In verse 11 Paul speaks of “the putting off of the body of the flesh.” This means to strip off something, as to strip off clothing. The circumcision that took place by the death of Christ and is applied by the powerful Spirit accomplishes the putting off of the body of the flesh. Our body of flesh was crucified on the cross with Christ and has been put off. Regarding this, we must again exercise our faith and not consider our self and our apparent situation. Let us exercise faith and say, “Amen! The body of the flesh has been put off on the cross and by the powerful Spirit.”
This circumcision must be in the circumcision of Christ, not with a circumcision made with hands. The circumcision of Christ is by His crucifixion. Our flesh has been crossed out by His death on the cross.
Furthermore, the circumcision in Christ takes place through baptism. In verse 12 Paul says, “Buried together with Him in baptism, in Whom also you were raised together through the faith of the operation of God, Who raised Him from among the dead.” We have been buried together with Christ in baptism. To be buried in baptism is to put off the body of the flesh, to disrobe or strip it off. Moreover, in Christ we have been raised together through the faith of the operation of God. In baptism there is the burial aspect, which is the termination of our flesh, and the raising aspect, which is the germination of our spirit. In the raising aspect we are made alive in Christ with the divine life.
In this verse Paul points out that this is through the faith of the operation of God. Faith is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8). The more we turn to God and contact Him, the more faith we have. The Lord is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2). The more we abide in Him, the more we are infused with Him as our faith. It is through this living faith in the operation of the living God that we experience the resurrection life, signified by the raising aspect of baptism. Many Christians today neglect the real operation of baptism. Instead, they pay attention to the kind of water used or to the method of placing people under the water. Genuine baptism involves an operation in which we are buried and terminated. This operation involves the exercise of faith. The One who carries out the operation is the Spirit. Whenever we baptize someone, there is the need for the exercise of faith to realize that an operation is taking place to terminate the old being of the one who is to be baptized. We must have faith in the operation of God, the Triune God, who raised Christ from among the dead.
Whenever we baptize a new believer, we must realize that this one is being placed into a divine operation that will terminate him and bury him. We must exercise faith in the operation of the Triune God. By faith we have the reality of the termination and burial of the old man, the self, the flesh, and the natural life. The operating Triune God will honor this faith by making these things real. This burial and termination of the old man through baptism is the real circumcision.
Since the Colossians had received such a circumcision, there was no need for them to practice asceticism. Being circumcised in the circumcision of Christ is versus asceticism (2:20-22). Those who have been buried and terminated and who are now resting in the tomb, have no need of asceticism. There is no reason for them to treat their bodies severely. This is against the spiritual principle. According to the spiritual principle, we have been terminated and have put off the body of the flesh, the very thing that asceticism attempts to deal with. Every form of asceticism attempts to deal with the lusts of the flesh. According to the teaching and practice of asceticism, treating the body severely eliminates lusts and restricts indulgence. This is the basic principle of asceticism. In India some practice asceticism by sitting on a bed of needles. Whenever they become conscious of fleshly lusts, they press against the needles, thinking that the pain they inflict on themselves will restrict their lusts. This same principle explains ascetic rules about eating delicious foods. According to asceticism, to enjoy food is to indulge the flesh. For this reason, ascetics are taught to choose food that is not palatable.
As we shall point out in a later message, this severe treatment of the body is “not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh” (2:23). The various practices of asceticism are not effective in restricting the indulgence of the flesh. Paul’s concept in Colossians 2 was that since the believers in Christ had been circumcised in the circumcision of Christ, which was accomplished by Christ’s death and is applied by the Spirit, and since this is the circumcision in which they have been buried and terminated, there is absolutely no need for the practice of asceticism. To mistreat the body in the attempt to restrict the indulgence of the flesh is foolish and of no avail. Truly the circumcision in Christ is versus asceticism.
In this message we have seen that, positively, we have been made full in Christ and that, negatively, we have been circumcised in Him. Therefore, there is no need for us to worship angels or to practice asceticism. Although these practices were prevailing among the Colossians, we should utterly cast them aside. We do not worship angels, and we do not practice asceticism. We are in Christ. In Him we have been made full and are short of nothing. In Him we have been circumcised from every negative thing. For this reason, we do not need asceticism to restrict the indulgence of the flesh. This was the concept of the Apostle Paul. I believe that his writing concerning this matter in Colossians 2 will be helpful to us today.