OF ALL THE POSSIBLE OPTIONS FOR A SIGN TO THE ISRAELITES, WHY DID GOD CHOOSE CIRCUMCISION? The promise was a miraculous physical child that would be the father to a physical people, so the sign had to do with sex.
- Genesis 17:4-13.
- Notice in these verses all the physical signs:
- v. 4 – “father of many nations” – a physical promise.
- v. 5 – new name: “father of many.”
- v. 6 – “nations” and “kings.”
- v. 7 – “your descendents.”
- v. 8 – “whole land of Canaan” – a physical place.
- v. 9-10 – “you and your descendents.”
- v. 10-13 – the physical sign.
- v. 13 – “My covenant in your flesh.”
- It’s an obvious point, but one that needs to be made here: the covenant that God is bringing forward here is to create a physical people, who would primarily continue through birth.
- This is opposed to God establishing a philosophy and inviting all who wanted to do believe and follow.
- This is opposed to God establishing a teaching and inviting all who wanted to follow it to do so.
- This is opposed to God establishing an ideal and inviting all who wanted to shoot for it.
WHTA WAS THIS INTENDED TO BE A SIGN OF?
1. The sign of circumcision is a sign of new identity.
- Genesis 17:5, 11-14.
- It is significant that God gives Abram a new name here.
- In v. 5, He changes his name from Abram (“exalted father”) to Abraham (“father of many”). Of course, in the Bible names are far more meaningful than they are today. God was telling Abraham that his new identity was one that would involve God’s miraculous fulfillment of this promise of a child.
- Further, in vv. 11-14, God lays out His expectations for this new people that will come from Isaac.
2. The sign of circumcision is a sign of the miracle of new life.
- Genesis 17:16.
- After the incredibly long wait, God was actually going to bless them with a child. And that child would be the father of a great nation.
- That child represented the miracle of new life.
- As I said a moment ago, because God’s plan to give Himself a people involved the physical descendents of Abraham, it makes sense that the sign (of circumcision) had to do with sex.
3. The sign of circumcision represents a removal of reproach.
- Genesis 17:17.
- Genesis 15:2-4; Joshua 5:2-9.
- The disappointment and discouragement that Abraham and Sarah had endured for all those years undoubtedly left a scar. The presumption back then was that barrenness was a sign of disapproval from God.
- Abraham speaks to this in v. 17 when he laughs at the thought that this burden he’s been bearing can now be rolled away. How can it happen when he’s 100 and Sarah is 90? Verse 18 indicates that he was banking on Ishmael as the avenue of God’s answer.
- We see something similar happen in Joshua 5:2-9. Israel is coming up out of Egypt and the people are uncircumcised. After they are circumcised, God says in v. 9 that doing that has “removed the reproach of Egypt.”
- That is, it’s a sign of the removal of the disappointment and discouragement that the Israelites had experienced in the 400 years of slavery in Egypt.
- In both cases – Abraham’s son and Israel entering the Promised Land – it’s a sign of the removal of the disappointment and discouragement.
4. The sign of circumcision is a sign of higher expectations.
- Genesis 17:1, 9.
- God has spoken several times to Abraham about the promise of what He intends to do through him. In v. 1 we see the first time that God places an expectation on Abraham: “walk before me and be blameless.”
- We see this also show up in v. 9 that God has expects Israel to fulfill this covenant – there again an expectation of obedience.
- We know that one of God’s frustrations with Israel down through the years was their failure to consistently fulfill the covenant. He was frustrated over that because He expected them to fulfill the covenant.
- This represents a moment of God asking more of His people – in this case Abraham. He has higher expectations.
5. The sign of circumcision is a sign of promised abundant fruitfulness.
- Genesis 17:3-8.
- God is promising enormous physical blessings and fruitfulness through Abraham:
a. v. 4 – “father of many nations.”
b. v. 5 – new name meaning “father of many.”
c. v. 6 – “very fruitful,” “nations,” “kings.”
d. v. 8 – “whole land of Canaan.”
- God isn’t just promising a little move of His power, but something far-reaching and lengthy.
- God intends to pour out His blessings upon Abraham.
WHAT RELEVANCE DOES THIS HAVE FOR CHRISTIANS?
- We are not required as Christians to be circumcised – a decision that was vehemently debated at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-35).
- So our initial thought might be, “Well, circumcision was an Old Testament and Old Covenant issue, so there’s no relevance to our lives today.”
- It is true that we are not required to be physically circumcised, but we find references to circumcision in the New Testament as a sign of spiritual truths.
1. The sign of circumcision is a sign of new identity.
- Colossians 2:9-12; Galatians 6:15.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:15; Ephesians 4:22-24.
- The New Testament references circumcision, not as a continuing physical commandment but rather as a spiritual sign.
- The most significant New Testament verse on this subject is Colossians 2:11.
- Rather than speaking of physical circumcision, it speaks instead of spiritual circumcision of the heart. Obviously, physical circumcision involves a cutting away. So too does spiritual circumcision. But what it says is cut away is absolutely amazing when you think about it.
- v. 11 says we’ve experienced a “putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ.”
- The idea that through “having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God” we have had our sinful nature laid aside is simply stunning.
- Now, does that mean we no longer have a sin problem? No.
- Does that mean that we no longer struggle with our flesh? No.
- But what it does mean is that at my core I have been made into a new creation. Before, I was at my core a sinner who had some desire for God. Now, I am at my core a new creation who still has some fleshy temptations.
- The core of who I am has changed! The sinful nature that defined me has been cut away and I am a new creation.
- This is why in Galatians 6:15 Paul writes, “Neither [physical] circumcision nor [physical] uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.”
- This is why in 1 Corinthians 10:13 we’re told that we never have to give into a sinful temptation.
- This is why in Ephesians 4:22-24 Paul writes, “. . . put off your old self. . . and. . . put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Wow – that’s amazing that that’s who we are now.
- This is essential to understand because we often dumb down our faith by saying that we’re just “sinners saved by grace.”
- As a Christian, I am not a “sinner saved by grace.” I was a sinner saved by grace at the moment of salvation. But once I was saved and transformed, I am now a new creature in Christ, fully capable of living faithfully and fruitfully for Him.
- When we hold onto our “sinner saved by grace” identity, we often use it to excuse our sinful tendencies and our failure to live differently. “Well, what do you expect? I’m just a sinner saved by grace.” We’re not – God has made us into someone that is so much more than that.
2. The sign of circumcision is a sign of the miracle of new life.
- Colossians 2:13-15.
- John 1:13; John 3:3; Romans 6:6-8; Romans 8:10-11; 2 Corinthians 4:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3; 1 Peter 1:23.
- In Colossians 2 Paul continues to talk about spiritual circumcision.
- v. 13 says that we were “dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature.” Now, though, God has made us “alive with Christ.”
- We have been given the miracle of new life – new spiritual life.
- In Abraham’s case, the promise was going to happen physically through a physical son so the sign of circumcision was a physical one.
- In our case, the promise is going to happen spiritually through spiritual change to our heart.
- The promise of physical descendents (Jews) meant that the sign should be focused on the point of transmission (circumcision).
- The promise of spiritual descendents (Christians) means that the sign should focus on the point of transmission (the heart).
- This is a miracle of new spiritual life.
- We have died with Christ and been raised to newness of spiritual life.
- We have been born again.
- We have been given new life.
- We have been given abundant life.
- We have been given, incredibly, eternal life.
- And that new life happens through a circumcision of the heart – a cutting away of the sinful nature.
3. The sign of circumcision represents a removal of reproach.
- Matthew 26:28; Luke 3:3; Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; Hebrews 9:22.
- With Abraham, circumcision was a sign that the discouragement and disappointment of all those years of childlessness were over.
- For us, this circumcision of the heart and the new identity and new life that comes with it represents a removal of the reproach that we had on us before.
- One of the problems we were dealing with was that even if we had some desire to get to God, we couldn’t get there because of our sins.
- In Luke 24:47, Jesus tells His disciples that “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in [My] name beginning at Jerusalem.” The disappointment and discouragement that we would have felt before in wanting to be close to God but having no way to deal with our sin has been removed.
- Just as Abraham’s physical circumcision was a sign of the removal of reproach (Joshua 5), so the death and resurrection of Jesus and the spiritual circumcision of the heart that brings is a sign of the removal of reproach between us and God.
4. The sign of circumcision is a sign of higher expectations.
- 1 Corinthians 7:19.
- Romans 6:11-14; Romans 8:12-14.
- In 1 Corinthians 7:19, Paul writes, “[Physical] circumcision is nothing and [physical] uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commandments is what counts.”
- Through what Jesus has done for us, we are able to do that. We are able to live lives where we keep His commandments. Not perfectly, of course, but through the power of the Spirit we can live dramatically changed lives. We can live in His power.
- This is a breathtaking shift: to go from someone mired in our sin with no chance of being right before God in our own power to someone who is able to faithfully (although not perfectly) live out the commands of God.
- With Abraham, the sign of circumcision brought with it higher expectations – God said He wanted Abraham to walk blamelessly.
- With us, the sign of spiritual circumcision brings with it higher expectations – God desires for us to walk blamelessly before Him. . . and He has provided us the spiritual resources to pull that off.
5. The sign of circumcision is a sign of promised abundant fruitfulness.
- Matthew 3:8; John 10:10; John 15:16; Romans 7:4; Philippians 1:11; Colossians 1:10.
- Abraham was promised incredible physical fruitfulness through Isaac.
- We are promised abundant spiritual fruitfulness through God working in our lives.
- In Romans 7:4, Paul writes, “you died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”
- In John 10:10, Jesus says that following Him will allow us to experience abundant life.
- This new life that God given us is intended to allow us to live in a way that brings glory to God through the fruitfulness that He produces in our lives.
THE FOCUS POINT: Who I really am determines how I act.
- We’ve talked about a lot of ideas within this sermon. The big one that I want to close with harkens back to the idea of our new identity.
- Abraham was given a new name and a new identity. We have been given a new name (“Christian”) and a new identity (“righteous, holy, called”).
- Going back to that verse I said was the most important reference to circumcision in the New Testament, our sinful nature has been taken away through what Christ did for us. Our identity has been changed.
- Let’s act like that. Know who we really are at our core and live out that identity.
- Don’t presume failure; expect victory.
