“In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised with Him through the faith of the power of God, who has raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has resurrected together with Him, having forgiven you all sins. He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed authorities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:11-14

Why would anyone want to insist that it is necessary for a Christian to be circumcised and follow all the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament to be saved when believers are complete in Jesus and are blessed with all they need through their baptism into Christ Jesus?

Old Testament circumcision (Gen. 17) was a cutting away of the flesh, performed by human hands, which indicated that one had entered into God’s covenant with man in which God promised to send a Messiah and Savior of the descendants of Abraham to redeem fallen mankind. It signified that a man could not stand before God in the power of his own flesh, but only through the promised Seed of Abraham — through Jesus the Messiah.

Baptism in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; cf. Acts 2:38-39) has superseded and replaced circumcision as the sign and means of becoming a recipient of God’s covenant with man. But baptism is so much more.

Circumcision was performed by human hands. Baptism, though administered by the hands of a minister (any believer in the case of emergency), is a work of the Triune God and administered in His name. It is God’s work.

Baptism is called “the circumcision of Christ” because the one who is baptized into Christ is joined to Christ in His death and in His resurrection (cf. Rom. 6:1-11).

The sins and fallen nature of man (the sinful flesh) are crucified and buried with Christ in baptism; for Christ Jesus, on the cross, paid in full for the sins of the entire world. He died our death for us and took the just condemnation of God’s law in our place. “He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross” (Col. 2:14). Though God’s holy law condemned us, Jesus suffered our punishment that we might be forgiven and acquitted through faith in Christ Jesus.

Not only is the Christian joined with Christ in His death through baptism, having all his sins blotted out and washed away through Jesus’ sacrifice; he is also joined to Christ in His resurrection, so that as God raised up Jesus from the dead on the third day, after He had made atonement for the sins of all, so also He through the working of the Holy Spirit raises up to faith and new life those who are joined to Christ.

As Paul writes, “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has resurrected together with Him, having forgiven you all sins” (Col. 2:13).

In his letter to Titus, Paul writes by inspiration of God’s Spirit: “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of rebirth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, being justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7).

Thus, we see that through Baptism God washes away sins and grants His life-giving Spirit, who creates and strengthens faith in Christ Jesus. Our sinful flesh is cut away and nailed to the cross of Christ, and God’s Spirit creates in us a new heart which trusts in Christ and loves and serves the LORD God. Through baptism, God offers and gives us all the blessings that Jesus won for us on the cross, making them our own. In and through baptism, God offers and gives forgiveness of sins and life eternal in His Son, Jesus Christ!

Baptism is so much more than an outward profession of faith in Jesus. Rather, it is the means through which God joins us to Christ and graciously works to make all of the blessings won for us by Christ Jesus our own!

Therefore, if one has been baptized into Christ and has God’s forgiveness, His life-giving Spirit, and the certainty of life everlasting for Jesus’ sake, why would he want to go back to Old Testament circumcision and the old covenant, which pointed ahead to Christ and the salvation he has provided for all? Since He has been made alive and been made a child of God by God’s Spirit, why would he want to go back to the failed works of the flesh? In Baptism, Christians are united with Jesus and are complete in Him.

As Jesus said when He died on the cross for the sins of the world: “It is finished!” (John 19:30).

Thank You, gracious Father, for working through baptism to wash away our sins for Jesus’ sake and to raise us up to new life in fellowship with You through the gracious working of the Holy Spirit. Keep us in the true and saving faith unto life everlasting for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

[Scripture from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version, Copyright © 2024, 2017, 2014 by United Bible Association, Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.]