Lesson 34 Washing at the Cross: Circumcised with Christ, Illustrated
Questions 6 and 7
I lived this way for many years as a professing Christian, possibly you have, too. And this is the very reason Paul writes, “you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do” and “that is not the way you learned Christ!”
In Ephesians 4:22-24, we are given three specific things we are to do as children of God to live out our identity:
Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires (Ephesians 4:22). Since our old person was circumcised at the cross, we are to put it off and discard it.
Be renewed in the spirit of your minds (Ephesians 4:23). We are to be in the Word, asking the Spirit of God to renew our minds, experiencing that change in thinking that comes from reading and applying it. 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 like an old, worn-out coat, and we are to put on the new person, like a fresh and clean jacket.
Question 6. Thinking through the above three things God tells us to do, which one of them resonates with you right now as something significant for you personally?
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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 made us free in Christ!
Now we are to live like who we are. We are to make our walk match our identity. How foolish for slaves who have been freed to live like they are yet in bondage! For prisoners set free to live as if they are in chains! We are to put off the old self, renew our minds, and put on the new person, daily, by the Spirit of God.
Question 7. Are you seeing and believing the cross as the means of changing your heart? Are you beginning to have hope that you can be free from the power and control of sin? Please share your thoughts with your mentor, and they will pray for you and encourage you with their own story from God’s Word.
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Here is a video teaching from Mike Cleveland on this very topic!