In the Old Testament God did one specific thing to express His attitude toward the flesh-He established circumcision. The first man whom God commanded to perform the act of circumcision was Abraham (Gen. 17). God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as the stars in the heavens and as the sands of the sea. But as God delayed in the fulfillment of His promise, Abraham took Hagar as his wife and bore Ishmael. Thus, he used the strength of his flesh to fulfill God’s promise. God was not pleased with him, and for thirteen years God hid Himself. Then, when Abraham was ninety-nine years old, God appeared again to him (Gen. 16:15; 17:1). At this appearance God commanded Abraham and all that belonged to him to be circumcised. This means God desired that the flesh be removed so that henceforth they would not serve God in the flesh.
The second time that circumcision is mentioned in the Bible is in Exodus 4. As Moses answered the call of God to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, God met him on the way and sought to slay him, because his two sons had not been circumcised. Hence, Zipporah, the wife of Moses, circumcised her son. From this we see that if man desires to serve God, he must first remove the flesh; otherwise, even if he gives up everything for God, he can never please Him.
The third instance of circumcision was at Gilgal, after the Israelites passed through the Jordan (Josh. 4-5). On the day of the Passover, the Israelites buried their sins under the blood of the lamb. When they left Egypt, they buried their enemy, the hosts of Egypt, in the waters of the Red Sea. As they entered Canaan, they buried their self, or flesh, in the waters of the Jordan. In other words, they dealt with their sins at the Passover and the world at the Red Sea, but before the Jordan they had never dealt with their flesh. Therefore, they wandered for forty years in the wilderness until they passed through the Jordan, where the Israelite of the old creation, that is, the flesh, was dealt with. When they passed through the Jordan, they gathered twelve stones from the bed of the river and carried them to the other side of the river; they also put another twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan. This means that their old man was buried under the river and that it was the new Israel which entered Canaan. Therefore, once they passed through Jordan, they were all formally circumcised and rolled away their flesh. Henceforth, they were able to fight for God and bring in His kingdom.
Furthermore, the New Testament mentions circumcision for Christians. Colossians 2:11 says, “In whom ye were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ.” This further reveals, and that most clearly, that the spiritual meaning of circumcision is the putting away of the flesh. Circumcision, a sign of the covenant of God with His people, signifies that God desires His people to put away the flesh and live in His presence.
Romans 8:8, “They that are in the flesh cannot please God.” The Bible has spoken much about the flesh, and at this point it concludes that the flesh cannot please God. If man belongs to the flesh, minds the flesh, and lives by the flesh, whatever he does, either good or bad, cannot please God.
Galatians 5:24, “They that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof.” The rightful position of the flesh is on the cross. The final consequence of the flesh before God is death. God’s verdict upon the flesh is that it must be put to death! Only when the flesh is put to death can God have His place and His way in man.
By studying the above five points, we realize how the whole Bible proves that flesh is abominable before God and that God would forever destroy it. The greatest reason God so deeply hates the flesh is that Satan lives in the flesh. The flesh is the camp of God’s enemy and the largest base for his work. We can say that all the work of Satan in man is accomplished by means of the flesh. And all his work through the means of the flesh destroys the plan and the goal of God. Therefore, we can say that God hates the flesh in the same manner that He hates Satan, and that He wants to destroy the flesh in the same manner that He wants to destroy Satan. God and the flesh can never exist together.
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