The Circumcised Heart

John Owen wrote, "What is it to have the heart circumcised, the apostle declares, 'It is the putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ' (Colossians 2:11); that is, our conversion to God. It is the giving 'a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear (Deuteronomy 29:4)."

In the Old Testament, circumcision was a sign of entering into a covenant relationship with God. It was performed by man in the flesh. However, only the Spirit of God can circumcise the heart. The New Testament teaches circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit (Romans 2:29). Circumcision here is used as a metaphorical expression for a change of heart.

Your circumcised heart makes you a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). Your heart is a symbol of your inward person. It's your mind, will, and emotions. Your mind is transformed to understand the will of God (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 2:16). Your will is changed with a desire to do God's good will (Philippians 2:13). Then, you love the LORD your God with all your heart (Deuteronomy 30:6). 

Your circumcised heart becomes responsive to the things of God (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:14). Our hearts are changed to become responsive to God's word and will. The mind, will, and emotions are changed by the grace of God in Christ. How about your heart?

God's Adopted Children

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16). He was begotten by the Holy Spirit through the virgin birth. All who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are God's adopted children. In Christ alone, God adopts believers into His family. Believers are redeemed, that we might receive the adoption as sons (Galatians 4:5).

Adoption of believers in Christ is freedom from the bondage of sin. At the cross, Jesus died to redeem us from the slavery of sin. Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son (Galatians 4:7). We are adopted as children of God, because of redemption in God's only begotten Son. In Christ alone, we are adopted as children of God.

Adoption of believers is a personal relationship with our heavenly Father. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba Father (Galatians 4:6). The Holy Spirit indwells every believer to confirm our adoption. We experience God the Father's love in our hearts as His adopted child (Romans 5:5).

Adoption makes every believer an heir of God in Christ (Galatians 4:7). We have a blessed hope for the future. We have a predestined inheritance to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Galatians 4:7). For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). That is our glorification in Christ, as God's adopted children. 

The City of God

Revelation 21:12-21 gives a detailed description of God's city, the New Jerusalem. This is the place Jesus went to prepare (John 14:1-3). This is the city that comes down out of heaven from God. It is the eternal dwelling of God with His people. The number twelve is repetitious with meaning in the city of God. There are twelve gates with twelve angels. There are twelve foundations of the city, with walls filled with twelve types of precious stones.

The number twelve represents the redeemed people of God. There were twelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament. We see the twelve apostles of the Lamb in the New Testament. The number represents all of God's people. The inhabitants of the city are God's covenant people. They are the redeemed of the Lord.

The twelve gates represent the entrance to the city by all of God's people. The twelve angels represent the heavenly host who ministered to those who are heirs of salvation. There is no need for the gates to be closed. That's because all that have done evil to them have been cast into the lake of fire.

Twelve precious stones or jewels compose the walls of the city. They represent the twelve stones in the breastplate of the High Priest of Israel in the Old Testament. He foreshadowed our Lord Jesus Christ, the great High Priest of the everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20-21). That testifies to our redemption from sin by the blood of the Lamb (John 1:29).

All to God's Glory

The purpose of life is all to God's glory. He is at work in all things. No event, great or small, is beyond God's purpose. However, it is not a passive purpose. God works in all things according to a purpose. That purpose is good for those who love God (Romans 8:28). The purpose of our lives is to the praise of God's glory.

We were created for a purpose. That purpose is to the glory of God. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). Believers in Jesus Christ our Lord are saved from the condemnation of sin to the praise of God's glory (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). 

The purpose of our salvation is to God's glory. God knew that we would sin. The mercy, grace, and love of God in Christ for sinners is to the praise of God's glory. Our salvation in Christ is to the glory of God's grace. Give God the glory for the grace that saved you in Christ. Our purpose in life through Christ is to the glory of God.

The purpose of worship is to God's glory. The word for glory in the Greek New Testament is doxa, from which we get our English word doxology. That word speaks of our worship as praise to God. We give God all the glory, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. "Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below." He is worthy of our praise! We give God all the glory, now and forever more.

The Gospel in Power

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. "For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and much assurance" (1 Thessalonians 1:5). Confessing Jesus as Lord is the work of the Holy Spirit in us (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Holy Spirit enables us to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The gospel in power is God leading us to repent (Romans 2:4). This change of mind enables is turning from unbelief, that we may turn to the Lord by faith. We are enabled to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved (Acts 16:31). 

The gospel the power is God changing our hearts, which is our mind, will, and emotions. It is the power of the Holy Spirit. Our conversion is made possible when the Holy Spirit works in us through regeneration, also known as new birth. Conversion is through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The word of the gospel is the Holy Spirit's instrument to transform our lives. 

The gospel in power is God transforming our minds (Romans 12:1-2). It can never be accomplished without the Spirit of God working in us. Without the gospel in power, we may spend a lifetime in study without understanding the truth of God. The renewal of the mind is transformation by God's power in the gospel.

How God Calls Us

You may think of God's call to those who are to be pastors or missionaries. Yet, there is the call of God in the New Testament to believe on our Lord Jesus Christ. God's call is out of darkness into the light of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:9). 

God calls us to respond to the gospel of Christ. We do so in repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). The gospel is for whoever, but not all will respond (Romans 10:13). Those who do are the called of God (Romans 8:28).

God calls us out of spiritual darkness into the light of Christ. Our eyes of understanding are opened to Christ crucified for our sins and raised from the dead for our justification. We are enabled to live in the light. "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

God calls us by the Holy Spirit and the word of the gospel (Romans 1:16). When God calls us in this sense, we may respond to the gospel by turning to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our hearts are changed by the grace of God. Certainly, the gospel is preached to all, but the effective call is when we repent, or turn to God, through faith in Christ.