Circumcision
Circumcision is a ceremony established in the Old Testament as a sign of the covenant between God and His people. It involves the removal of a part of the male body as a physical mark of the covenant. In the New Testament, it was replaced by baptism, also known as the “circumcision of Christ.” Circumcision is still practiced today in religions such as Judaism and Islam.
Origin and Meaning
When God made a covenant with Abraham concerning his descendants and inheritance, He commanded circumcision as the sign of that covenant. Typically, male infants were circumcised on the eighth day after birth.[1] Jesus Himself was circumcised on the eighth day, in accordance with the Law.[2]
Every male among you shall be circumcised . . . it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.
Since God commanded circumcision, every male descendant of Abraham was required to be circumcised in order to be recognized as one of God’s people.[3] Later, under the Law of Moses, established several centuries after Abraham, it was also required that a man be circumcised before he could partake in the Passover, one of God’s appointed feasts.[4] In the Old Testament times, circumcision was one of the essential signs that marked someone as part of God’s people.
Circumcision in the Old Testament Is Baptism in the New Testament
From Circumcision to Baptism
In the New Testament era, through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, the Law of Moses, including circumcision, was reestablished as the perfect Law of Christ.[5][6] As a result, the Old Testament circumcision was replaced with baptism in the New Testament. Jesus began His ministry of the New Covenant gospel by setting the example of baptism, which New Testament believers are to follow.[7] To be recognized as God’s people in the New Testament, it is no longer the physical circumcision done by human hands that is required, but the circumcision of Christ, baptism, which is done without hands.
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, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
In union with Christ you were circumcised, not with the circumcision that is made by human beings, but with the circumcision made by Christ, which consists of being freed from the power of this sinful self. For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ through your faith in the active power of God, who raised him from death.
In the Old Testament, Abraham received the blessing of inheriting the land of Canaan by obeying God’s calling and choosing.[8][9] Later, his physical descendants, the Israelites who were circumcised, entered and possessed Canaan. In the New Testament times, those who are baptized in Christ are recognized as Abraham’s spiritual descendants and will inherit the spiritual Canaan, Heaven.[10]
The Passover and Circumcision
God commanded His people to keep the Passover and promised many blessings through it. In the Old Testament, circumcision was a necessary prerequisite for keeping the Passover.[4] When the Israelites, after the Exodus, crossed the Jordan River and arrived at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, God commanded them to be circumcised. This was because those born during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness had not yet been circumcised.[11] After receiving circumcision, the Israelites kept the Passover and were blessed to enter the land of Canaan.[12] Just as only those who had been circumcised could keep the Passover in the Old Testament, in the New Testament as well, only those who have received the circumcision of Christ, baptism, can participate in the Passover ceremony.
The Circumcision Controversy in the Apostolic Age
Issues and Resolution
In the early Church during the Apostolic Age, some Jewish believers had not yet fully understood the perfect Law of Christ. They insisted on holding to the Law of Moses and claimed that even Gentile believers needed to be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas, who were leading the Gentile believers in the Church at Antioch, went to Jerusalem to resolve the issue.[13] The apostles and elders gathered in Jerusalem and, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, held a council. At the end of the meeting, they wrote a letter stating that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. This declaration, delivered by Paul’s group, clearly affirmed that circumcision was no longer necessary.[14] Even afterward, whenever the issue of circumcision arose again due to pressure from Jewish believers, the apostle Paul responded with letters, repeatedly emphasizing that circumcision was no longer required.[15][16]
Mutilators of the Flesh
Even though the apostles repeatedly taught and wrote that baptism, not circumcision, was now required, there were still some who insisted that circumcision must continue. Apostle Paul referred to them as the mutilators of the flesh. The term literally means circumcision that damages the flesh. It was Paul’s way of belittling the physical circumcision practiced by those who stubbornly clung to the old law, even in the New Testament era.
| Bible | Philippians 3:2 |
|---|---|
| NIV | Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. |
| King James Version | Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. |
| Good News Translation | Watch out for those who do evil things, those dogs, those who insist on cutting the body. |
See also
References
- ↑ "Leviticus 12:2–3".
- ↑ "Luke 2:21–22".
- ↑ "Genesis 17:10-14".
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Exodus 12:43-48".
- ↑ "Colossians 2:13-14".
- ↑ "Matthew 5:17".
- ↑ "Mark 1:1-9".
- ↑ "Genesis 12:1-3".
- ↑ "Genesis 15:7".
- ↑ "Galatians 3:27-29".
- ↑ "Joshua 5:2–5".
- ↑ "Joshua 5:10–12".
- ↑ "Acts 15:1-2".
- ↑ "Acts 15:23–29".
- ↑ "1 Corinthians 7:19".
- ↑ "Galatians 5:2-4".