Simply stated, physical circumcision was given as a sign of Christ—who is the objective basis for spiritual or heart circumcision. The need for such a heart change is referred to in Jeremiah 4:4 where the prophet says, “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts.” God placed a spiritual value on physical circumcision only so far as it represented a circumcised heart (cf. Jer. 9:25–26). As a sign, circumcision was external. But as a sign, it was also given to point to spiritual realities.
