devotion:spiritual circumcision;transformation to the new man

May 16th

Spiritual Circumcision

¹¹In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,¹²buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. Colossians 2:11-12 NKJV

¹¹Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. Romans 6:11-12 NKJV

¹If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.²Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.³For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3 NKJV

These passages discuss the transformation that occurs when we place faith in Jesus Christ. This transformation is a type of spiritual “circumcision” of our hearts. This circumcision sets us apart from other people in two key ways. First, our old “body of the sins of the flesh” is put off by Jesus. It is buried with Jesus through baptism. Second, through faith in Jesus we are resurrected to live as a new person with a new nature that desires to serve God and not sin.

Both of these spiritual “transactions” occur through our faith in Jesus. Paul described this as reckoning with Jesus in Romans 6:11 (above). Though we may not feel any different after placing faith in Jesus, we believe that we are in fact changed. As we move on that belief we discover that we are in fact different.

Our responsibility from that point on is to make daily choices to continue putting off our old body of sin (which is buried) by not feeding lust or any other sinful activity, and to then to train our minds on Jesus Christ. Learning to train the mind to think on God and not carnal things can be challenging at first, but it is certainly possible. As we do so, we receive the inward renewal and transformation that empowers us to truly live as Jesus did and reach our full created potential in Christ.

Questions for further thought:

What was circumcision used to signify in the Old Testament? (Genesis 17:11)
If sin is not to reign in our mortal bodies, who or what should reign? (Romans 6:12, Romans 8:9, 2 Corinthians 10:5)
What will it mean in your life to “seek those things which are above”?

Prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I believe that you died for my sins and were resurrected so I may be alive to you and live in accordance with the Holy Spirit. Lord I reckon my old sinful life dead and buried with you in baptism. I reckon myself alive to you by the power of the Holy Spirit. I present my body, soul and spirit to you as instruments for righteous and not for sin. Lord, please help me to see the reality of these spiritual transactions as I move forward. Please lead me and train me in making choices to follow you from this point forward. In your holy name I pray, Amen.”

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