the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Reap
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words
or "to reap" (akin to theros, "summer, harvest"), is used (a) literally, Matthew 6:26; 25:24,26; Luke 12:24; 19:21,22; James 5:4 (2nd part), AV, "have reaped;" (b) figuratively or in proverbial expressions, John 4:36 (twice),37,38, with immediate reference to bringing Samaritans into the kingdom of God, in regard to which the disciples would enjoy the fruits of what Christ Himself had been doing in Samaria; the Lord's words are, however, of a general application in respect of such service; in 1 Corinthians 9:11 , with reference to the right of the Apostle and his fellow missionaries to receive material assistance from the church, a right which he forbore to excerise; in 2 Corinthians 9:6 (twice), with reference to rendering material help to the needy, either "sparingly" or "bountifully," the "reaping" being proportionate to the sowing; in Galatians 6:7,8 (twice), of "reaping" corruption, with special reference, according to the context, to that which is naturally shortlived, transient (though the statement applies to every form of sowing to the flesh), and of "reaping" eternal life (characteristics and moral qualities being in view), as a result of sowing "to the Spirit," the reference probably being to the new nature of the believer, which is, however, under the controlling power of the Holy Spirit, Galatians 6:9 , the "reaping" (the effect of well doing) being accomplished, to a limited extent, in this life, but in complete fulfillment at and beyond the Judgment-Seat of Christ; diligence or laxity here will then produce proportionate results; in Revelation 14:15 (twice),16, figurative of the discriminating judgment Divinely to be fulfilled at the close of this age, when the wheat will be separated from the tares (see Matthew 13:30 ).
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Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Reap'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ved/r/reap.html. 1940.
