Paul Corrects Galatians — Milton Green

Beginning with the Spirit and Turning to the Flesh

You begin with the Spirit. You receive the Spirit of God. And now, we're fixing to find out in Galatians 1, they start with the Spirit and they get with a doctrine that's contrary and distorted. And so they start following this doctrine which leads them after the flesh.

And he said, now you're walking after the flesh. Are you going to be perfected like this? He said, he asked him over in Galatians 2, are you following Jesus? Do you call yourself following Jesus there?

Being led by the Spirit of God and that? Is the Spirit of God leading you to do these deeds of the flesh? Are you all hearing what I'm saying? Now see, Galatians, we can compare this there. What is the object of that?

Christ Formed in Us Through the Gospel

What's the goal of the instruction of the gospel? That love would be formed in us. In other words, Christ would be formed in us. That we'd have the heart of Jesus. Amen? Now, you all are fixing to get your eyes open about that wide tonight, okay?

I want you to watch this, okay? So he says to them there, in Galatians 1, 3, you foolish Galatians, verse 3, are you so foolish, having begun with the Spirit, are you being perfected by the flesh? Now that is the foolish virgins of the last day.

They're trying to be perfected and fulfill the law while they're still walking after the flesh and they're not being led by the Spirit of God. Amen? Are you hearing me? Now turn back to Galatians 1 and we see what their problem is.

Verse 6, I'm amazed that you are so quickly... What are you doing? You're deserting the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, you're not being led by the Spirit of God here. You've got yourself tied into a doctrine right here.

The Distorted Gospel and Its Curse

They're fixing to see. And you're not being led by the Spirit of God. You're going to be led by this doctrine, this contrary doctrine. You're going to walk after the flesh and think you're going to fulfill God's law, that you're going to be perfected in love to fulfill God's law without Jesus.

Let's watch it. Verse 6, I'm amazed that you're so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of God for what? You get yourself another gospel that tells you and leads you that you can walk after the flesh.

Amen? Y 'all with me? Right now. When He is really not another, only there are some who are disturbing you and they want to what? You can distort or pervert the gospel of Christ. But even though we're an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel of what?

Contrary to that which we preach, let Him be what? Look, folks, listen to me. I want to tell you something. I want you to understand that. Anytime your heart's joined to a doctrine that does not conform you to godliness, a curse, all kind of curses come in on you.

Now, I want to be honest with you about it. I want to tell you about it so you can be free from them. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Now, I want you to see it in the Word. I don't want you to go by what I'm saying.

I want you to see it in the Word. And when you see it in the balance of context of the Word, then you can repent from it. And when you repent from it, this stuff will come off of you. Amen? Now, are we in the New Testament, aren't we?

Warnings Against Selective Readings of Scripture

Okay. See, we stick to these scriptures. You know, nothing can separate me from the love of Christ. Boy, nothing's going to pluck me out of God's hand. I'm just me and the devil just sit there forever to the exclusion of the rest of the Word of God.

I can be in 1 Corinthians 3. I can be a babe in Christ. They practice strife and jealousy, so I go on and practice strife and jealousy. Now, go on the rest of the Bible there and see in Galatians 5, 19, and 20.

If you practice strife and jealousy, you're not going to enter in the kingdom of God. Just take part of the Word of God. Do you all hear what I'm saying? And no matter how smart someone is, they can't see this.

I want you to understand you cannot see this except through the grace and mercy of God. So get your eyes off of people. There's no way you can... When you got your eyes on people, you hadn't got it on Jesus.

People love to intimidate you. People love to be put before the Lord. They don't remember. Now, Paul said, For am I still seeking the favor of men or of God? Am I striving to please men? If I was trying to please men, I wouldn't be a bond-servant of Christ.

Seeking God's Approval Rather Than Human Approval

Now, this is what Paul said. Do you think I'm going to come here... Now, look at me now. Do you think I'm going to come here and try to tickle your ears and I'm going to say it's all right where you all are walking at there?

Am I going to tickle your ears so I can please men and get your favor and get your approval and you go away and say how nice I am? Or four or five of you are going to jump up and run out and, boy, I want your approval more and I want the approval of God.

Or am I going to tell you what the truth is in this Bible? Are you hearing what I'm saying? So then we go back over to Galatians 2 and we see what he says to them right there. Nevertheless, knowing, verse 16, that a man is not justified by the works of the law.

Do you know what a works of law is? It's trying by your own efforts and fleshly achievements and works trying to enter into heaven another way besides taking up your cross and holiness. Are you hearing what I'm saying?

All the works of the flesh, you lay them down. It's taking the works of the flesh and trying to do the works of God, trying to get into heaven. Amen? Are you hearing what I'm saying? All right, now look at the verse, the next verse.

Rebuilding What Was Destroyed

Now, he told them, he said, now you've started in the spirit, now you're trying to be perfected in the flesh through a distorted contrary doctrine. Is that what we see so far? Shake your head at me again.

Okay, now. I know that's what he asked them in verse 17. If while seeking to be justified in Christ, now how are you going to be justified in Christ? You're going to be justified in Christ that the wrath of God will not destroy you.

Amen? If while being justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners as you all are now walking out of the flesh and being perfected in flesh, I want you to look at yourself. Now, you're saying you'll be justified in Christ and now you've been found sinners.

It says right there, is Christ the ministry of this sin? In other words, is Jesus, is the spirit of God leading you on to practice this sin to be perfected as the flesh? And then he answers his own question.

What does it say there? I can't hear. All right, then you know what I'd tell you, sir, ma 'am, beloved? I'd tell you right here, right now, that if you think you'll get it when you just receive the spirit of God and then you're going to walk on and be perfected in flesh, can I tell you what?

And then he goes on to the next verse and says exactly what people believe that is happening to them. Look at the next verse. If I start rebuilding what I once destroyed, I prove myself of what? Look right up here with me, folks.

Repentance From the Flesh and the Nature of Sin

I want everybody to put your eyes right up here. Did you repent here from the nature and character of Satan? Is that what we're repenting for? Now, folks, answer me. If you answer me wrong, I'm not going to make anything out of it.

You understand? I'm not going to embarrass you or anything. Just take a good guess. Did we repent from the deeds of the flesh? Is this what we laid down our life and destroy? We put it to death? I can't hear you.

All right, now, does your Bible say there, verse 18, if you start rebuilding what you once destroyed and you go back and do it again, you start building it back up again, you're proving yourself once again to be a what? Transgressor because all the deeds of the flesh breaks God's law and so you move right back in under the law.

How many of you see that? Hold up your hand in here, will you? Now, I want you to line that up with once saved, always saved. I say, we're just going to talk about it. If I got saved right here, bless God.

Are you hearing what I'm saying? And I can go ahead and I can walk with two natures and I can continue in the flesh. And if I'm supposed to have destroyed folks, let me share something with you. This is not an easy thing to work through when we've had something drilled into us all our life.

Are you hearing what I'm saying? It's not an easy thing. And so I want you to know that I'm not trying to press you and I'm not trying to run over you. I'm just showing you in the Word of God and I know that thing in you comes against, tries to come against and just try to free your mind.

That the isolated scripture to this truth, we're using a part of the Bible we don't usually touch. Are you hearing what I'm saying? So, see, you become, this is who the foolish virgins are, the last days who will not come to the light.

Our being is in Zion as we walk out of the flesh and be upset at anything's going to, if something's going to lead you into holiness, you know, sinless perfection or he's going to put you on the law or all these kind of things.

See, you're already under the law when you're walking out of the flesh. Do you see that? You sit in a church house under the judgment of God's law. That's what being on the law means, on the judgment law.

We know the rituals and sacrifices done away with, but you sit there on the law when you walk out of the deeds of flesh. That's what you're supposed to repent from. And you're not fulfilling the law in Christ.

Is that, am I right? You're not fulfilling the law in Christ. Folks, do you realize how mad somebody can get to hear part of what I'm saying right now? Even when you read it out of the Bible. Their hearts have become so hardened and hardened and hardened and hardened by this today.

Do you know that they think they'd do you a favor to kill you? Paul said, have I become your enemy because, I mean, Jesus said, have I become your enemy because I'm trying to tell you the truth? So, Sid, if you start rebuilding what you once destroyed, you prove yourself to be a what? Transgressor.

Crucifixion With Christ and Walking Like Jesus

Now, what does Paul say in verse 20? He said, I have been crucified with Christ. Let me ask you something. Did we see, now look at me, in Galatians 5 .24, did we see those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires?

Did we see that? Are we fixing a seal where in 1 John that we walk as Jesus walked? Amen? Well, then why can't we walk as Paul walked? Paul walked different from Jesus? Paul walked like Jesus? They were both examples for you and I.

See, you know, you make the Bible a history lesson instead of applying it to us. Amen? I'll tell you what you do. You write, we don't have time tonight, but you write back in Philippians 3 and go ahead and read that tonight and you'll see just exactly how Paul walked and how Paul walked, you'll see in there, that he told the churches, he said, this is the way you walk too.

He said, in other words, Paul is saying right here, it is no longer I who live, but it's Christ who lives in me. Now, let me show you what happens when Jesus becomes your Lord. You lay down the fleshly nature of the flesh right there.

Christ Living in the Believer

Jealousy, pride, unforgiveness, that's the big I right up there. Amen? That I, greed, unforgiveness, resentment, murder, resentment and the deeds and character nature of Satan no longer lives in me, but who lives in me?

Christ lives in me through the Spirit of God. I obey the Spirit. I don't no longer walk to please myself. I count, I've laid down everything. I count everything as dung to gain Christ. Nothing's getting in my heart but the Lord.

I love the Lord my whole heart. And then all of a sudden fear comes, oh, I'm going to lose my farm. I'm going to lose my oxen. I'm going to lose my family. I'm going to lose all this. Yes, you are. You'll either lose it by becoming the Lord the whole heart or you'll be destroyed and separated from it.

Because whoever wishes to save his life is going to lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel is the one that's going to what? He's the one that's going to save it. Are you hearing what I'm saying?

If you're trying to be justified while you're walking out the flesh, you're a transgressor of the law. In other words, if you start rebuilding that big I that you once destroyed, you'll prove yourself a transgressor.