“We were wondering if you could shed a little more light on what Paul meant by the phrase, ‘the circumcision made without hands.’”

“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” (Col. 2:10,11).

According to the Abrahamic Covenant, the Israelites were to circumcise their male children on the eighth day. Normally the father performed this procedure, which made the little one a child of the covenant. Although circumcision did not save the child, it did give him a favorable position to enjoy the blessings of God, which included salvation. With one turn of the wheel, God often accomplishes a two-fold purpose. In addition to the religious rite of circumcision, the eighth day was significant in that the vitamin K content in the blood (clotting agent) is at its highest level during a lifetime.

The circumcision “made without hands” is an operation of God. This pertains to our spiritual circumcision in Christ. In short, the Father surgically removed our sins when Christ was cut off at the Cross. An understanding of this truth will enable us to live a deeper life in Christ knowing that our sins are forgiven.

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

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