Circumcision was the outward sign of the Abrahamic Covenant.
Selected portions of Genesis 17:2-13 (KJV) declare the following:
1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
13 … and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
In verse 13, GOD talks about His Covenant being in our flesh for an everlasting Covenant. How can this be? An everlasting Covenant in our flesh!
Moses talks about the circumcision of our hearts in Deuteronomy 10:16 (KJV), declaring: < Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. >
Ezekiel 36:26 talks about GOD removing our hearts of stone and giving us a heart of flesh. 2 Corinthians 3:3 (NKJV) talks about us becoming Epistles of CHRIST through hearts of flesh.
In Deuteronomy 30:6, Moses talks about the fulfillment of the Law in circumcised hearts of flesh being the sovereign work of YHWH:
< And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. … And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. >
So the writing of Covenant in hearts of flesh through a continuum of circumcision brings the progressive fulfillment of the Law into functional Covenant reality within the tablets of our heart.
Romans 2:28-29 (NASB), proclaims this as the work of the HOLY SPIRIT: < For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 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. >
Circumcision of the heart of flesh yields the reality of Jew and Gentile being brought forth as one new man as proclaimed in Ephesians 2:14-18. This one new man is in the image (Rom 8:29) and fullness (John 1:16) of MASHIAH YESHUA.
This reality is foreshadowed in the circumcision of MASHIAH YESHUA on the eighth day (‘eight’ pointing to new beginnings) when He was given the Name YESHUA (Luke 2:21).
Galatians 3:24-29 declares what flows in the fulfillment of the Law:
24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
We are heirs according to promise in circumcised heart of flesh! And this is the work of YHWH! Praise YHWH! Amen!