God’s Word for You

Galatians 6:6 Share with your pastor

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Thursday, August 15, 2024

6 The one who is taught the word must share in all good things with the one who teaches.

As at the end of all his letters, Paul does not simply end. He adds several quick things: Some ethical teaching, greetings, his travel plans, and some other personal matters (even the last seven verses of Philemon have these things). Here Paul shares a good reminder. Pupils and members of churches should supply the physical, day-to-day needs of their pastors and teachers. Sometimes Paul does this by comparing the way we treat our called workers with the way we treat our animals: “Do not muzzle the ox while it treads out the grain” (Deuteronomy 25:4; 1 Corinthians 9:9). “Is it about oxen that God is concerned?” And while the Lord surely is concerned about oxen and all living things (Matthew 10:29), he means that “the worker deserves his wages” (Luke 10:7; 1 Timothy 5:18).

In the most ancient church, from Adam to Joseph, the father of a family was the family priest, and the Lord took care of him through whatever regular labor he did to provide for his family. Cain worked the fields for crops and brought grain offerings to the Lord (Genesis 4:3). Abel raised sheep and goats and slaughtered some of them as offerings (Genesis 4:4). Noah took the task God had given him, to preserve the animals and his family through the great flood, and he brought some of those animals to the Lord as a sacrifice when the flood was ended (Genesis 8:20). When Moses brought Israel to Mount Sinai, a rebellion changed the way God chose his priests; the tribe of Levi was set apart and served in place of the oldest sons of each family (Numbers 8:14). They were supplied through the offerings at the tabernacle, and God was clear in his law: “No one is to appear before me empty-handed” (Exodus 23:15).

In the New Testament, there is no longer a certain family to serve, but ministers are appointed and called by two simple qualifications: They are Christian men and they are able to teach and preach. Paul’s list of qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 are no different than one would expect of any Christian man or father, apart from the ability to teach (1 Timothy 3:2). But how are they to make their living? Paul reminds the Galatians that they should supply what their ministers need.

Paul calls such ordinary things as bread, oil, wine and money “good things.” The philosophers of Paul’s time, especially the Stoics, preached that only spiritual things like knowledge and wisdom were good, and that anything earthly, even food, was evil. But everything God made is good (Genesis 1:31). “Evil use (that is, the way we use things) makes things evil,” Luther says, “things are not evil by their own fault.” He does not mean human beings; for we are conceived as evil creatures and born as evil creatures. We remain evil until we come to faith; otherwise man is wicked from the moment of his conception until his eternal punishment in hell (Genesis 6:5), for an evil man only seeks more evil (Proverbs 17:11). But a thing? There is nothing evil about a piece of bread, nor the grain it comes from, even if the man who bakes it is a cruel and evil man. There is nothing evil about money, even when many of the hands it passes through are evil, and using it for evil means. It is the love of money, not money, that is a root of many kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10), but a man cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24).

This passage supports the way that we support our pastors and teachers, and in fact, many of the divine calls issued through our church forbid our called workers from making an income apart from what they receive from the church, without special permission from the church. For we want our pastors and teachers to be available to do the things we call them to do, and not be busy earning a living by working a shift somewhere when we want them to be teaching our children, or preparing a sermon, or the other thousand things that a worker is called to do. But this passage is especially about the member in the pew, and the way that we support our workers, not so much about the theology of the way a worker is supposed to live on his wage, and whether that is a cross for him to carry or not. For Paul’s words to the Corinthians are fitting, even though their context is about one particular offering and not about all offerings. “On the first day of the week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that contributions need not be made when I come” (1 Corinthians 16:2).

But “good things” aren’t limited to material things. Prayer, encouragement, offering to help in the work of the church when possible and especially when asked, and coming to your pastor’s defense when someone you know complains about one of us—surely this happens from time to time. In general, the less a minister defends the word of God and just tries to please people, the less they will complain. The more a minister adheres to the Word of Truth, the more he will ruffle feathers, upset people, and give a great many people a great deal to complain about. Enemies outside the faith will attack him. Sometimes even members of his own church will be upset about him. Remember that he is human. He is doing his best. He is living up to his divine call. Pray for him above all else.

At the end of the Catechism, Luther included a Table of Duties. These short paragraphs are all about the Christian life: husbands, wives, parents, children, workers, widows, and so forth. The list also includes this about what we owe our pastors:

WHAT WE OWE TO OUR PASTORS AND TEACHERS

  Anyone who receives instruction in the Word must share all good things with his instructor. (See Galatians 6:6.) In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. (See 1 Corinthians 9:14.)

  The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “The worker deserves his wages.” (See 1 Timothy 5:17,18.)

  Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. (See Hebrews 13:17.)

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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