The greatest problem with God's children is that their flesh is not dealt with before the Lord. They believe in the flesh and put their trust in the flesh. The most obvious sign of unchecked flesh is self-confidence. Self-confidence is the characteristic of the flesh. Philippians 3:3 says, "We are the circumcision, the ones who..have no confidence in the flesh." To put no trust in the flesh is to have no confidence in the flesh. All those who have been smitten by the cross are broken. Although their person may remain, they have learned to fear God and no longer put their trust and confidence in themselves. Before a person is dealt with by the Lord, he quickly judges anything that comes his way. He opens his mouth and makes judgments quickly. But after a person has been dealt with by the Lord, he does not judge lightly; he no longer has any confidence. No one who makes quick proposals and believes in his own strength knows the cross. Such a person has never experienced the work of the cross. Once our flesh is circumcised, we will not believe in ourselves any longer. We will not be that full of confidence, and we will not express our opinions easily. Before the Lord, we must see that we are weak, powerless, helpless, and faltering.

God brought Abraham to the point where he realized that his flesh needed to be dealt with, and that the things he did during the past thirteen years were wrong. There was no room in God's promise for him to do or accomplish anything; all he needed to do was believe. At the same time, God showed him that his descendants for generations to come must be circumcised. This is the basic requirement to be God's people. The condition for us to be God's people in practicality is to have the mark of the cross upon our flesh. Circumcision is the mark of God's people. It is the proof of God's people. What is a mark? A mark is a characteristic. God's people have a characteristic, a mark, which is the denial of the flesh, the rejection of confidence in the flesh. God's people are those whose confidence in the flesh has been cut off. They are the ones who have lost confidence in the flesh.

It is a pity that so many Christians are so confident about themselves. They know how to believe in the Lord Jesus, and they know how to be filled with the Holy Spirit. They know how to overcome, and they know how to live the Christian life. It seems that there is nothing that they do not know! They brag again and again about this and that kind of experience that they had on certain days of certain months. It seems that they are lacking in nothing! They may talk about how they fellowship with God and how they communicate with Him. They think that they know what God is saying concerning certain matters. They think that they know God's will concerning many things. They can talk about what God has told them to speak or pray at such and such a place and at such and such a time. To them, it seems as if knowing God's will is the easiest thing on earth! Yet they lack the mark of having "no confidence in the flesh." Such Christians are indeed in need of God's mercy!

The meaning of circumcision is to cut off the confidence of the flesh. It is to cut off the natural strength so that one no longer speaks and walks in a loose way, but instead becomes a fearful and trembling person.