The Circumcision of Christ

 “In him 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 ESV)

 

Circumcision is something that is widely practiced in American society. However, that being said, the reason it’s practiced is very different from that of the people of Israel in Old Testament times, or even the Jews of today. We do so primarily for cleanliness. But their practice of circumcision had, and continues to have, major religious implications.

 

They were commanded by God to circumcise their boys on the eighth day. And, in this way, they were marked, they were identified, as part of the people of God. In fact, if they were not circumcised, they were to be cut off from the people.

 

This is the image that Paul is referencing in the above passage. Only, he relates circumcision to a practice more recognizable in the Church. He relates it to baptism.

 

Paul tells us that, in Christ, we were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands. In other words, it wasn’t performed by a doctor, a priest, or a mohel. In fact, it wasn’t performed by a person at all. It was a work of God.

 

This was done, he says, by the putting off of the body of flesh. This, again, brings us back to the image of circumcision, where the foreskin is removed from the body. But, here, Paul speaks of the removal of the body of flesh. This speaks of the removal of our old, sinful, nature that it might be replaced by the new.

 

This is referred to as the circumcision of Christ, which took place in our baptism. It took place as we were buried with Christ in baptism and raised with him through faith. This, he tells us, is the powerful working of God.

 

What this tells us is that, in baptism, God makes us to be his people. In baptism, we are marked as the people of God. And, in baptism, we are recipients of both his gracious promise and blessing.

 

For many Christians, today, baptism is nothing more than a ceremony. It’s something that we do. It’s a confession of faith that we make before the body of Christ. However, when we look to Scripture, we find that it’s so much more.

 

Baptism is not a work of man, but a work of God. And although we confess our faith at the time of baptism, it’s so much more. In baptism, we receive the blessings provided by Christ on the cross. In baptism, we receive the blessings won by Christ in his resurrection from the grave. And each of these blessings become ours through faith.