The Study Of Our Circumcision In Christ

In this particular study, I want to talk about the need, the must need of understanding the death of our flesh. Or, as the Bible says, this ‘circumcision made without hands’. One of the things that the church presently struggles with is, not knowing how to deal with a person’s flesh. The church today still wrestles with sin and with the fallings of the flesh.

Colossians 2:11 States, “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:

The word circumcision typically means, ‘the cutting away of flesh‘

We typically understand circumcision as the removal of foreskin from a man’s genital area. This was also religiously asscoiated with the generations of God’s people in the old testament as requirement for being in covenant with God. However that type of circumcision was just that; a type! It was a foreshadow of the death of man’s flesh at cross.

Circumcision also means the ‘putting away of the fleshly body‘ or ‘ destroy the body of sins‘

The death of Christ, one man, was viewed by God as the death for all men. For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God. The death for sin was because of man but Christ took man’s place in that death, and man took His place in righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

The crucifixion of Christ was His circumcision with hands. It was men’s hands that demolished His flesh from the whipping post to the cross. All the physical suffering He experienced came by the hands of men. However, since Christ was used as our substitute, God gave us the credit as His death is our death. God imputed death to us. While His circumcision was with hands, no man touched us and not one drop of our blood was spilled for sin. Even though we did not experience bodily death for sin, God put on record that we did.

2 Corinthians 5:14 says, If one died for all, then were all dead.”

The power in this transaction is that our sins are in our flesh. So if Christ became sin with the sin of the whole world, and He died our death, our sins died with Him. Ours sins are housed in the flesh. The death of Christ was also the death of flesh and the death of sin in the flesh. When Christ died, I died. He destroyed the body of sins.

Without the vital knowledge of circumcision of our flesh, we as God’s people will not be able to walk with the Lord in these last days. They that will walk with the Lord will do so in absolute complete freedom. There’s nothing more freeing than knowing your flesh with it’s sins are cut away from interfering with your walk with God. The Scriptures says, “he that the Son hath set free, is free indeed.” When you look at those who have been laid to rest in the grave, they are tied to nothing in this world. They are free indeed. The same must hold true for the believer that will walk with Christ in this present age. They can’t be tied to anything, not to the law, not to sin, not to the world and certainly not to the flesh. They must take their rest in the work of Christ. His work is a finished work. Everything that could possibly separate a person from God and God from that person has been dealt with completely by Christ Jesus.

The church typically has not been able to deal with a man’s flesh. You cannot set a person free, regardless of them having the Spirit, without the truth. Truth is what Jesus did. Jesus said to those Israelites, “If you continue in my word you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free; and whom the Son sets free is free indeed.”

Faith is imperative to the extent that we as people must find relationship and fellowship with God solely upon and through the finished work of Jesus Christ. In the book of Hebrews we are taught that there remains a rest for the people of God. We know that in the beginning God worked six days and on the seventh day he rested. The book of Hebrews verifies this truth in saying, “For he spake in a certain place of the seventh [day] on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.” (Heb 4:4)

We must understand that the context of the Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 are highlighting the absolute need and function of faith and in contrast is demonstrating the detriment of unbelief. The fact is, we must believe God’s Word in order to enter his rest.

So when we believe, we are believing what God did or what Jesus did to remove all possible boundaries. In doing so, people may come and walk with God without fear, without condemnation, of any such, due to their human weaknesses and failures. The only failure that stops a person from drawing close to God is unbelief. Again it is vital and is a very important truth that we must believe.

The terms ‘circumcision‘ and ‘human flesh‘ must be fused together in the mind of the believer.

You must see your flesh as a circumcised reality. If not, you will go no further than just being born again and or having the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues. For God through Christ did not establish the crucifixion just so that a person would be or might be born again. Like the majority of the church population you’ll only be born again but not know what it is to be free indeed.

Circumcision began with Abraham. Not with the law. God invited Abraham to be in his covenant. The only way Abraham could enter in to God’s covenant was by circumcision.
Circumcision is a type of death at the cross. That’s why circumcision ended at the cross. the cross of Jesus was our circumcision. There is no more death for sin. In that he died, he died unto sin once. He died once. He ended sin once.

Before God could give eternal life through the Spirit, He first, had to see your death. Legally the death would complete the required penalty for sin. However, God never imposed the penalty for sin on man. The penalty for sin from the foundation of the world was always intended to be laid on Christ. Scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:14, “that if one died for all, then were all dead.” This certainly this was the fulfillment of the law. The law measured sinful flesh to be worthy of death. When Jesus died the death for humanity and humanity was credited with the death of Jesus, there was no further need for the law. The law has no jurisdiction over dead people because the penalty that the law exacted in is done. Why? Because there was no sin left for the law to deal with.

Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

The handwriting of ordinances = The law of Moses, the ten commandments
Jesus was the law in flesh. When he was nailed to the tree, the law or writings of commandments were nailed to the tree. The death of our flesh through circumcision (of Christ) loosed us from the law. Romans 7:1 we are bound to the law as long as we live. In Christ we died thus we are free from the covenant of the law.
Essentially, in order for the human race to receive eternal life, God had to accomplish our death for sin without killing the human race that he loves so much. Through the circumcision of Christ we died out of the things that had the power to separate us from God. Through Jesus’ death we died out of flesh that housed sin; we died out of sin and its power to penalize; we died out of the law which demanded death for sin. So before we could enter into life eternal God made sure our death was in place first.

Colossians 2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

If we who are believers in this life ever come to actually believe that our death has already been fully and completely accomplished in Christ; then we shall know better that our dead bodies and born again spirits our are not in any wise subject to ordinances in this world. We are entirely subject to God The Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.