steadfast7
Puritan Board Junior
Col 2:11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
This is main go-to verse that links circumcision with baptism. Here's a thought (that's certainly been thought of and discussed before, so I don't expect this thread to run very long).
Circumcision in the OT was not only done to infants but to adults, namely, those adults who "converted" and identified themselves with Israel. The main audience of Paul's letter to the Colossians were adult converts who underwent believers' baptism.
1. Circumcision was performed on adult proselytes
2. Baptism was done on adult converts, who are the hearers of Paul's letter
This is not to disregard the fact of infant circumcision, or infant-included household baptism (if that happened). But, does it not make sense that Paul may have been linking circumcision and baptism, only in as much as it pertained to adult converts? In other words, are we required from this passage to think of circumcision only in terms of infants?
thanks.