Monday – May 23, 2016
Praise the Lord for this is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24 (KJV)
24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
In Him, you and I are the biggest thing in the valley, on the mountain and everything in between. So, we can rejoice, we are more than conquerors and glad to accomplish the purposes of the Kingdom of God for His glory. Now let us pick-up again with our study from Colossians.
Colossians 2:9-12 (KJV)
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Last week I spent a lot of time discussing the idea of circumcision. The circumcision was initiated with Abraham and was prophetic symbolism of the putting off of sin in the flesh. This prophecy was fulfilled in Christ with the death of His flesh and spirit when He was made sin in our place. The Law of Sin (of the flesh-[corrupted mind]) and Death (of the spirit) was dealt with, we were given The Blessing (Holy Spirit) who convicts us and gives us a space of time for repentance before a judgment is rendered allowing the devil to steal, kill, and destroy in our lives.
Unsaved people are not going to hell for sin, they are going to hell for rejecting the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ. Jesus said: “ye must be born again.” (John 3:7)
John 3:3 (AMP)
3 Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (created, regenerated from above as from the first), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.
Being born again is the circumcision without hands and is accomplished by Christ, the Anointing (Holy Spirit). We are in an instant separated from the body of sin that weighted us down including the rejection of Messiah.
Ephesians 2:8-10 (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
When we believe God, which is faith in God, then Grace (Holy Spirit) of God quickens or makes our dead spirit man alive, alive to spiritual things especially the Word of God. The circumcision of Abraham was affirmation of The Blood Covenant on behalf of all persons. The circumcision was a sign (token) of the Covenant between Abraham, and all persons who would chose to enter, and God. This Blood Covenant assured, set the legal foundation for the coming of the Messiah and the redemption for all peoples, Jew and Gentile alike. The Jewish people are referred to as “the circumcision” and the sign of circumcision was a constant reminder for them (Jews) and God that the Messiah was coming through the Jew. The faith of Abraham sealed it, God was obligated and in the fullness of time the Messiah indeed did come and His name was Jesus. When Jesus came and paid the price of sin by His death (physically and spiritually), His decent into Hell defeating the devil, preaching the gospel in the bosom of Abraham, and His resurrection and restoration to the Godhead there was no longer a need for physical circumcision. The covenant between Abraham and God was fulfilled. This covenant did not come to an end with all that happen at Calvary and thereafter, this is an eternal Covenant. Since Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son that he loved (Genesis 22) then God had to be willing to sacrifice His only Son whom He loved.
The Blood Covenant that would replace animal sacrifice (started in the Garden [Genesis 3:21]) was ratified, completed by Jesus and He said from the Cross; “it is finished” (John 19:30). We now have a circumcision of the heart meaning that the worldly part of our mind is to be thrown away. The Holy Spirit separates us from the spiritual consequences of our unrenewed mind (devilish, worldly) at salvation but then it is our responsibly to renew our mind with the Word of God. This is the law of displacement in action. The body does not do anything the mind has not done first therefore the Scriptural instruction, command, to renew our minds to the Word of God.
Romans 12:2 (KJV)
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Before I finish today I want to point out a little Biblical numerology from Genesis 3:21 and John 19:30. Genesis is the first (1) book of the Bible with one meaning unity, three is resurrection or divine completeness, and twenty-one is the exceeding sinfulness of sin. So with the first blood covenant using innocent animals the exceeding sinfulness of sin could be hidden, covered, providing temporary and limited unity and completeness with God. On the other hand John is the fourth book of the New Testament and four is the number of authority and power. Nineteen is the number of faith, and thirty is the number of the Blood of Christ. So with the sacrifice of Jesus we have by faith in that Blood complete and eternal restoration of the authority and power God gave to man in the beginning.
By Pastor David R. Wood
