Sink Beneath the Waters
I Corinthians 7:17–19
“Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts.”
Before Christ, circumcision was the physical expression of the rite of passage into faith in God. It was a “sign of covenant” with God: “Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and you (Gen 17:9–11).” But through faith in Christ we are renewed by faith alone, the Apostle Peter dealt with this in the Early Church, After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for He purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our LORD Jesus that we are saved, just as they are (Acts 15:7–11).” Perhaps the closest physical expression we have now is baptism, that through the waters we sink and symbolically drown our old self and bury our sins and arise once more in the newness of Christ’s grace. This way, all are welcome to mark and exhibit remembrance of our redemption, a covenantal expression that can be joined by both men and women. Indeed faith in Christ is all inclusive to those who desire to submit, it was never meant to be limited to a certain culture, race, gender, or any other outward description of being, and certainly not even in its outward expression, indeed we are all made in the image of God from the beginning (Gen 1:26), “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28).”
“Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts.”
Before Christ, circumcision was the physical expression of the rite of passage into faith in God. It was a “sign of covenant” with God: “Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and you (Gen 17:9–11).” But through faith in Christ we are renewed by faith alone, the Apostle Peter dealt with this in the Early Church, After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for He purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our LORD Jesus that we are saved, just as they are (Acts 15:7–11).” Perhaps the closest physical expression we have now is baptism, that through the waters we sink and symbolically drown our old self and bury our sins and arise once more in the newness of Christ’s grace. This way, all are welcome to mark and exhibit remembrance of our redemption, a covenantal expression that can be joined by both men and women. Indeed faith in Christ is all inclusive to those who desire to submit, it was never meant to be limited to a certain culture, race, gender, or any other outward description of being, and certainly not even in its outward expression, indeed we are all made in the image of God from the beginning (Gen 1:26), “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28).”
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