From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the marks that show I belong to Jesus.
Galatians 6:17
In the previous Nugget we looked at the mark of “Crucifixion” What did you conclude? Could Paul have been referring to the ‘mark of crucifixion’?
- Was this a Mark of Jesus?
- Was this a Mark that Paul bore on or in his body?
- Could this be what Paul is referring to?
- What’s your conclusion?
- Is this a Mark which characterises you?
So could the Mark of Crucifixion have been what Paul was referring to?
- Yes, it was a Mark of Jesus in that Jesus Himself bore the marks of crucifixion on his body post resurrection and allowed Thomas to check them out by putting his finger in the holes. Not only that but Jesus encouraged the first disciples to take up their cross daily. Or course He was speaking in figurative language but the point was clear to all.
- Paul did not bear on his body the marks of crucifixion per se having died by being beheaded. But he certainly bore on his body multiple marks of persecution for the sake of Christ.
- Yes, it could well be.
- I will leave you to decide.
- What about you? I am not aware of any of my readers who have marks of persecution on their body, much less the nail holes of crucifixion. I know of no case where someone who was crucified survived the experience. It was the most horrific death one can die. Are you willing to be crucified for the sake of Christ? None of us can answer that question until the moment comes and of course I do not wish that on any of you. Perhaps the question ought to be: Can you say with Paul
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
I have now completed the list of possibilities of what Paul may have meant when he wrote of bearing the marks which show he belonged to Jesus.
- Circumcision
- Holiness
- Servanthood
- Discipline
- Suffering
- Love
- Crucifixion
Which of these seven marks did Paul have in mind when he made the comment? I will not be presumptive to tell you I know for certain. To get the answer to that question you will have to ask Paul when you see him. If you are bound for the Life of the Age to Come then you will most certainly see Paul and be able to ask him, if you even have that thought still in mind when you have the opportunity, given all the grandeur of heaven around you. I do believe there is only one of these seven marks which Paul did not mean unless he meant it in a different way. Of course I am talking about circumcision. You can find many verses which indicate Paul did not intend us to follow the letter of the Law and be circumcised in the usual sense. But the Bible contains five verses which refer to circumcision of the heart.
And you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and you shall not harden your neck any more.
Deuteronomy 10:16
And Jehovah your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.
Deuteronomy 30:6
Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah, and take away the foreskin of your heart, O men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, that My fury not go forth like fire and burn, so that no one can put it out; because of the evil of your doings.
Jeremiah 4:4
Oh stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and in the ears! You always fell against the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, you also did.
Acts 7:51
For he is not a Jew that is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that outwardly in flesh; but he is a Jew that is one inwardly, and circumcision is of heart, in spirit, not in letter; of whom the praise is not from men, but from God.
Romans 2:28-29
There is another reference to circumcision which stands out:
For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, and who glory in Christ Jesus, and who do not trust in flesh.
Philippians 3:3
All of the above quotes are taken from the Literal Version. What does it mean to be circumcised of heart? I suspect Psalm 51 tells us:
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10
after all, the usual practice of circumcision was about cleanliness.
Apart from this first mark of circumcision, with the exception of circumcision of heart, all the others most certainly apply as marks of Jesus and marks of a Christian. Although not all were intended by Paul to be physical marks on our body, all seven, including circumcision of the heart, are certainly intended by God to be present in our lives.
How do you measure up?
Are all seven marks evident in your life?
- Circumcision of the Heart
- Holiness
- Servanthood
- Discipline
- Suffering
- Love
- Your Old Life Crucified with Christ
I do believe Paul had all of these in mind when he wrote Galatians 6:17, yet not all of them are to be applied literally, but the evidence should be in each of our lives of each one of these seven marks of Jesus.
The ones that carry the marks of Christ usually painfully understand what Paul refers to in his verse. May He help us be able to then say “I have run race…”
Yes indeed, so Margareth.
Thank you so much for shedding such light on the meanings connected to Paul’s statement.
A pleasure Peggy. I hope you have also been following the Gems where you will get even more light shed on what Paul means by what he has written.