THE SPIRITUAL CIRCUMCISION

Ephesians 2:11—in “time past” Paul says that Israel was the “circumcision in the flesh made by hands.” Genesis 17:9-14 — “the flesh of your foreskin”

Circumcision is the cutting off the foreskin of the penis. Literally, "circumcision" means a cutting around.

The Jewish Circumcision

One of the first acts of circumcision in the human race involved Abraham (Genesis 17:6-11). This initial act of circumcision was the seal of Abraham’s faith in God’s promise of possessing the land. It was the indication that Abraham believed God’s word. Abraham separated himself unto the Lord and to the Lord’s promise.

Circumcision is, therefore, a sign of regeneration for the Jews.

Circumcision is to unite Israel with the covenant of God (Acts 7:8). It was the external sign of incorporation into the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 17; Acts 7:8; Rom. 4:11). Circumcision is also used by God as a teaching mechanism, a visual aid to provide a picture of regeneration by faith (Col. 2:11-13). It is a picture of positional truth, especially the identification with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.

In Romans 4:9-13, Circumcision is a sign of imputed righteousness; it points to the one who will believe and is cleanse by the blood of Christ and has God’s Righteousness reckoned to his account (Gen. 15:6; 2 Cor. 5:21).

The true significance of circumcision was not in the physical act being perpetuated but in the reasons the ritual was begun in the first place. Circumcision was a sign that something had already taken place, namely, Abraham’s imputed righteousness.

Circumcision was also a seal (Romans 4:10). A seal indicates the validity of the thing to which it is attached. It has no significance apart from that which it covers. Circumcision was a seal attached to something valuable, salvation.

The Need for Circumcision of the Heart

“Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.” – Deut. 10:16

“And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” – Deut. 30:6

“Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.” – Jer. 4:4

“Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.” – Jer. 9:26

Physical circumcision cannot justify anybody. Circumcision also will not profit anything to the Jews if they will not keep the law (Romans 2:25, 28-29; Acts 7:51).

The Circumcision of Christ

It is the Operation of God. At the moment of salvation, a surgical operation takes place inside the believer called "the operation of God," or the "circumcision not made with hands." Paul says:

"And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses." — Colossians 2:10-13

Circumcision is a surgical operation, but here, it is not a physical operation performed with hands; it is a spiritual operation performed by God. "Made without hands" means circumcision in this passage was no human act. It is an action of the Holy Spirit. This circumcision is spiritual.

What happens in this operation? It was the “putting off” i.e., laying aside of “the body of the sins of the flesh.” "Putting off" means to strip off clothes. The sins of our flesh are put off by the circumcision of Christ. We well know a man’s spiritual condition in his unregenerate state: he is dead in his sins and his soul is uncircumcised. On the other hand, his spiritual condition after the new birth is quite different, because of this circumcision made without hands. This circumcision miraculously separates our soul from the sins of our flesh.

In the Old Testament, God commanded the Jews to circumcise every male at birth. That physical circumcision was a type of the spiritual circumcision God performs on every born again believer.

"Therefore, if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." — Romans 2:26-29

Upon the preaching of the gospel the Gentiles, a sect of Jewish believers arose who argued that circumcision is a necessary aspect of salvation (Acts 10:45; 11:2; 15:1; Gal. 2:12; Col. 4:11; Tit. 1:10). This is legalism.

Jesus spiritually circumcised our sin capacity upon the cross. God does not expect us to deal with our sin capacity by religion. No amount of legalism will attain God's standards. Jesus accomplished all that is necessary to live the Christian life for us. Our part is to apply what he did by faith.

Instead of our soul and spirit being bound hard to a body of sinful flesh the believer’s inner man has been freed via the circumcision made without hands.

Spiritual Circumcision in a nut shell:

Every man is born with a dead spirit and with his soul joined/attached to his body. Our sins are part of our flesh because sin dwells in our flesh (Rom. 7:17-18). If a person is unsaved his soul is stuck to his body (Psalm 44:25; 119:25; Lev. 5:2; 7:21; 22:6; Num. 19:22). Hence, whatever his body touches, his soul touches. In other words, if his body sinned, his soul also sinned. That is why we find the words “body” and “soul” used synonymously in the Old Testament. – Gen. 12:13, 46:26, Ps. 33:19, Prov. 13:25, 25:25.

But when the person got saved, he is spiritually circumcised and he becomes a new creature (Col. 2:10-13, Rom. 2:26-29, II Cor. 5:17). It is not a physical operation performed with hands; it is a spiritual operation performed by God. What happened in this operation? The sins of our flesh are put off by the circumcision of Christ. His soul is separated or cut-loosed from his sinful flesh forever. In other words, it is the operation made without hands where the Holy Spirit cut our souls loose from our filthy sinful flesh using the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:17).

Our sins are part of our flesh, and although our souls have now been washed and cut loose, and been saved; our bodies have not. Sin still dwells in it, and still bears the sinful nature that we inherit from Adam. But praise God it cannot affect anymore the purity of our soul. The good thing is, the moment a person received Christ’s sufficient work of salvation by faith, he received also the blessed hope. Wherein his body will be saved at the rapture. And God finally take away the presence of sin in us (Rom 8:18-23; Phil. 3:20-21; Titus 2:13). For now, we are trapped inside these sinful bodies of flesh. We will still sin (Rom. 7:14-21) but our soul is no longer defiled by those sins because it is saved and circumcised from the filthiness of the flesh. Halleluiah!

Evangelist Rodgie Quirante

The Workman's Treasure Study Series