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Bible Notes - Tabernacle Commentaries
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Galatians 6:15
Comments
Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision have any significance in the kingdom of God for, although the rite was commanded by God, it was intended only as a picture to teach the world. No religious rite carried out by man can play any part in salvation, for it is done to the flesh which perishes and not to the soul which endures forever. Salvation can only come by an operation of the Spirit of God by which the soul is quickened to life and a new nature is created within us. The Judaizers attached significance to an operation performed in the flesh as if he could make a difference to their acceptance with God, for they saw God as one who looks not on the heart but on the outward appearance.If circumcision gives no advantage and uncircumcision gives no disadvantage, why did God punish those who failed to carry it out, and even threaten to kill Moses for failing to circumcise his child (Exodus 4:24-26)? Because, although it was not essential for salvation, it contained vital instruction for Israel, and therefore all those descended from Abraham were to receive the sign of the covenant. When Christ came, God by fresh revelation removed the obligation to be circumcised. Circumcision had served its purpose as a visual aid, but now needed to be set aside as something which possessed no intrinsic value and which was no longer appropriate in the age of the very image of things.‘But a new creature’. What is circumcision in comparison to this? What is the cutting off of part of the flesh of the body compared to God creating a new creature that did not exist before? Men can do the first; only God can do the second. The first takes away, the second adds something that did not exist before. This new nature is nothing like the old. It is created in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). This new man, created at the beginning of our Christian life, is the foundation of our sanctification. It can only do good, while the old nature can only do evil. The Christian possessing this new nature pities those who waste time and effort in pursuing what cannot profit, and feels envy on God’s behalf when he is robbed of the glory that ought to be his.
Application
Questions
Is it not unfair in making this comparison to treat circumcision as nothing more than a surgical act? Didn’t it stand for much more? Wasn’t the circumcision of the flesh meant to teach circumcision of the heart? Yes certainly, but the Judaizers understood none of this and trusted that the outward ceremony had power in itself. Paul’s comparison is between the false conception of the Judaizers and what God does in the heart. If it is necessary for God to do nothing less than create a new, spiritual nature within us, in order for us to become his children, then how pitiful are the hopes of those who trust for their salvation in a ritual like circumcision?
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