In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ …
Summary: Paul resorts to a metaphor that ties in his arguments about circumcision with spiritual truths that we cannot see with human eyes.
I have to confess that I find circumcision a rather awkward topic for discussion. However, since Paul has mentioned it and provided a handy description, we will go with that!
In this passage, Paul equates circumcision to putting off our “whole self ruled by the flesh.”
I wish it were that easy!
Anyone who has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior knows that the desires of the flesh don’t disappear. Paul himself, admits this in his letter to the church in Rome (Romans 7:21-25).
So what is Paul talking about?
First, it seems clear to me that he is speaking metaphorically. The metaphor is circumcision. If he were speaking of something physical, he would be able to describe it using adjectives like size and color, function, and fit. But it is not physical. Paul is describing something spiritual.
Before accepting Jesus as Lord, our “lord” is our flesh. Whatever we think we need or want is what we have to have. Our passions of the moment are more important than any possible consequences that might come later. This is all we can do because this is all we know.
Until we know Jesus!
Then, everything changes… sorta.
When Paul says, “Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ…” he is referring to the process of being “born again” that Jesus talks about (John 3:3). Spiritually, something miraculous happens when we believe.
Because it is invisible, Paul uses a metaphor to describe it. The old self is “put off,” and the new is “born again.” We are still aware of the flesh. We still struggle as we choose, moment by moment, to keep our eyes on Jesus. When we are surrounded by shiny objects vying for attention, this can be hard. Yet we try because Jesus is in us.
What God sees is different. God knows we struggle, and he understands temptation. Yet, because Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, God doesn’t “see” us as sinful flesh. He sees us as a new creation, “born again,” as he intended when he first made Adam and Eve.
Application: Accept God’s gift of new life in Him with a grateful heart.
Food for Thought: How does Paul’s metaphor help us to understand what God has accomplished in Jesus?
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