City Life Starter

Written by Cassandra Daniels

“And God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you, throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.”

Genesis 17:9-14

“In [Christ] also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

Colossians 2:11-12

Reflection

One can look at this passage and see the redundancy of the language and commands and easily skip over the reason for repetition. Covenant appears 5 times in these 6 verses, generations twice, and offspring 3 times. God wanted to emphasize the importance of the covenant He was making with Israel. 

Just as God himself had to slay an animal in the garden, shedding blood to cover Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21), so now Israel would shed blood through circumcision. But Paul clarifies what some people of Israel missed in the time of Abraham and continued to miss through the building of the first church. Romans 2:28 says, “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.” The covenant of circumcision was always about the heart. God wanted the hearts of not just Abraham and his family, but all the future generations of Israel to come. Much like baptism, circumcision was an outward display of what God had done on the inside. 

And the emphasis on male only circumcision was intentional as well–the covenant of circumcision foreshadowed Jesus. Jesus was the only one who fulfilled the covenant and law perfectly, the only one truly living with a circumcised heart. That is why our belief in Jesus changes everything. 

Colassians 2:11-12 says, “In [Christ] also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

Because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we no longer have to work for a relationship with God. Jesus’ blood was shed so we could once again be in covenant with God. 

Application

Though through Christ we are circumcised and the work is done for us, we still have a duty in the process of sanctification to make ourselves more like Christ. We choose to circumcise ourselves everyday by crucifying our flesh and continuing to choose Jesus over the things the world and our enemy offers. To defend ourselves from temptation, we should remember the circumcision of Jesus and thank Him for doing what we could not do. 

Prayer

Jesus, we thank You for showing us what it looks like to live a life with a circumcised heart. Thank You for shedding Your blood for us so we wouldn’t have to. Would you teach me how to circumcise my heart to be willing, obedient, and to glorify You in all that I do. Amen.