The truth is that at the cross, God circumcised our whole self that was ruled by the flesh. While we still have flesh, we are set free from its domination. While we still have the presence of sin with us, at the cross Jesus broke the power of sin in the life of every believer.
Our circumcision at the cross is significant because it indicates our new identity. This is far different than merely raising our hands or walking an aisle indicating some decision we made, this circumcision shows that we have experienced a dramatic cutting of our hearts, a circumcision of our old nature, a deep and fundamental change in who we are.
The living out of this circumcision in our daily life is a progressive realization, an ongoing experience of the power of the cross. The Bible tells us that we are to now live like who we are, to live in our new identity.
For example, in Ephesians 4:22-24, we are given three specific things we are to do as children of God to live out our identity as those who have been cut in the heart:
Put off the old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires (Ephesians 4:22). The old person was circumcised at the cross, we are free to discard it.
Be renewed in the spirit of your minds (Ephesians 4:23). We are to be in the Word, coming often to the cross, asking the Spirit of God to renew our minds. In so doing, we begin to experience the change in thinking that comes from reading and applying the gospel. We are to let the truth of God’s Word replace the lies of this world.
Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24).
There is a "change of clothes" that needs to happen with the Christian. We are to put off our old self as we would discard a stinky, old coat; and we are to put on the new person, like a fresh and clean jacket. This is a progressive living out of the circumcised life so that our very lives become illustrations of what happened at the cross.
Christian leaders are to be like the dressing room attendant at a department store: when we teach, preach, or counsel, our role includes helping others take off their old person and put on the new.
Question 5. Thinking through the above three things God tells us to do, which one of them resonates as something significant for you personally?
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Miles writes, "All 3 resonate profoundly with me. I knew and loved God, Jesus, and the Gospel but I loved my evil deeds, even more, I did try to put off my old self but my sinful desires overcame me and I was enslaved for decades, filling myself up not with the good but the evil. God loved me so much He rescued me again from my shame. Now for the last 9 months, I go to the cross daily and crucify my sinful nature, renew my mind in his word daily and with Christian radio and preaching as I work and God is transforming me daily into his image."
Dear friend, all believers have been circumcised at the cross of Christ. Our old self who loved to sin, that old nature that was in bondage has been cut off, rolled away, and discarded. “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” (Colossians 2:11 NIV). This happened at the hill of Golgotha, the place of the skull, the cross of Jesus Christ. This made us free in Christ!
Disciples of Jesus Christ are those who have been cut in the heart at the sight of the cross, and who are now learning to live like who we are. We are learning to make our walk match our identity.
Question 6. Are you seeing and believing that the message of the cross is the means of cutting/changing your heart and the hearts of others?
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Rick writes, “This study on cutting the heart, the circumcision of our old sinful life is new to me. Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be born again. He had been circumcised as a newborn physically, so we have to be circumcised spiritually in our new life with Christ. Our old sinful lives have been "cut off". We are not dominated by sin anymore. We have the Holy Spirit living and guiding our lives now.”
Miles writes, "Yes, My wife and I are both transforming and being made new every day and we ask God to use our testimony and the blood of Jesus to help us present the gospel to others."