The Covenant of the Lord

When we study the covenant of God between Him and Abraham, we see a couple of important things. It is God who wrote and established the covenant. (Gen. 17:7) Also, God is the keeper of the covenant. Keeper in the sense that He will never break the covenant. It is an everlasting covenant. Keeper in the sense that we are unable to keep the covenant without his strength.

Yet, in order for Abraham to enter the covenant and keep his end of the covenant, he and all others who wanted to be a part of the covenant had one obligation which was to be circumcised. (Gen. 17:10) Yet, it was not to be only a circumcision of the foreskin, but a circumcision of the heart. He said to Abraham that you must live in my presence and be devout. (Gen. 17:1)

This is no different with the New Covenant that was established through Christ Jesus. It is only through God's strength that we are able to keep the covenant. To enter this covenant we must have a circumcised heart. A heart where the worldly thing and/or sinful things have been cut from our hearts. (Colossians 2:11) As children of God, we are to live in His presence a be devout. If we do not remain in God's presence and devoted to him, the covenant has been broken because of our uncircumcised hearts. (Gen. 17:14) This does not annul the covenant of God but annuls our partaking of His covenant.

Paul explains this in Romans 14:9-12 - "Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” ¹⁰ How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; ¹¹ and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, ¹² and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised."


We see that we enter the covenant of God by faith in Christ. It is not by works we enter into the covenant of salvation through Christ Jesus.

Romans 2:28-29 - " For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. ²⁹ But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God."

Our salvation is dependent on Christ's work on the cross, our faith and a circumcised heart. This circumcision is not done with a knife in the the flesh, but by the Spirit of God. We can not circumcise ourselves. We are circumcised when we give place to the Holy Spirit in our lives. Yet, different than natural circumcision in the flesh, we are circumcised by the Holy Spirit in salvation, but the flesh is not gone in a single moment. Therefore, we are still in the circumcising process. We are still under the knife so to speak. Yet, it is not us who cut the worldly things away in our lives, but the Holy Spirit as we remain yielded to him.