675. Circumcision was instituted as a sign that the people of the Israelite church were descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as the following passages show:

God said to Abraham, "This is a covenant with me that you will observe between me and you and your descendants after you. Circumcise every male among you. Circumcise the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. " (Genesis 17:9-11)

The practice of circumcision as a sign of the covenant was later reinforced by Moses (Leviticus 12:1-3).

Because this sign differentiated the Israelite church from other religions, before the children of Israel crossed the Jordan river they were commanded again to be circumcised (Joshua 5:2). The reason for this was that the land of Canaan symbolized the church and the Jordan river symbolized introduction into it.

For another thing, the children of Israel were given the following command to remind them of this sign once they were in the land of Canaan.

When you have come into the land and have planted some tree for food, you are to circumcise the foreskin of its fruit. For three years it will be uncircumcised to you; it is not to be eaten. (Leviticus 19:23)

[2] The fact that circumcision symbolized and meant rejecting the cravings of the flesh and therefore being purified from evils (which is also what baptism means) is clear from the passages in the Word where we read that the people were to circumcise their heart. For example, in the following passages:

Moses said, "Circumcise the foreskin of your heart. Do not be stiff-necked any longer. " (Deuteronomy 10:16)

Jehovah God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants so that you love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and your whole soul, and you will live. (Deuteronomy 30:6)

In Jeremiah:

Circumcise yourselves for Jehovah so that he will remove the foreskins of your heart, O man of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, to prevent my anger from going forth like a fire because of the wickedness of your doings. (Jeremiah 4:4)

In Paul:

What counts with Jesus Christ is not our circumcision or lack of circumcision but faith working through goodwill and our being a new creation. (Galatians 5:6; 6:15)

[3] This makes it clear, then, that baptism was instituted to replace circumcision because circumcision of the flesh symbolizes circumcision of the heart. Circumcision of the heart also means being purified from evils, because evils of every kind rise up from the flesh; the foreskin means the filthy loves that belong to the flesh. Because circumcision and the washing of baptism have the same meaning, we read in Jeremiah: "Circumcise yourselves for Jehovah so that he will remove the foreskins of your heart" (Jeremiah 4:4); and soon after that we read, "Wash wickedness from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved" (Jeremiah 4:14). The Lord teaches us in Matthew 15:18-19 what circumcision and washing of the heart means.