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The Circumcision of Christ.
[January 1.]
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY God, who madest thy blessed Son to be
circumcised, and obedient to the law for man; Grant us the true circumcision of
the Spirit; that, our hearts, and all our members, being mortified from all
worldly and carnal lusts, we may in all things obey thy blessed will; through
the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Wherefore remember, that ye being in time
past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is
called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were
without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the
blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken
down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the
enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in
himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came
and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For
through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye
are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and
of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the
building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom
ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:11-22)
Today, in accordance with the western
calendar, we observe the beginning of a New Year. This is not the beginning of
the year as mandated in Holy Scripture, for it begins at the season of Spring
the first day of the Hebrew month of Nisan. And the LORD spake unto Moses
and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year
to you. (Ex
12:1-2) (see also Deut 16:1 for Abib which is now Nisan). This month of Nisan was the
month of the Passover (14th). It was the ecclesiastical New Year in
the Bible. It has been suggested as the month of Christ’s birth, therefore we
celebrate Christmas some nine months later.
We have been recently reading from the
Gospel of John and his Epistles about what John calls “in the beginning.” This
beginning relates to the Space-Time-Matter continuum that defines our
understanding of the created universe. Any day of our lives, however, is a new
beginning. If we arbitrarily choose January 1st to be our reference
point for a New Year, so be it. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives
on earth not unlike every beginning day.
Christ was in the beginning of the
Creation of God, but He was also the Creation itself. Today we observe in the
Gospel text the Circumcision of Christ. This will formalize His legal reception
into the Household of Israel, and the putting off of sin. Just as our Lord
needed not to be baptized into newness of life (for He had eternal life in Him),
He neither needs the circumcision in the flesh for He was without sin; but
Christ will acknowledge and endure every stipulation of the law as an example
and enlightenment to us. His Creation of the world (John
1:1-3) was a new
beginning. His circumcision represents a new beginning, and His baptism also
reflects a new beginning. In reality, His baptism replaces the circumcision for
us. Our true life in eternity began at our baptism at which we publicly
proclaim, or have it proclaimed for us, our newness of life in Christ.
We now turn to today’s Epistle from
Ephesians to get an understanding of what the new circumcision means in our own
lives and in Christ. In this epistle to the people of faith of Ephesus, Paul
refers to them as ‘saints.’ This is consistent with the fact that none of us
can merit our salvation through our good works, but only by the unmerited grace
of God. After coming to Christ, we are washed clean of our sins and are
considered, on the merits of Christ, to be saints – not in the sense that we
are to be venerated as in the case of Rome – but considered righteous in the
eyes of God based on the Redemption made available in Christ.
How are we identified today as the people
of God? We were once considered people of the Uncircumcision – the unwashed,
the unbaptized, and the unholy. We were strangers to God because He was unknown
to us. How has that status changed in Christ?
Wherefore remember, that ye
being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that
which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time
ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and
strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the
world. We were Gentiles in the past years because we were aliens to the
commonwealth of Israel. We were
strangers to God and not entitled to the covenants and promises made available
to the people of God (Israel). Being forlorn and without hope, our lives were
impoverished by ignorance, darkness, violence, and shame. Being without God in
the world is tantamount to being without God in eternity. How sad was our
state!
But
now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of
Christ. Thank God for this ‘BUT!’
The ‘buts’ in scripture signify a reversal. Now Naaman, captain of the
host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable,
because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty
man in valour, but he was a
leper. (2
Kings 5:1)
Naaman was a fairly nice, well-to-do gentleman BUT he had a problem. He had a
deadly, odorous, humiliating disease. Notice the contrary side of the coin in
Christ. We were a destitute, diseased and dying people. We had the deadly,
odorous and humiliating disease of sin, BUT Christ has made us whole! We are no
longer aliens and foreigners to the commonwealth of Israel, but are now brought
nigh by the blood of Christ! We have become naturalized citizens of the
Household of God through the process of adoption of sons and daughters.
Those adopted into God’s family enjoy every privilege of the natural children
and, in most cases, far greater, for He has called us the true children of
Isaac by way of God’s promise. Those who were considered the Household of
Israel by accident of birth and genealogy, and who rejected the Lord, are no
longer the children of promise. They yet have the privilege of returning to God
by the reception of His only Begotten Son as their Lord and Savior. This
promise in Isaac is open alike to all peoples.
For
he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall
of partition between us. In the Temple a stone wall separated the court of
the Gentiles from the Holy Place. It was certain death to cross that wall. The
real wall separating us from God is the wall of sin. Sin separates us from God
and from those, even, that we love. Christ is not our peacemaker, but peace
itself to us. He has not become our means
of observance of the Passover, but the Passover itself to us. He has not become
our means of Rest (Sabbath)
but our Sabbath itself (for in Him we have rest from our labors if it is He who
works in us). For now there is no dividing line between Jew or Gentile, male or
female, bond or free – for all are One in Christ Jesus.
Having
abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in
ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.
Christ has not annulled any Commandments of God but those ordinances in the
commandments of men that enforced a division between the worldly Israel and the
worldly Gentiles, making them One in Christ if they be His in Spirit and in
Truth. Christ fulfilled the Laws of God and made them even more binding in
love. The spiritual pride that would divide across stone walls has been
demolished by Christ to those who receive Him. The stone tablets upon which the
commandments of God were written have been abolished – but not the Commandments
themselves. They are, rather, now written on the soft sinews of our hearts. The
popular notion that the Commandments of God were” nailed to the cross” is a
seditious lie! It is still a grievous sin to commit murder, adultery, bear
false witness, to covet, to steal, or to have other gods before God. How
ridiculous to have it preached that these Commandments are no longer binding.
How can the believing Jews and Gentiles be ONE new man? It is because all
believers are One in Christ Jesus. It was the ordinances of the commandments that were nailed to the
cross.
And
that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain
the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and
to them that were nigh. There is no chosen people apart from those whom God
has chosen and who have chosen God in Christ! No matter the depravity and sins
of a people, God would have us carry the Gospel message to all alike. We may
consider, as did Jonah, a people to be too far from God for hope of redemption,
but we are quenching the efficacious influence of the Holy Ghost to draw His
people from every condition of life. We would surely have judged the old Paul
(Saul) to be without hope of salvation until his experience of the Damascus
Road. We plant the seed and allow the Holy Ghost to work its miracles under the
dark soil of the earth. God’s Word is a life-bearing seed that can break
through stone.
For
through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. The Holy
Trinity is not divided against Itself, but is One in purpose, will and action.
If we are in Christ (the Son), we have access to the throne of Grace of the
Father by one Holy Ghost. …and all three are ONE! And so are we One with God
the father and God the Holy Ghost if we are One with Christ!
Now
therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the
saints, and of the household of God. We have an increasing number of
illegal aliens in our midst in America today. These are not citizens because
they have come to our shores through ways other than the right way. We have
many in our churches today who are illegal residents in Israel. They have come
for the wrong reasons and by the wrong means. The only access to the kingdom is
through Christ. He is our sponsor and our means of adoption. If we have come in any way other than through
Christ, we shall not enjoy the privileges of the promise!
And
are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
himself being the chief corner stone. The prophets of the Old Testament,
and the Apostles of the New, are the foundation of our faith. We are an
apostolic church in that we adhere to the doctrinal apostolic succession of the
Church. That is our foundation, and the chief corner stone, like that
represented above the Great Pyramid at Giza on our one-dollar bill, from which
all authority descends and is maintained together in unity, is Jesus Christ!
In
whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the
Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the
Spirit. The Temple is Christ – the
same Temple which He told the Jews that if they destroyed, He would rebuild in
three days (which He did at His resurrection). He is both the Temple and the
Chief Corner Stone of the Temple. If we are in Christ, each of us is a stone in
that Temple. All of His precious stones added together constitute the Temple of
His Body. Some of us are quite irregular in shape, and some are round, square,
or jagged; but God has a precise place in the Temple for our peculiar shapes
and forms. All joined together, we constitute the One Temple with Christ as our
Head. Constructed together in Christ, we shall be a fitting abode for God to
abide with us through His Spirit.
There is a beautiful old Gospel song
written by Wm. O. Cushing and George Root, and sung most commonly by Burl Ives,
entitled ‘Jewels:’
When He cometh, When
He commeth,
to take up His jewels
All His jewels,
precious jewels…
His loved and His own
Like the stars of the
morning
His bright crown
adorning
They will shine in
their beauty
Bright gems for His
crown
He will gather, He
will gather,
the gems for His
kingdom
All the pure ones, all
the bright ones
His loved and His own
Little children who
love,
their Redeemer and
Savior,
All the jewels,
precious jewels
His loved and His own…
Bright gems for his
crown
This song seems take its scriptural
inspiration from the following verses:
And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of
hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man
spareth his own son that serveth him. (Mal 3:17)
And he shall send
his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his
elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matt 24:31)
And the LORD their God shall save them in
that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon
his land. (Zech
9:16)
How comforting to know even stones are
precious to God and such blessed stones as we are!
