Colossians 2:8-12

(Colossians 2:8-12)

『Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:  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: 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. 』

Here, philosophy does not mean the philosophy of the world, but the idea of the law of the Jews. At the time the Apostle Paul was active, the Jews had three Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes, which they claim. The apostle Paul said these are "philosophy, vain deception, human inheritance, and the world's elementary school." The inheritance of man means the inheritance of elders in the Jews. The world's primary academic means the law. So, the apostle Paul said, "Be careful if you are being overthrown by these things." These are "not to follow Christ".

There are three circumcisions in the Bible. In the Old Testament, there are physical circumcision in which the male genital epidermis is removed, the second circumcision is Moses' circumcision in Deuteronomy, and the third is the circumcision of the heart spoken by the Apostle Paul in Romans. The third circumcision is the circumcision of Christ in the Colossians. Circumcision is all connected in the same context. It is gradually revealed to become the circumcision of the heart and the circumcision of Christ. The circumcision in Colossians said, "Circumcision not done by hand, that is, taking off the body of the flesh." In Deuteronomy 10:16

『Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. 』 Moses was speaking circumcision of the heart before the Israelites entered the land of Canaan. The apostle Paul also speaks of circumcision of the heart in Romans 2:29.『But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. 』

To know this, you must have a good understanding of circumcision. Formally, among the children born in Israel, the male child peels off the male genital epidermis in eight days. This circumcision was really important to the Israelites. Even Moses did not circumcise his son “for eight days after the birth of the child”, so God even tried to kill Moses in the wilderness. When God circumcised Abraham, he said, "It is a sign of the eternal covenant from generation to generation between me and you." In Genesis 12:1--3, God called Abram and said it would be the source of blessing. And go further in Genesis 22:18『And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. 』 The Bible tells of Abram's obedience to God's attempt to dedicate Isaac to the altar. And God said, "Through your seed, all the people of the world will be blessed."

This is the covenant of circumcision between God and Abraham. The “your seed” here is explained in Galatians 3:15-16.『Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 』

God, like Abraham, said to Isaac again, saying, "Through your seed, all the people of the world will be blessed." This means, "Through Jesus Christ, all the people of the world will be saved." The promise is, "You will be my people, and I will be your God." God went to Moses to get the people out of Egypt, and God said, "I will deliver them, and I will be their God and they will be my people." Eventually the Israelites came out of Egypt through the blood of the Passover lamb.
In Acts 26:18, the Apostle Paul『To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. 』 Salvation comes first from being delivered from the dark. That is why God buys the repentant in return for the blood of Jesus Christ (the Lamb) and comes from Satan's power (Pharaoh). This is redemption.

Circumcision marks the male genitalia, the male genitalia symbolizing seeds. The seed is the seed of “by your seed” that God says to Abraham. The seed promised to Abraham means Jesus Christ. Circumcision is a sign of "the one who is in Jesus Christ who will come." When the Israelites are circumcised, they are those in Jesus Christ, the seed of promise to come. This means being circumcised by the body. In other words, through sign, they believe that they are in the grace of God.

Moses also spoke of the circumcision of the heart, and the apostle Paul also said, “It is the circumcision of the heart that marks the promise of the seed in the heart. Jeremiah 31:33『But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 』 This new covenant means "It is not the same as the old covenant that God made before he delivered Israel out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan." It means that God breaks the old covenant and gives the new covenant.

Israel should have kept and practiced the old covenant. However, the new covenant is, "The Israelites believe what God is doing and put it in their hearts." Therefore, through Moses they are circumcised in the heart, leading to God. Leading to God in Jesus Christ has the same meaning. In Ezekiel 36:26『A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 』

At the time of Ezekiel, it was a time when Israel was destroyed and was driven out to all nations. Although the people of Israel are said to be God's people, the Bible says that they have been scattered by the immigrants and that God's name has fallen to the ground. It means "Israel will be God's people" by saving the name of God who fell on the ground and bringing Israel back to their homeland for God's holy name, washing the people with clear water (the Word), and breathing new spirit. . It wasn't God's people at this time. God consistently speaks in the Old Testament or the New Testament of Jesus Christ. Originally, not everyone was God's people, but everyone became God's people through Jesus Christ.

There is a slight difference between the gathering of the Israelites to their homeland and the incorporation of the law of the new covenant through Jesus Christ. Ezekiel's washing with fresh water and breathing new spirit means the restoration of Israel in the millennial kingdom after the Second Coming of Jesus. However, the new covenant by Jesus Christ is the word of the Holy Spirit of life after Jesus' first coming in all words to all the people of the world. However, the meaning of engraving on the mind ultimately has the same meaning. The circumcision of the heart is, "The law of the new covenant is written in our hearts, and it becomes the people of God in Jesus Christ through the Spirit of life, the corporate body of the new covenant."This is the circumcision of the mind.

The Bible said that Christ's circumcision is to take off the physical body. On the cross of Jesus Christ, to die together in association with death, and together with Jesus Christ to resurrection, to resurrect together in the new life (spirit body) is to take off the physical body. In Colossians 2:12, 『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. 』 Romans 6:3-5 says the same thing.『Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 』 This belief is "believing to die on the cross with Jesus Christ and to be resurrected with Christ". "Taking off the flesh" means "dying together on the cross." To die on the cross is to die to the law. If you do this, you are free from the law and liberated. God becomes my father, and I become God's people.