In Galatians 6:10, Paul tells the churches in Galatia(a region in the Roman Empire that would have had several churches) to do good to all.  He then goes a little further to state that they should especially do good to those who are a part of the family of believers(i.e. other Christians).

Who Do We Do Good To?

The “who” referred to here is pretty easy to understand.  God’s people are supposed to do good to everyone.  This would include: friends and enemies; people you like and people you don’t like; people who are nice to you and people who are mean to you.  It is quite literally everybody.

Paul does state that they should especially do good to other believers.  This does not necessarily mean that a Christian should be better to a believer than a non-believer.  Paul is merely emphasizing the point that if you should be good to everyone on the face of the planet, including someone who is not a child of God, you should definitely do good to those who are Christians.  You might think that Christians would obviously do good to each other, but there were those in the church in Corinth who were taking each other to court(I Cor. 6:1-8), as well as other things that would not fall under the umbrella of doing good to others.

Doing Good

If the previous part was easy, this part should be just as easy.  Paul told them to do good.  That’s pretty straightforward, right?  You just do good things(to everyone).  But maybe it isn’t that simple.   If we just look at Gal. 6:10 and read it by itself, that is the most obvious understanding.  But what happens when we read it IN context?  In Gal 6:8, Pual stated that if someone sows to the flesh, they will reap corruption.  By contrast, those who sow to the Spirit would reap eternal life.  Huh?  Paul was stating that if you do something(i.e. sow, as in sowing seed) and you do that regarding physical things, you would get as your reward something that is corruptible.  He was not saying you would be sinning and receive death.  Instead, you would be doing something that was merely physical and your reward would be like everything else that is physical . . . it would be something that would not be eternal/permanent.  You will get something(i.e. reap something) that will not last.  By contrast, if you reap something of the Spirit, something that is spiritual, you would receive something that will last(i.e. it will be eternal).  It’s not a good vs. bad comparison; it is a physical vs. spiritual comparison.  But what is before that?

Go back to Gal. 6:1-6.  That section talks about helping another Christian who is sinning.  You are supposed to help that person, with the intent to restore them back to God.  You want them to give up that sin, but Paul also warns us not to get caught up in that same sin ourselves.  He also challenges us to test our own conduct.  In other words, look at ourselves to determine if we are doing what is right.  We just assessed that someone else was sinning, and we should help that person to stop sinning.  Examination is not just limited to others; we need to use that same analysis on ourselves.  So this section is talking about being vigilant about sin(i.e. something that has a negative spiritual consequence, something that separates us from God, something that is eternal in its outcome).  This should sound similar to what was spoken of in Gal. 6:7-9, where Paul was explaining that physical things are not permanent, but spiritual things ARE permanent, or should I say, have permanent results.  But let’s go back even a little further for more context.

Living By the Spirit

Galatians 5:13-26 is extremely important.  In that section, Paul is talking about how we live our lives.  Do we live our lives seeking solely to satisfy physical(in this circumstance, physical means sinful – we know his because he lists the kind of things he is referring to in Gal. 5:19-21, listing things like sexual immorality, hatred, envy, etc.)?  Instead, Paul argues that we should live our lives based on things of the Spirit(i.e. things of God – Gal. 5:22-23).  Those things are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  These are physical acts that we do, but these are based on God and what He wants us to do(or to be like, if you will).  Instead of seeking to live our lives based on the things of the world(sin, not just physical), we live our lives based on the things of God(Spirit).  Now, we have to work our way back to Gal. 6:10 to have a better understanding of the good that we are to do to all.

Doing Good(Again)

If we are supposed to be living our own lives(Gal. 5:13-26 is directed at each individual) based on what is spiritual(of God) instead of just doing things that feel good right now(of the physical), and if we are to look out for others to help them when they fall to sin(like the ones mentioned in Gal. 5:19-21) – Gal. 6:1-6), then what is the “good” we are supposed to be doing to ALL others?  Isn’t it the spiritual things listed in Gal. 5:22-23?  We should:  love others(everyone), be joy(ful) toward everyone, be peace(able) toward everyone, be forbearing toward everyone, be kind[ness] to everyone, be good[ness] to everyone, be faithful[ness] to everyone, be gentle[ness] to everyone and be self-control toward everyone.  These are the good things that we are to do to others.  But what does that mean?

Living Doing Good

So, are we doing physical things toward others or spiritual things toward others?  Technically, it is both.  Most of the things we do in life have a physical and a spiritual component.  If you punch someone, there is the physical act of punching them, as well as the hatred inside of you that preceded the punch.  If you give a cup of cold water(Matt. 10:42) to someone, there is the act of giving the cup of cold water, which is physical, but there is also the love that preceded the cup(spiritual).  We are supposed to do godly(spiritual things) to others . . . ALL OTHERS, both Christians and non-Christians.  Thinking good thoughts is not enough.  Those good thoughts need to be followed up with good actions(James 2:16), otherwise, they are useless.

Let’s live, emphasis on the action part, our lives by the Spirit.  Let’s do spiritual(i.e. godly) actions toward others . . . all others.  When Jesus died, He died for the sins of everyone(I John 2:2), not just a few good people.  He died for people like me . . . and you.  Let’s make that sacrifice count for something.