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Read Introduction to Colossians

 

“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”

 

by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh

Some call the “flesh” the sin nature, but it may be better to name it capacity rather than nature. The word “body” then refers to the sin capacity of the Christian. It is that faculty that produces lusts and personal sins. Jesus put off that faculty from us judicially, which is the source of our sin. 

“Putting off” means to strip off clothes. Because of our position with Christ, Jesus took off the body of our sin like a suit of clothes at Christ’s death. This “putting off” is an entire judicial strip of the sins of the flesh.

The Greek noun for “putting off” refers to the death of Christ. God put off our sins of the flesh at the moment we exercised faith in the death of Christ to forgive sins. Jesus destroyed all that we were in Adam. God identified us with Christ in his death.

by the circumcision of Christ

Jesus executed our spiritual circumcision positionally upon the cross.

PRINCIPLE:

Jesus spiritually circumcised our sin capacity upon the cross.

APPLICATION:

Jesus not only dealt with our sins on the cross, but he also destroyed the factory that produces sin– the sin capacity. This fact does not mean that God eradicates our sin capacity. It means that the principle of our sin capacity died when Christ died (Romans 6). Because we positionally died to sin, we are free to deal with what Christ already judged. An understanding of this principle is a key to Christian living. Positional truth is the basis for our victory; it is not victory over practicing sin itself. Positional truth means that God views us as dead and risen in Christ. It constitutes a milestone of spiritual experience in the Christian life when the believer himself begins to consider himself this way.

Do you take by faith the work of Christ for you? Do you try to live the Christian life by operation bootstraps? We cannot live the Christian way of life by legalism.

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