Paul's
warning to those with limited sight or vision.
Galatians
2:7
"But
contrariwise, when they (the leadership of the Jerusalem
Jewish assembly) saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was
committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;"
How
many classes of people do you have? Two! Paul and Barnabas were the
Apostles of the uncircumcision or the Gentiles / nations and in some
places called the sea. And Peter, on the other hand, with James and
John and the other of the disciples, were the Apostles of the
circumcision, or to the nation of Israel. Why do you suppose Jesus chose the
twelve inside of Israel? Because they were to be the Apostles of
Israel. That’s why He told them not to go to the Gentiles in
Matthew 10:5. Why do you supposed He chose Saul of Tarsus out
side the city gates of Jerusalem and Demascus? To be the Apostle Paul outside of Israel. Because he was to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. And so
all of this just fits together. But what I'm trying to show you here
is the terminology, “the uncircumcision”, is the non-Jewish world
of which we are a part. The circumcision is made of the Jewish world.
Ephesians
2:11b
"….who
are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in
the flesh made hands."
In
other words, the Hebrews would refer to the Gentiles as uncircumcised
dogs.
Ephesians
2:12
"That
at that time (while God was dealing with the circumcision,
Israel) ye (uncircumcision, Gentile, nations) were
without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and
strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without
God in the world:"
That
was the lot of the Gentile world. Because God was dealing primarily
with Israel during the first 1500 years or so. But the day came when
Israel rejected everything, and God turned to the Gentile nations or
the vast Sea of humanity, the world through this apostle. In other words
there was a flip-flop that took place, which was unseen and unknown,
to a large part of humanity. Come back to Colossians chapter 2 and
I'm going to try and take this slow enough that I don’t leave
everybody totally confused. Let’s look at Colossians chapter 2 and
verse 13. Keep in mind that I am NOT doing this in my own strength
but through the resurrected LORD within me.
Colossians
2:13a
"And
you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh,…."
I
can tie the two verses together. Why were they dead in their sins? Because
they were outside the covenants of Israel, outside the citizenship or
commonwealth of Israel, was Paul's term, they were Gentiles. And so
this is what Paul is saying – This was our past. But in verse 11
the circumsion can be tied to Deuteronomy 10:14-19 with enphasise on
verse 16 and Jeremiah 4:4. We were dead spiritually, mostly because
we were Gentiles and were outside the covenant promises on first
glance. And so as the uncircumcised physically, we were dead
spiritually but what has God done? He’s quickened us. He’s made
us alive. What has happened? This is what He wants to happen to
Israel also but will they allow it to happen as a nation? NO! But as
an individual it is a different story and this will continue to until
the 144,000 are sealed by God. This sealing by God makes them as
virgins unto the LORD, untouchable in all respects, because this is a special dispensational peroid of short duration of 2X3-1/2 years each for a total of 7 years. They will
evangelise Israel and then the Nations during the tribulation and
geater tribulation period.
Colossians
2:11a
"In
whom (Christ) also ye are circumcised with the
circumcision made without hands,…."
What
is he talking about? A spiritual circumcision with which the flesh
had nothing to do with (mans hands, as they could not touch the inner man). God alone does
this work through His Gospel as we have already seen. The Lord must
have instituted circumcision in the flesh as a simlitude, metaphor,
knowing that the day would come when it would be the perfect example
of spiritual circumcision and mans re-birthing by that circumcision. This is what happens
when we rightly divide the word of Truth and part take of the Lord's
Supper on through His and our ascension in a worthy fashion. The
revelation like Peter was the example of when Jesus told him that the
Father had revealed to him who Jesus was, the Messiah-Christ of
humanity, not Israel only. This can be seen in the answers to His
question given through the disciples. For it is in it that our
circumcision takes place. The exchange of the old Adam-Satan nature
of antichrist, for the God-child nature restored to us spiritually.
In other words it is of greater value because with it comes the
promised Eternal Life of Christ. This hiden secret of Genesis 3:15.
That which raised Him from the grave and the dead. And this is what
we’re going to see in these two verses. So now then, we who in the
flesh, are uncircumcised, in the spirit we are now circumcised, not
the fleshly circumcision, but a spiritual one. And that simply means
that God has done something spiritually that was a good example of
that which was practiced in Israel physically. And that was cutting
off that which is superfluous or no longer needful. That’s the
whole concept. When a Hebrew has receive this circumsion he is no
longer married to the Law of Moses with all of its many trappings of
mans traditions. He is become devorced and betrothed to Christ Jesus
the LORD, as are all others of us who have received Him into our
flesh in the same process.
Now
I want to look at Deuteronomy 10 and verses 12-20 and in particular
verse 16 and the Jeremaih 4:4: Deuteronomy 10:14-20 “Israel,
what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your
God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD
your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to
keep the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which He
commanded you this day for your good? Behold, the heaven and the
heaven of heavens is
the LORD'S your God, the earth with all that is therein.
Only the LORD had a
delight in your fathers to love them, and He chose their seed after
them, you above all people, as it
is this day.
Circumcise
therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
For the LORD your God is
God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a
terrible, which regards not persons, nor takes reward: He executes
the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger, in
giving him food and raiment. Love therefore the stranger: for you
were strangers in the land of Egypt. You will fear the LORD your God;
Him will you serve, and to Him will you cleave, and swear by His
name.”
Now
hear what Jeremiah says: 4:3-4 “Thus says the
LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, break up your fallow ground*,
and sow not among thorns. Circumcise
yourselves to the LORD, and *take
away the foreskins of your heart,
you men of Judah and
inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn
that none can quench, because of the evil of your doings.”
For
us as believers, what did God cut off that is now superfluous? The
old Adam-Satan nature! The old Adamic sin nature has been cut off,
the inner man, the voice of deception bent on deceiving through
denying Christ His rightful place. This is the anti-Christ and the
false prophet that so many listen to. They've been crucified within
the deadness of our soul which now belongs to Christ, His residency.
This is the whole idea of these two verses – that yes, in the flesh
we are uncircumcised, we as Gentiles. But spiritually we’ve been
circumcised by virtue of the old Adam-Satan nature being crucified in the
flesh where Christ was cut off, and is no longer something that we have to
deal with as far as Eternity is concerned because it has been done by
God Himself. The very thing that the men of Israel could not do on
their own, nor could we as Gentiles. In other words Christ's own ontological essence now lives within us again as seen in Genesis 2.(Gal. 2:20)
The
two verses 11 and 13 are dealing with circumcision and our being dead
in sins, but now we are circumcised spiritually, the heart / soul or
inward parts and we have been made Alive Spiritually quickened. So
come back with me to verse 11 and 13 and let’s read verse 13 again
first. In the passages above the LORD God knew that the men of Israel
could not and indeed would not do as He directed them. It was beyond
their limited power, they did not have a vision (in Proverbs 28:18,
vision means; the ability to see beyond the physical present) or
understanding. To have No knowledge of. And therefore they were to perish as
Hosea 4:6 said for a lack of knowledge. In fact Hosea has some very
harsh things to say, it would do well to listen to him there.
Hopefully this will help to see what Paul is driving at in these
verses.
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