Col No.16 Circumcision of Christ

We're going to read together from the 17th verse. There the Apostle is particularly directing his remarks to those amongst the Jewish community who think that religion is just a matter of external regulations and certain outward rights. But it's more than that, as we will discover later on in the address when we consider a relevant related passage from Galatians.

But join with me please in the reading of Romans chapter 2 from the 17th verse and we'll continue right to the end of the chapter. Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, and knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law. And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge, and of the truth in the law.

Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonorest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. For circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the law. But if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

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 fulfil 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. I'd like you to have your Bibles open at Colossians in chapter 2. And let me read to you from the 11th through to the 13th verses.

And if you've not got a New Testament, I'm sure whoever's sitting alongside you, if they have, will share with you. In whom that is in the Lord Jesus, 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. Now we've been many weeks on this particular epistle, and there's still a long way to go, but praise God, as his word monitors, directs our thinking. It leads us into avenues of study, which, perchance, if we were just haphazardly taking a scripture from the word of God, Sunday by Sunday, we might not alight on.

And today, it's my privilege to bring to you the teaching of the New Testament on the delicate yet important subject of circumcision. But more of that in a moment or so. Just to help to fill in the context for visiting friends, let me tell you that the apostle is writing to these Christians at Colossae.

He's concerned for them, and he also rejoices over them. He does the latter because, as he tells us in the fifth verse of this chapter, their faith in Jesus Christ is a strong one. He's concerned because he knows something of the pressures that exist in Colossae for any, for members of the redeemed community, who've trusted Jesus as Redeemer, and therefore have entered into that wonderful society of the children of God.

Because the apostle knows that there are adversaries in Colossae. There are enemies of Christ there as there are today. And there are many stratagems in which the devil takes and endeavors to deflect people from fulfilling the purposes of God in their lives.

And one of them, and we know much of it in the 20th century, is the strategy of heretical teaching. And so the apostle warns these Colossians. He does not want them to be led down a cul-de-sac.

He doesn't, verse 3, want anyone to bewitch them. Rather, verse 4, to bewitch them, to beguile them with enticing words. Verse 8, as I reminded you last time, he doesn't want anyone to despoil them like the cruel Assyrians who led the Jewish people off captive in a most terrible fashion in centuries gone by.

He doesn't want spiritually that to be the case for the Colossians. And so he puts out his warning as well as encouraging these Christians in that Greek city. And then he alights upon another aspect of the teaching of these heretics who would try to deflect these Christians from the simplicity that there is in Jesus.

You see, as the Acts of the Apostles makes it very clear, there were some people who were saying that simple faith in Jesus and his death on the cross as being the means whereby salvation is received is not adequate. Acts chapter 15 verse 1 sums up the position. There were certain men who came down from Judea and they taught the brethren and said, except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you can't be saved.

And throughout the history of Christianity there have always been those who said that faith in Jesus is not in itself adequate. You need that faith plus something else. You get this within certain branches of the Catholic Church as well as among some of the sects of the 20th century.

Faith in Jesus, yes, to a degree, but there are certain other things that you need to be led into, certain rules, certain regulations which you want to keep for salvation to come your way. Now it's against this that the Apostle is arguing. And specifically he is saying that salvation does not equal faith in Jesus plus circumcision.

Salvation equals faith in the cross work of Jesus alone. So we come to these three verses, 11 through to the 13th. And if you prefer to have, to make it clear in your thinking, just a little summary of each verse in the form of a title, then let me give you this.

First of all, in the 11th verse there is a general declaration which says that in Jesus all believers spiritually are circumcised. A general declaration. In the 12th verse there is a specific illustration.

It tells us that the Old Testament rite of circumcision is better illustrated now with the act of baptism. And in the 13th verse there is a general application where the Apostle is saying to the Colossians, this is what's happened to you. You have spiritually been circumcised and you have come to newness of life in Jesus.

Well, let's follow those headings, shall we? In the 11th verse I say there you find a general declaration as to the fact that these Christians and all Christians in a spiritual sense have been circumcised. But let's move from the spiritual to the literal for a moment. And here we come to a very delicate but necessary subject for us all to understand.

Historically and literally circumcision speaks of a small cut, a surgical operation on the male reproductive organ. It was performed on a Jewish infant when he was eight days old. Now, why did the Jewish people submit their children, their male children to the rite of circumcision? Well, because it was a sign to them that they were part of the chosen company of God's people.

For instance, in the 17th chapter of Genesis and the 9th verse, you read about the institution of circumcision as a sign that Abraham and his descendants were specially cut out by God to be his own people. Genesis 17, 9, And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant, therefore thou and thy seed after thee in their generation. This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you and your seed after you.

Every man child among you shall be circumcised, and ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin. And it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations.

And so the teaching goes on. There is the initial introduction of the rite of circumcision literally to the descendants of Abraham, the nation of the Jews to which he gave birth. So, circumcision was a sign that people were chosen of God.

The apostle makes it very clear in Romans chapter 4 and verse 11. When speaking of that historic incident, he mentions Abraham. Romans 4, 11.

And Abraham received the sign of circumcision, a seal, a badge, a token of the righteousness of the faith which he had. And so on. So, first of all, circumcision was a sign, a badge, that these people particularly were the chosen race.

But it also had this idea. It spoke of cutting away that which was unclean. Now the actual form of the rite dealt, as I say, with the organ of reproduction.

And it emphasised that human nature as such was unclean and needed cleansing. There was nothing wrong in the act of procreation. Nothing sinful in that.

But it was what the act resulted in. The birth of a new life with its bias towards evil. That needed to be attended to.

And so the rite of circumcision came in. This little surgical operation. The removal of a little bit of flesh.

Indicating symbolically the removal of that which was wrong in human nature. And so circumcision spoke not only of a person being justified in the sight of God. But with the removal of what was wrong being regenerated, remade in the sight of the Lord.

All right, hold that in your mind for a moment. And let's move from the literal and the physical to the spiritual. Here we find in this particular 11th verse.

The apostle saying that all Christians spiritually have been circumcised. It's not a literal thing. He makes that quite clear in the heart of the verse.

He says your circumcision is made without hands. It's not the surgical operation. That someone performs upon a little boy.

It's a circumcision that is beyond that. It's in the spirit. It's not a rite.

And yet it is a reality. It's not of the body. It is of the soul.

If you like it's ethical circumcision. And to this the Old Testament gave some emphasis. Because in the book that we're studying in our Bible school.

In the book of Deuteronomy. References made to what circumcision represented as being more important than the actual physical act. So Deuteronomy chapter 30 and verse 6. 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. So spiritual circumcision is brought about without hands.

And the second thing you notice in the 11th verse is this. That it is described in terms of the putting off the body of the sins of the flesh. Now in Christ Jesus when you confess him as Lord.

Your sins are forgiven. Not just a little bit of your sin. But all your sin is forgiven.

And before God you stand absolutely clean, pure, righteous. I wish it were the case that one could declare from the pulpit. That having become a Christian you're no longer sin.

Unfortunately there is that bias in your nature that is still there. And the old very often seems to conquer the new. It wages guerrilla warfare.

And though you have the Spirit of God residing within you. Yet nonetheless there is this tension. And there are times of backsliding.

There are times when you fall short of the law of God. But in the sight of God. As he looks down from his heavens and he sees you.

He doesn't see you as a sinner. He doesn't see you sanctified as a little bit. He sees you sanctified completely.

Made whole. The putting off of the body of the sins. Because you have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ.

And this circumcision. Well it's been brought about says the apostle in this 11th verse. By Christ himself.

Not because he submitted to it. But he inaugurated it. Now and this is the argument of Paul.

For these people to come along. These Jewish heretical teachers. And say that circumcision is necessary to the gospel.

Is really completely to misunderstand. What circumcision was predicting in the Old Testament. And to realise that circumcision as a right.

Has been fulfilled. To retain it would be an anachronism. It would be something old fashioned.

That really has now been done away with. It would be to argue for the bud instead of the flower. And to go back to the former instead of glorying in the latter.

Circumcision literally says the apostle. It was a vivid declaration. Of what God was doing for the Jew.

And it was a vivid prediction of what God would do for all men. Who trust Jesus as Lord. He would mark them out.

For himself. They would put off the sins of the flesh. And by being introduced into the redeemed community.

Through the Lord Jesus Christ. Spiritually speaking. They would be circumcised.

So you see how in the 11th verse. There is this general declaration. That all Christians are spiritually circumcised.

And to go back to the old literal act. Would be absurd. But says the apostle in the 12th verse.

There is a specific illustration. Not in circumcision. But in the new rite.

Sacrament of baptism. Which reveals to anyone who looks on. When a baptismal candidate is immersed in water.

Just what has happened to him. Or to her. Baptism is a much better way of denoting conversion.

Than circumcision was. And here the apostle is saying in the 12th verse. You were buried with the Lord Jesus in baptism.

You have been baptized by your pastor. Or the evangelist who first brought the message of the gospel. You were immersed in water.

You were raised out of that water. Now surely that was sufficient. Why go back to the ritual of circumcision.

Why want this physical cut in your body. When here in baptism itself. For all to see is the glorious illustration.

Of what has happened to you. And baptism is a much more appropriate piece of symbolism. Than ever circumcision was.

Of the new birth. Let me pause just for a moment. The Lord Jesus instituted two sacraments.

One we will be attending to in a moment or so. We'll be coming around this table. And every sensitive Christian comes around this table.

There's no exception to this. Unless there are some very, very real reasons. Why you cannot possibly be at the Lord's table on a Sunday morning.

Then your privilege is to be here. And this is a sacrament. What do we remember? We remember the death of our Lord Jesus.

Here is spiritual nourishment. We take bread. We take wine.

There's nothing innate in that bread and in that wine that conveys grace. But this is the means whereby the Lord Jesus has said. We are to remember him.

And in the act of remembrance. So we know his presence and his power. And we stay our minds upon his death on the cross.

And his mighty resurrection. We realise that through his death at Calvary. We have become members of the new community.

One sacrament which we remember every Lord's Day. As we are told again the grand old story of Jesus and his love. But there was the other sacrament.

And that's only applied once individually in our experience. It's the sacrament of water baptism. And so often, thank God, we have witnessed this here in this sanctuary.

We've exposed the baptismal tank. And a candidate has gone through the waters. They've been immersed and they've been raised again.

And what have they been saying? I'm spiritually circumcised. I have been chosen of God. I have responded to the gospel of redeeming grace.

That's the sort of life that I used to live when I was under the water. That corresponded to life outside of Jesus. But now I've been raised to newness of life.

I've put off the old man, the old nature. And I'm aiming as best I can by the power of the indwelling spirit. To live according to the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Now let it be said. That these sacraments themselves have nothing magical about them. The bread remains bread.

The wine remains wine. And the water in the tank here. It's still Worthing Corporation tap water.

Nothing holy about it at all. You see we've got no priestly view here. No magical view as to the nature of the sacraments.

But what is important is this. That through keeping those sacraments. God blesses his children.

And the fact that there's nothing magical in the act of baptism itself. Is shown in the 12th verse. When we are told that we are risen with Jesus.

Through the faith of the operation of God. Who hath raised him from the dead. Why do I not don some priestly gown.

And take some holy water. And sprinkle it upon a babe. That's brought into the center of the tabernacle here.

Well I don't do that. Because we don't have that view of baptism. We don't recognize that there is such a thing as holy water.

My hands can convey no grace. The only grace that can be conveyed to the redeemed community. Is through the operation of faith in God.

And this is what the apostle here is saying. You want an illustration. That you belong to Jesus.

Well it's there in your baptism. When you were immersed in the water. When you were raised again.

You were demonstrating to everyone. That you became a Christian a week ago, a month ago, a day ago. You responded to the faith.

Which God granted to you. And you trusted Jesus. The one whom God had raised from the dead.

As the means whereby your sins should be forgiven. You see how the baptismal rite is far more appropriate than the circumcisional rite. You see with circumcision as I described it to you a little moment ago.

Quite graphically. It was just a small operation. The cutting away of a little piece of flesh.

A prediction that something was wrong in human nature. But here is baptism. And it's not just a little part of the body that's attended to.

The whole person goes under the water. This is why in the tabernacle we take a Baptist view of this ordinance. And we immerse someone in water.

The whole nature is indicated. As responding to the grace that God releases into this world. Through Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.

It's not just one part of my body. Not just one part of my personality. The total man needs to be renewed.

To be remade. To be reborn. As I confess the Lord as Savior.

So as Jesus was raised from the dead. I am raised from the dead. In the power of an endless spiritual life.

Now just in case these Colossians and indeed these folks at Worthing. Haven't followed him very well. As he deals with this general declaration.

And the specific illustration in the 11th and 12th verses. Paul ties the argument in the 13th. And he has a personal application.

Says the apostle. Your illustrations of all this. And you being dead in your sins.

And the uncircumcision of your flesh. That's what they were like. But what's he describing? He's describing that time in the life of the Colossians.

Before they'd been confronted with the gospel. And responded to what the Lord Jesus had done for them. He said during that period of your life.

You were dead. You were sinners. You were spiritually uncircumcised.

And the Bible doesn't blush to make this pronouncement. That it's possible to be physically alive. And yet spiritually dead.

Says the apostle writing in Ephesians chapter 2. Is it the opening verse? You were dead in trespasses and in sins. Men can live. They can think.

They can make money. They can be successful in the business. In a commercial.

In an academic sense. And yet spiritually they can be dead. It's a great book written by a Puritan John Owen.

The death of death in the death of Christ. And if you think through the title. Then it becomes a very wonderful one indeed.

What did Jesus do on the cross? He made it possible for men who were spiritually dead. To become alive. And if a man physically dies.

And yet he's in Christ. He's no need to be afraid of physical death. Because he cannot be robbed of spiritual death.

So the apostle Paul speaks to you and to me. And he said look there was a time in your life. When you were dead in your trespasses and in your sins.

The uncircumcision of your flesh. You were living as those who didn't belong to God. And there you were as dead people.

And what happened? Well the gospel was preached. And it was preached in such a fashion. That it quickened you.

Look at that important word in the 13th verse. He quickened you together with the Lord Jesus. Having forgiven you all trespasses.

Do you remember the prophet? The old testament. Who was confronted with the woman's son who died. And there that little body was on the mattress.

That was reserved for this holy man. The prophet went into his room. And he extended his body on the corpse of that little boy.

And the warm lips of the prophet were placed on the pallid mouth of the youngster. His throbbing heart on the still one. Until the contact of the prophet's body rekindled the extinguished spark.

In the life or in the body of that little boy. And he was brought back to life was he not? Now that's precisely what happened to me. Here I was spiritually dead.

Laying out flat so to speak. Like a corpse. And Jesus in the fullness of his life laid on top of me.

His warm lips kissed my dead lips. His throbbing heart touched my dead heart. The warmth of his life was infused into me.

And I was not just revived. I was renewed. I was regenerated.

I became a new person in Jesus Christ. Because you see, he removed the cause of my deadness. I was dead because I was a sinner.

But he died on the cross of Calvary to remove that boulder, that obstacle. To take it out of the way. And the apostle Paul makes the argument so plain now that none can fail to understand him.

He has quickened you together with Jesus. Having forgiven you all trespasses. And actually in the original there the apostle implies himself in the new international version is right.

When he says he forgave us all our sins. So what have you been listening to this morning? You've been listening to a description, an explanation of circumcision. The circumcision of Jesus.

And there was a personal declaration that everyone who's trusted Jesus as Savior is spiritually circumcised. There's a specific illustration of this given in baptism. And that means to say that everyone who's been spiritually circumcised, who trusts Jesus as their Lord, they are to be baptized.

To default on this sacrament is really to say to God it doesn't really matter to me. I don't want the blessings of baptism. I don't want to be obedient.

Well that would be a nonsense. That would show spiritual immaturity. And thirdly we've discovered that our own lives and the lives of those Colossians are an application or find an application of Paul's teaching.

Once we were dead in our sins. Once we were as the uncircumcision. But Jesus came and he laid his blessed body so to speak upon us.

And he made it possible for you and for me to enter into life eternal. People marked out not by a cut in the body but by a change in the personality in the service of God. Closed in the righteousness of Jesus.

Constantly putting off the old nature and becoming more and more sensitive. To the directions of the Christ as conveyed to us through the indwelling spirit. I trust you all not only know academically but experimentally what it is to be circumcised by Jesus.

Amen. And Father we thank you for that spiritual operation wrought by your grace. And the experience in the hearts of so many of us here.

And we ask Father God that you will go on to bless us and to use us in your service. And help us to show lives which have been spiritually marked out by the Lord God. For the sake of Jesus the Saviour.

Amen.