"Circumcision of Christ"

Leave what is cutoff behind you.

Colossians 2:11-12

Bible Passage

Colossians 2:11-12 (ESV - English Standard Version)

11In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

12having 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.

1

HOOK (Grab Attention)

Illustration

What would you say is a "life changing event"?

If you were ran over by an 18-wheeler, it would be life changing.

There would be no denying that it happened in your life.

Some would even dare to say that you might be a changed person, in some capacity...

You might look different

You might sound different

You might react to things differently

You might think about life differently, in general

An event of this nature would definitely impact you in life-altering manner

2

BOOK

Bible Passage

Colossians 2:11 (ESV - English Standard Version)

11In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

Explanation

Circumcision was of MOST importance in the Abrahamic Covenant.

If the male children were not circumcised, you were cutoff from the people

It was the evidence that you were living in covenant with YAHWEH

that you were believing, trusting, and following YAHWEH at His Word.

It was the sign that you and your family belonged to YAHWEH

He is your God and you are His people.

"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"

We EACH were given a SIGN of circumcision IN CHRIST

What is that SIGN??

the putting off of the body of flesh.

Those people who are genuinely "born again" are changed SPIRITUALLY and that SPIRIT CHANGE shows up in PHYSICAL CHANGE.

You DO NOT live in the way that you once lived.

"...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."

Your baptism is the "sign of the New Covenant" in Christ, in the same way circumcision was in the OT.

You have been BURIED with him in baptism.

Your old person has been crucified with Christ and buried with Christ.

Illustration

Baptism:

buried with Christ

raised to newness of life

Baptism is an act of spiritual warfare.

It is water, but water means something in the unseen realm.

Like we mentioned during our baptism service a few months back:

Baptism is a representation of Jesus going down into Hades and declaring the victory of the Gospel

I believe that every time someone is genuinely baptized, it is firing shots at the enemy and reminding them of the VICTORY of Christ in His crucifixion and resurrection.

Bible Passage

Colossians 2:12 (ESV - English Standard Version)

12having 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.

Explanation

Not only has your OLD PERSON been BURIED WITH CHRIST, you were RAISED WITH HIM!!

you WERE buried

you are BEING buried

you WILL BE buried

Raised with HIM:

you WERE raised

you are BEING raised

you WILL BE raised with HIM

The Life of Christ is being multiplied in us to the World (cosmos)...

We are "raised through faith in the powerful working of God..."

"powerful working of God"

"ener-gai-ah" = energy, efficiency, superhuman power of God

The "new resurrection life" that you and I have been given, is the same resurrection life that Jesus has

The SAME POWER that resurrected Jesus is resurrecting you and me!

We are NOT pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps...

3

LOOK

Application

PRACTICAL QUESTIONS:

When you think back and look at your life before Christ, is that LIFE OF FLESH, cutoff from you today??

Has your heart been circumcised of the FLESH and of the WORLD??

Has your life TRULY been BURIED with Christ??

Have you been raised with CHRIST and walking in newness of life??

When you look back at your life, is your life DIFFERENT because of CHRIST??

or does it seem pretty much the same as before??

Are you "a changed person"?

Do you look MORE like Christ now than you did:

Days ago?

weeks ago?

months ago?

years ago?

4

TOOK

Challenge Application

Take an inventory of your life and compare it to Christ.

If there TRULY has been a "circumcision made without hands" in your life, don't carry around what is dead with you.

When something is cut out of your life, don't keep what is dead with you as a souvenir...

Leave it behind.

It has no benefit to you.

There is NO LIFE IN IT.

It will bear the fragrance of death...

How many of you have smelled something dead on the side of the road?

It puts off a foul odor

Staying near something dead that isn't properly buried, will put you at severe risk of disease.

What will our lives look like if we were to bury the "souvenirs" and instead of holding on to them, we embrace what has been raised in Christ?

How do we do this?

Confess to Jesus that you have been holding on to what He cut out of your life.

Ask Him to help you embrace Christ and the life that he has raised you to walk in.

Jesus coming into your life is a life-changing experience.

When Jesus makes changes, they add up to Scripture.

Embrace and trust what it is that He is changing in you.

PRAYER