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Signs and Tokens - part 2 of 3 (Amplified Bible—unless otherwise specified) While God set forth the rainbow as a visible token of His covenant never again to destroy the earth with a flood, His next covenantal sign required man’s humble, obedient and submissive participation. Of Abraham and his descendents, God mandated an actual cutting away of flesh through the act of circumcision: “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your posterity after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token or sign of the covenant (the promise or pledge), between Me and you…and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant” {Gen 17:11-13}. Following His pattern of working first in the natural and then the spiritual, God required of Abraham a physical circumcision to serve as a visible sign of his covenantal relationship with the Almighty. As creations of a spiritual birth we bear the inward evidence of a circumcised heart: “And if you belong to Christ (are in Him, Who is Abraham’s Seed), then you are Abraham’s offspring, and (spiritual) heirs according to the promise.” {Gal 3:29}. To Nicodemus Jesus explained, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” {John 3:6 KJV}. Those who are truly born again “were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” {John 1:13 KV}. Heart circumcision than manifests itself through the cutting away of our fleshly (carnal) nature that we may live (inwardly and outwardly) according to the dictates of the Holy Spirit. How often are the deeds which we deem to be “good works” actually works of the flesh, the product of an uncircumcised heart which seeks to please God with the fruit of its own making? “And a certain ruler asked him saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that is, God” {Luke 18:18-19 KJV}. Jesus then indicated only that which is of God is truly good. In his own defense, the ruler recited the commandments he had obeyed. “And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up” {v. 21}. When Jesus called for evidence of heart circumcision, the man went away sorrowful, for he desired the rewards of eternal life without surrender to its personal requirements. Heart circumcision is always a personal and private matter. The Lord continues to call, “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe and delight in my ways” {Pro 23:26}. When the vacillating self quandaries, “Dare I trust Him with my heart?” the spirit man declares, “I have and I must continue to do so.” In the midst of meditating about heart circumcision, I sensed the Holy Spirit bring to my mind the phrase “proud flesh,” and I remembered my grandmother using the term to describe the red, puffy growth which often accompanies a wound such as an ingrown nail. Even the description clarions spiritual comparisons, “red” signifying the anger with which we seek to cover the depth of our wounds, “puffiness” indicating our self-efforts at avoiding exposure, and “in-growth” designating the misdirected focus on self which lies at the root of the wound. Proud flesh, also called false healing, is a superficial growth which bleeds easily but which can be prevented by immediate attention being given to the site of a wound. When we allow spiritual and emotional wounds to fester, they produce eruptions of anger stemming from the poison of rejection, bitterness, and unforgiveness. At the same time we refuse to expose ourselves to God’s cutting yet comforting Word and to His revealing yet healing Holy Spirit. The best care for proud flesh is prevention, the exposure and treatment of a wound immediately after it occurs. Admittedly, dealing with offenses is painful, but left to fester, they infect our lives. “Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another” {Gal 5:26}. May we take heed lest we become members of the body of Christ whose lives fester from unhealed wounds. We must allow God’s Spirit access to our wounds, whether old or fresh, that we may be healed. Exposure requires humility, the antithesis of proud flesh. While confession and repentance must first be made to God, some healing occurs only as we expose our wounds to the light of Christ’s life in others. “Confess to one another therefore you faults—your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins; and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored—to a spiritual tone of mind and heart” {James 5:16a}. At Gilgal, the entrance into the promised land, Joshua circumcised those who had been born in the wilderness, and the Passover was reinstituted {Joshua 5:2-10}. In order to enter our inheritance, we must submit to Jesus, our Joshua, and we must feast on Him. “Purge (clean out) the old leaven that you may be fresh (new) dough, still uncontaminated…for Christ, our Passover [Lamb] has been sacrificed” {I Cor 5:7}. Allowing Him to live His Life through us is a continual and progressive work. Though initially an invisible heart transformation, the outward manifestation of Christ’s indwelling becomes increasingly evident as we permit Christ’s Word and Spirit to cut off our fleshly efforts to please man (others and ourselves). “For neither is circumcision [now] of any importance, nor uncircumcision, but [only] a new creation [the result of a new birth and a new nature in Christ Jesus, the Messiah]” {Gal 6:15}. Only as our hearts are circumcised can we partake of Christ, our Passover Lamb for “… no uncircumcised person shall eat of it” {Ex 12:48}. -Ruth French
May Newsletter 2002 | Latter Rain Outpouring part 2 of 2 | Talking to God Pastor's Journal May 2001 | Ministry-Minded part 1 of 2 | Signs and Tokens part 2 of 3 |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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