. Paul spoke of the support necessary to maintain an emphasis on spiritual growth through the teaching of the Scriptures. "Share all his good things" implies a partnership between the teacher and the disciples.
Those deceived were “led astray.” It pictures those who had wandered down the wrong path because they were misled. Persons from inside or outside the church may have led some believers astray into thinking that discipleship was a passive entertainment rather than an active sharing and studying, teaching each other. Showing up to listen is NOT the same as actively participating and sharing all good things. It is common to use this passage for material support of teachers and preachers, but as Paul is talking about spiritual things here I like to view this as in effect, help teach the teacher. In this way all may spiritually mature.
By not actively supporting their Christian leadership, the Galatian believers were making God's principle of sowing and reaping a ridiculous principle. If the teachers are teaching about, and encouraging Christian agape love and their disciples do not even practice it with their leadership and within their own community, how can it ever reach into the world of the Spiritually unaware?
Paul said that believers would reap according to the measure they sowed. This is an agrarian principle. To reap is from the word ripe and is "to gather in by effort of any kind; gather the fruit of labor or works." To sow is to from ancient word for seed. The agrarian principle of the seeds you plant are the fruit that you will harvest indicates that the kind of seed that you plant will determine the kind of seed you will harvest. As Paul is discussing physical and spiritual attributes he is indicating that not actively participating in Spiritual practices and teachings will not result in spiritual fruit among those who live by the physical being.
To sow in the flesh means to plant seeds of the physical expectations, feeding the human-nature part of our beings. They will produce human-nature results and not progress the world towards atonement (or at-one-ment) with God. To sow in the Spirit means to plant seeds of the spiritual teachings as lived by Jesus Christ to result in Spirit-nature results that will promote atonement with God. Those who live unrestrained by the Spirit of God frequently end up living lives of intemperance, sexual immorality, and indulgence. Destruction describes the decomposition of a corpse and the ravaging of a human body through disease, decay, and death. Those who sow to the Spirit live life in submission to and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Those who sow in the Spirit reap a harvest of eternal proportions which will never fade, decay, or be destroyed.
Just as farming is hard work requiring patience and persistence, so does sowing to the Spirit. As it is said, if it were easy EVERYONE would be doing it.
Galatians 6:9-10
9 Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.
Working for the good of all is about the best definition of agape that you can find. Often, however, those living in their physical natures don't want spiritual help; it is too foreign to them. This is most frustrating, but people get to choose the way they live their lives…even if they are incorrect. Agriculture is also a frustrating endeavor for the planter often doesn’t have direct control over the maturity and timing of their crops.
Both the agricultural and the spiritual farmer risk growing weary or becoming discouraged. It is not just the work of casting seed that must be done, but also tending the field. One danger to a plentiful harvest is that the farmer quits before the time of harvest. Paul used similar language to express the same idea when he warned the Thessalonian believers, “Do not grow weary in doing good”. Paul says that our fruit will become ripe at the proper time and we may harvest the fruits of our labors at a time that is appointed or opportune, rather than one that is just "by the clock."
Believers can be tempted to lose heart and become discouraged due to such things as difficult life circumstances, God not intervening in one’s life as expected or desired, or becoming disheartened or apathetic with the passing of time. However, believers should stand firm in the Spirit because the ultimate victory was demonstrated by Jesus at the cross, so the spiritual harvest is sure, no matter what one’s present circumstances may be.
When presented with opportunities to do good to others, we should take advantage of these and act. As Paul told the Ephesian believers, “For we are his [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” Or stated even more plainly "we are God's arms and legs here on earth to do the good things for others that God orders done."
Christianity, however, is not just another "club". Paul appealed to the Galatian Christians to do good to all, be it believers or nonbelievers. All people are made in the image of God and all people are valued by God. God sent His Messiah to atone for our sins when we were all His enemies; God also acts for the good of all in doing such things as sending rain on the just and the unjust. By imitating God in doing good to all people we demonstrate that we are His children.
Paul urged the Galatian believers to do good to all people, but he emphasized that caring for fellow believers was particularly important. In Ephesians Paul notes that we are members of God’s household” – a family. We have an obligation to care for the needs of one another, but doing good for others should not exclude those who are outside of the church. But believers should make sure that they take care of their own faith family both as an act of love and a witness to those outside the faith.
The point, Paul teaches us, is that we fulfill our purpose as Christian disciples as we serve others in spiritual love rather than in physical satisfaction.
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