Circumcision- Token of the Covenant
By
James Scott Trimm
The ancient so-called “Church Father” Epiphanius writes of the ancient Nazarenes:
But these sectarians… did not call themselves Christians–but “Nazarenes,” … However they are simply complete Jews. They use not only the New Testament but the Old Testament as well, as the Jews do… They have no different ideas, but confess everything exactly as the Law proclaims it and in the Jewish fashion– except for their belief in Messiah, if you please! For they acknowledge both the resurrection of the dead and the divine creation of all things, and declare that Elohim is one, and that his son is Yeshua the Messiah. They are trained to a nicety in Hebrew. For among them the entire Law, the Prophets, and the… Writings… are read in Hebrew, as they surely are by the Jews. They are different from the Jews, and different from Christians, only in the following. They disagree with Jews because they have come to faith in Messiah; but since they are still fettered by the Law–circumcision, the Sabbath, and the rest– they are not in accord with Christians…. they are nothing but Jews…. They have the Goodnews according to Matthew in its entirety in Hebrew. For it is clear that they still preserve this, in the Hebrew alphabet, as it was originally written.
(Epiphanius; Panarion 29)
CIRCUMCISION – ETERNAL TOKEN OF THE COVENANT
Circumcision is first mentioned in the Torah in Genesis 17 where it is introduced to Avraham as an eternal token of the Covenant:
9 And Elohim said unto Avraham: And as for you, you shall keep My covenant you, and your seed after you throughout their generations.
10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.
11 And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token of a covenant between Me and you.
12 And he that is eight days old, shall be circumcised among you–every male throughout your generations–he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any foreigner, that is not of your seed.
13 He that is born in your house and he that is bought with your money, must needs be circumcised. And My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people: he has broken My covenant.
(Gen. 17:9-14 HRV)
Later in the Torah we read:
And YHWH said unto Moshe and Aharon: ‘This is the ordinance of the Pesach: there shall no alien eat thereof;
but every man’s servant that is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat thereof.
In one house shall it be eaten; you shall not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall you break a bone thereof.
All the assembly of Yisra’el shall keep it.
And when a stranger shall sojourn with you, and will keep the Pesach to YHWH, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
One Torah shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourns among you.’
(Ex. 12:43-49 HRV)
Now there are a number of things we can learn from this passage:
1. All the “Assembly” of Israel must eat the Passover.
2. No uncircumcised male can eat the Passover.
From these two facts we may conclude that:
If all the Assembly eat the Passover,
and if no uncircumcised males eat the Passover,
then no uncircumcised males are part of the Assembly.
This is an inescapable categorical proposition drawn from the plain statements in Exodus 12:43-49.
Now from Acts 15 we also know that one does not have to be circumcised to be saved. Thus we can add another fact to our reasoning:
3. Some uncircumcised males are saved.
Now if no uncircumcised males are part of the Assembly, and if some uncircumcised males are saved, Then some saved persons are not part of the Assembly.
Again this is an inescapable categorical proposition draws from the facts plainly laid out in Ex. 12:43-49 and Acts 15.
There are in fact some saved persons who are not part of the Body of Messiah, the Assembly of Israel.
Answers to Commonly Misunderstood Passages about Circumcision
Circumcision and Salvation – Understanding Acts 15
Is there Profit in Circumcision? (Gal. 5:2)
Should an Uncircumcised Man Remain Uncircumcised? (1Cor. 7:18-19)
Why Titus was not Compelled to be Circumcised (Gal. 2:3)
Is Circumcision Mutilation of the Flesh? (Phil. 3:2)
The ancient Nazarenes did in fact continue to practice physical circumcision of the flesh, just as Epiphanius records, because the Torah teaches us that circumcision of the flesh is a token of our covenant with YHWH for all generations forever. Circumcision is not now, nor has it ever been a path to salvation, and therefore one may be saved without being circumcised. At the same time one must be circumcised to be part of the Assembly of Israel.
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