Let us turn to God's Word, our
text. Tonight is found in Colossians
chapter 2 and verses 11 and 12. Paul's epistle to the Colossians
chapter 2 and verses 11 and 12 in whom he's clearly speaking
here of the Lord Jesus Christ the one in whom dwelleth all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily, in whom also ye are circumcised
with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried
with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God who was raised him from the
dead. Colossians chapter 2 verses 11
and 12. Here in verse 11 we have mention
of circumcision and then in verse 12 we have mention of baptism. And I do believe it is right
in a sense to say that circumcision is the basis of baptism, as we
see it in these two verses. Circumcision is the basis of
baptism, but not in the way that those who would practice paedobaptism
would say. those pedo or infant baptizers
like to appeal to these verses because they say that baptism
in the New Testament is the equivalence of circumcision in the Old Testament
and of course with circumcision we see that it was the norm that
on the 8th day the male child was to be circumcised and so
the pedo-baptists would therefore say that it is right that babies
should be baptized not necessarily on the 8th day but certainly
they would contend that there is a place for the baptizing
of the babies and if we say well in the Old Testament it was only
the males who were circumcised the answer and I've heard it
said by them is that God's grace is so much greater and richer
in the New Testament and so infant baptism is to be practiced not
only upon boys but also upon girls. However, having said that,
I don't believe for a moment that what we have in these two
verses lends any support at all for that sort of connection that
the paedo-baptists want to make between Old Testament circumcision
and New Testament baptism. But I say again that circumcision
is the basis of baptism as we see it in these verses. In whom
also says, For ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, wherein
also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of
God who has raised him from the dead. What is the circumcision
here then that is the basis of baptism? Well, you see what we
have in verse 11 can only be described as a spiritual circumcision. It's a circumcision made without
hands, it says. has nothing to do with the circumcision
that was practiced in the Old Testament, the mark of that covenant
that God had given to Abraham and to his seed. Here is a circumcision
made without hands. This is a spiritual circumcision
and we must remember that at the outset. This is the basis
in I want us to consider something of what that spiritual circumcision
really is, and it answers, I would say, to regeneration, to the
new birth. Circumcision made without hands
in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision
of Christ. Now, when we go to the Old Testament,
we see quite clearly that to the Jews perfection lay in the
observance of circumcision. It was very much the sign of
that covenant that God had made with Abraham. We have it back
in the 17th chapter of the book of Genesis. Genesis chapter 17 Verse 10, this is my covenant.
These are words that are spoken by God unto Abraham. And he says, This is my covenant
which ye shall keep between me and you, and my seed after thee. Every man-child among you shall
be circumcised, and ye shall circumcise the flesh of your
foreskin, and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me And
yet, in the opening words of the chapter we're told, 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, and I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will
multiply thee exceedingly. As God enters into this covenant,
the covenant of which he gives the sign of circumcision he says
to Abram walk before me and be thou perfect, be thou mature
and the Jews would associate that spiritual maturity that
perfection therefore with circumcision it was very important to them
and what is Paul doing here? in Colossians chapter 2, well,
he's answering certain ones in the Christian communities, in
the churches that he'd established, there were those who can only
be described as Judaizers and they wanted these Gentile converts,
these Gentile Christians to submit to the right of circumcision
And he's answering such characters time and again. Here in verse
10 then he tells the Colossian believers, ye are complete in
him, which is the head of all principality and power. There is no perfection outside
of Christ. There's nothing that you need
to do additional to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
no need of circumcision. It is, of course, very much the
Galatian epistle that deals with this particular problem. There,
in the churches of Galatia, there were many who we can only describe
as Judaizers, who wanted to bring Gentile believers under the law,
wanted them to submit to the right of circumcision. And so,
for example, in Galatians 5, verse 2, We find these words,
if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every
man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole
law. If you submit to circumcision,
you're submitting to the law, you're obliged to do the whole
of the law. And it was very much a pressing
issue in the Churches of the New Testament, as we see from
what's recorded there in the 15th chapter of the Acts of the
Apostles, this great dissension concerning circumcision. In Acts chapter 15 then, in verse
5, we're told, there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees
which believed. These are of the sect of the
Pharisees who professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They
rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed,
saying that it was needful to circumcise them, that is, Gentile
believers, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And so we have the apostles and
the elders coming together to consider this whole matter. And they send this to the churches,
this letter that follows. And there in verse 24 of that
15th chapter, This is part of the message to
the churches for as much as we have heard that certain which
went out from us have troubled you with words subverting your
soul saying you must be circumcised and keep the law to whom we gave
no such commandment. They make it plain then to the
apostles that this is not the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ's
church. There was this matter that arose
so early then in the Christian era, even in
the days of the apostles concerning circumcision. There were those
who were contending that it was necessary that every Christian
believer should also have received that Abrahamic rite of circumcision. But, says Paul, not so, because
every believer has experienced the true circumcision, which
is that spiritual circumcision, of which we read here in our
text, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ. Now, we know that by nature all
are dead in sin, all are in a state of alienation from God. And Paul equates that condition
with uncircumcision. Look at what he writes here in
verse 13. He says, "...you being dead in
your sins, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened
together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses." Here, we
have the hint then as to what is the true circumcision it is
a spiritual circumcision as I said all by nature are dead in sins and they are dead in the uncircumcision
Paul says of their flesh if we go back to the opening chapter
he tells us in verse 21, that they were sometime alienated
and enemies in their mind by wicked works. They were those
who were dead in trespasses and in sins. This is the condition
of all peoples, of course. Again, familiar words that we
have in Ephesians chapter 2, you have the quickened who were
dead. in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others, dead in trespasses and sin, Children
of disobedience, children of wrath. This is the natural state
of all. What is the natural mind? The
carnal mind, he says in Romans 8, is enmity against God. It's
not subject to the law of God. Neither, indeed, can be. And so, as that is the condition
of all people, what is the need? All must come to know and to
experience that grace of regeneration. All must be born again, born
from above, born spiritually, born by the mighty work of the
Spirit of God in their souls. We're familiar, all of us, I'm
sure, with what Christ says to Nicodemus there in the third
chapter of John, Verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born
of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom
of God. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel
not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every one. that is born
of the Spirit. And Christ is speaking these
words unto a teacher of the Jews, to Nicodemus, the necessity of
the new births. Those who are by nature dead
in sins, they must become partakers of the divine nature. They must
be born from above. Now circumcision is a type of
this New birth. Circumcision, I say, is a type
of regeneration. That's what we see in this passage
that we're considering tonight. Verse 13. What are we by nature? Dead in your sins and the uncircumcision
of your flesh. And what has God done to those
who are in that condition? He has spiritually circumcised
them. that quicken together and God
has forgiven their trespasses. In the words of our text, verse
11, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ. Circumcision in the Old Testament
is a type of this spiritual circumcision. Circumcision in the Old Testament
does not answer to paedo-baptism in the New Testament. What it
answers to is that great work of regeneration where the sinner
is quickened from above, born again by the Spirit of God, a
partaker then of the divine nature. Now look at one text. We go back
to the Old Testament there in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy chapter
30 and the 6th verse 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 where God circumcises the heart, what is the consequence? There is life. That's what it
says here in the text, Deuteronomy 30 verse 6, The Lord thy God
will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, that
thou mayest live. circumcision of the heart, then
what is it? It is that great work of the
Spirit of God whereby the sinner is born again. How fitting is
the time. How fitting is that sign, that
symbol of circumcision in circumcision, of course, parts of the flesh
is cut away. In the new birth, in the new
birth, the body of sin is destroyed. That's what it says, does it
not here? The circumcision made without hands in putting off
the body of the sins of the flesh. Oh, it's the destruction. of
the sins of the flesh, the cutting away of the sins of the flesh
again look at Paul's words in Philippians chapter 3 verse 3
he says we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit
rejoice in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh and
those who are contending for this literal circumcising he
speaks of them as the concision that's the word that he uses
in Philippians 3 verse 2 and the word concision as the idea
of illegal cuttings the true circumcised the true circumcised
worship God in the spirit rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence
in the flesh They have crucified the flesh. This is what comes
as a result of that great work of regeneration. Paul can say
to the Galatians, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live,
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved
me and gave himself for me. If a man is in Christ is a new
creature, a new creation. And so in the text you see, the
circumcision made without hands in putting off the body of the
sins of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ. Now, when we speak
in this manner of the believer's experience in regeneration, we're
not suggesting for a moment that the believer therefore is altogether
delivered from the presence of sin. There is that conflict.
Although he's born again, although he's a partaker of a new nature,
a divine nature, although the sins of the flesh have been destroyed,
yet strangely there is still that conflict. We have it in
what Christ says there in John 3 verse 6, that which is born
of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit. The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against
the flesh, says Paul. And these are contrary one to
the other, and ye cannot do the thing that ye want. There is
this conflict. Now, as you know, Paul has a
great deal to say with regards to that conflict of the believer's
experience in Romans chapter 7. the good that I would I do
not, the evil that I would not, that I do. He cries out, O wretched
man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? But he finishes on this note,
he says this at the end of Romans chapter 7, So then with the mind
I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of
sin. There's the conflict. But which
is the real Paul? It is that man who will serve
the Lord of God, observe the language that he uses. So then,
with the mind he says, not just I serve the Lord of God, but
there's a certain emphasis there, he says, I myself, this is the
real me, this is the real Paul, the one who will serve the Lord
of God. And yet he knows that there is
still that conflict he must be daily mortifying, putting to
death the deeds of the body. But the point we make, friends,
is simply this, that what we have here in the text in verse
11 tonight, this circumcision, is not to be confused with that
right that was practiced by Abraham and his seed, Abraham and his
descendants, that right that belonged to the Jews. It's not
that that is being spoken of. It is a spiritual circumcision
that we have here. And that spiritual circumcision,
I say, is the great work of God in quickening, in the new birth. Remember the words of verse 13,
we have the uncircumcision of your flesh and then we have the
quickening. And so here in verse 11, in whom also ye are circumcised
with the circumcision made without hands in putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Now having spoken in verse 11
of circumcision, He does go on, in verse 12, to speak of two
other things. He speaks of baptism, but he
also speaks of faith, does he not? "...buried with him in baptism,"
he says, "...wherein also ye are risen with him through the
faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from the
dead." Now, saving faith, that faith of the operation that he
the operation of God that he speaks of in verse 12 isn't that
what comes as the consequence of the new birth? A man can only exercise saving
faith when he is born again. Faith follows regeneration. That must be the case because
before a man is born again, he's dead in trespasses and in sins. Dead in your sins and the uncircumcision
of your flesh as we have it here in verse 13. And what is that
faith that comes as the consequence of him being born from above,
born again? Well, that faith is a faith that
is produced only by God alone. It's not something that the man
can work up himself. Look at the language that Paul
uses. He speaks of the faith of the
operation of God who has raised him, who has raised the Lord
Jesus Christ from the dead. And it reminds us of those words
that we've often referred to in Ephesians chapter 1 concerning
the faith of those Ephesian believers where Paul speaks of the exceeding
greatness of his faith to us who do believe the exceeding
greatness of his power I should say the exceeding greatness of
his power to us who would believe according to the working of his
mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him
from the dead." It's the same, isn't it? Faith of the operation
of God who has raised him from the dead. What is the Apostle
saying then here in this 12th verse of Colossians chapter 2
and again there in Ephesians chapter 1 and verses 19 and 20? He is simply saying that that
faith, that saving faith comes as a result of the working of
that same power that was there when God raised the Lord Jesus
Christ from the dead. According to the working, after
the same manner, in like fashion, to the working of his power when
he raised Christ from the dead. No wonder he uses such remarkable
language there in verse 19 of Ephesians chapter 1. The exceeding
greatness of his power to usward the belief. Not just his power,
not just the greatness of his power, The typical Pauline language,
he literally just piles the words one on top of the other, the
exceeding greatness of his power. And why was such power necessary? Because the sinner was dead. Dead in trespasses and in sin. Such was his condition, he was
utterly helpless. He could do nothing at all for
himself. That is the awful consequence,
is it not, of the fall. The sin of our first parents.
The dreadful doctrine of the sinner's total depravity. Now remember these friends, all
of us are accountable to God. All are God's creatures, and
He upholds all things by the word of His power. All are preserved by Him, and
all therefore surely are under an obligation before God. All
should be theists. There should not be any atheists. The fool hath said in his heart,
there is no God. Men are obliged to acknowledge
God, to believe in God as their Creator and their Sustainer.
But more than that, more than that, all men ought to honour
the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 John chapter 5 and verse
10, He that believeth not God hath made him a liar. because
he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son." All men
ought to believe the record that God has given of His Son, and
not to believe the record that we have recorded for us here
in the Scriptures, not to believe the Bible, and not to believe
what God's Word says concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, is to
make God a liar. He that believeth not, God hath
made him a liar, says John. Men are under an obligation to
recognize who Jesus Christ is. And not only John, we have the
words of Christ himself. In John chapter 15, verse 22,
Christ says, If I have not come and spoken unto them, They had
not had sin, but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that
hateth Me, hateth My Father also. If I had not done among them
the works which none other man did, they had not had sin. But now have they both seen and
hated both Me and My Father." What obligation men are under
to believe this record. that is set before us in the
scriptures concerning the Lord Jesus, the lives that he lived
and the miracles that he performed. All men in that sense are to
be believers, but that's not saving faith. It's one thing
to be a theist and to recognize that God is and to acknowledge what God has said before us,
the record that He has given concerning His Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, He was sent to the truth of the Scripture. That's
one thing. But saving faith is quite another
thing. And saving faith is that faith
that is only the gift of God. only the gift of God. This is
why we deny duty, faith. Yet men, yes men have a duty.
They are under an obligation to recognize that God is, to
be theist, to believe the record that God has given us in the
scriptures. But men cannot of themselves
exercise any saving faith. This saving faith can only come
where God is pleased to make bare His arm and to stretch forth
His hand. How necessary that is! That's
very striking, is it not? The language that we find back
in the familiar 53rd chapter of Isaiah, that chapter that
speaks to us of the Lord's suffering servants. Do you remember how
the chapter opens? Who has believed our report?
And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? All those who
believe the report, those who believe it in a siding way, those
who are trusting in the one who is spoken of, the suffering servant
of God, God has to them revealed his arm. Who hath believed, I
report, to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? God has to
make bare his arm. That faith that they have comes
only as a result of the exceeding greatness of his power. And how is it when God begins
with the sinner? to work this saving faith in
the soul of the sinner. Why the man is then caused to feel in his own soul that dreadful
doctrine of total depravity that we spoke of. The man is made
to feel something of his impotence, his complete, his utter inability. This is how God deals with the
sinner, is it not? This is how God deals with it.
We have it in Psalm 90, that psalm from which we sang the
portion in the metrical version. Moses says, Thou turnest man
to destruction, and sayest, Return ye children of men. God turns
a man to destruction. He brings the man to the end
of himself. He sees that he is destroyed
and he cannot save himself, he cannot deliver himself. He cannot
give himself life. Thou turnest man to destruction
and sin. All God has to say the word.
And where the word of a king is there is power. Return, he
says, return you children of men. All before faith came were
kept under the law, shut up. to that faith that should afterward
be revealed. There's the real work and ministry
of the Lord to shut a man up to what he is. To shut a man
up to his complete and utter inability to do anything for
himself. That every mouth may be stopped
and all the world become guilty before God. What does God teach
those in whom He works this miracle, this mighty work of saving faith? Well, He teaches them that salvation
is all together by the grace of God. For by grace are you
saved through faith. That's how we're saved, is it
not? Not of works. Lest any man should boast, for
we are his workmanship. His workmanship created in Christ
Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them by grace. It is altogether the grace of
God this faith. There is that spiritual work
of the Spirit then, that spiritual circumcision and the consequence
of that is evidenced in that faith that comes as a result
of the operation of God in the man, in the woman's heart. All this salvation, you see,
that the sinner comes to experience by faith. He can only know an
experience of that salvation where God is pleased to work
so mightily and effectually in his soul we have those lovely
words in the opening verse of 2nd Peter Peter writes to those
who have obtained he says like precious faith with us or what
is that precious faith? Precious faith with us, the same
faith that the apostles knew. They'd obtained it. Now remember,
we've said this on previous occasions, the verb that he used is a verb
to obtain. They've obtained, like precious
faith. And the basic meaning of the
verb there is something that is obtained, it would seem by
chance. obtained by the casting of a
lot. That's the word that he uses.
It's associated with the casting of lots. They've obtained this
faith by chance. But the fictitious powers of
chance and fortune we defy. There's no such thing. What does
the wise man tell us in Proverbs 16? There, at the end of that
16th chapter, he says, the lot is cast into the lap, but the
whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Oh, how do they obtain
that light, precious faith? It's at the Lord's disposal.
The Lord disposes faith. The Lord grants faith. It's the
gift of God. By grace, are you saying, through
faith and that much of yourselves, it is the gift of God. and friends
if we are those who desire that we might have faith and I do
hope each and all of us here tonight want that saving faith
how do we obtain it? we ask it from God we ask it
of God and if we sometimes fear that our faith is so small what
do we say? Oh Lord increase our faith Lord
I believe help thou my non-believers only the Lord can give it Only
the Lord can give. It's the work of the Lord, all
of it you see. Look at this circumcision. It's
the circumcision made without hands. It's the circumcision of Christ. What Christ does. It's a spiritual circumcision,
I say. They are born, these people, not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but they are born of
God. And they have therefore that faith that is of the operation
of God. And so we have circumcision,
yes, it's the basis of saving faith in that spiritual circumcision
is to be understood in terms of the great work of regeneration.
And where there is that quickening, where there is that new birth,
it will be evidenced in that faith that is of the operation
of God. And then we come to this baptism. Buried with him in baptism, it
says, wherein also you are risen with him through the faith of
the operation of God. Baptism is rightly spoken of
as that heaven-drawn picture. What does baptism express? When
I speak of baptism here, of course, I'm speaking of believers' baptism. And baptism by immersion is what
we're speaking of. That is the only proper baptism.
We don't really need to use the expression by immersion because
it's a bit of tautology. Baptism is baptism. Baptism is
immersion. But because there's so much confusion
and something that's wrinkling or effusion, pouring of water,
is a form of baptism, we have to use that bit of tautology
and say baptism by immersion. But that is the only proper baptism.
And the baptism of the believer by total immersion is, I say,
that heaven-drawn picture. And what does it express? What
does it set before us? It sets before us the union between
Christ and his people, the union between Christ and the church,
the union between Christ and the individual believer. We have those words of the Apostle
in the sixth chapter of Romans, there at verse 3, and the following
verses, Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried
with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised
up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together
in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness
of his resurrection." And so we have it here, you see. buried
with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God." Baptism is that wonderful
picture of union between Christ and His Church, between the Church
and Christ. All that Christ did, of course,
here upon the earth, everything that Christ did was for His people. All that he did. That's a lovely
verse, is it not, of William Gadsby's. For us Jesus
was baptized in tremendous agonies. Mighty vengeance like a flood
overwhelmed the Lamb of God. Now what is Gadsby thinking of
as he writes those words? concerning Christ's baptism,
he's not speaking of Christ being baptized by John in the river
Jordan, that was the case of course we know that Christ submitted
to John's baptism, he was baptized but Gadsby is speaking of another
baptism, for us Jesus was baptized in tremendous agony mighty vengeance
like a flood overwhelmed the Lamb of God Isn't dear old Gadsby
really thinking of Christ's experience of crucifixion, when he bore
in his own person all the wrath of God? He's thinking, I believe,
of those words of the Psalm, Psalm 69, which is a messianic
psalm, it's a prophetic psalm, it speaks of Christ, Save me,
O God, says Christ, for the waters are come into my soul. I sink
in deep mire where there is no standing. I am coming to deep
waters where the floods overflow me. This was the suffering of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He was immersed in suffering. It's all that Christ did, I say.
All that Christ did was for his people. When we come to the end
of his life then, and the sufferings that he endures on the cross,
that's all for his people. But when we see Christ, you know,
even as a child, what he does is for his people. He was circumcised
for his people, was he not? And we have it here. the circumcision
of Christ is spoken of at the end of verse 11 Luke tells us in the second chapter
of his gospel when eight days were accomplished he was circumcised When 8 days were accomplished,
at the age of 8 days he was circumcised and his name was called Jesus. You see, he was born. He was
made of a woman. He was made under the law. And
there we see him as a young babe under the law. He circumcised. Galatians 5 verse 3, we've already
quoted the words. I testify again to every man
that he circumcised, that he is debtor to the whole law. And
Christ was debtor to the whole law. He came to stand in the
law place of his people. And as one who was debtor to
the law, he was obliged to do all the law. And he did all the
law. He obeyed all the law. And this is the belief of salvation, it's
Christ. And there's nothing needed to
be added to what Christ has done. You are complete in Him, which
is the head of all principality and power. Well, what do we see,
friends, in this passage that we've sought to expand tonight
these words that we find in Colossians chapter 2 verses 11 and 12. We
see here that baptism is for believers. Baptism is for believers. If you are a believer, baptism
is for you. And who are these believers?
They are those who are spiritually circumcised. They are those who
have been born again. They have experienced what the
Apostle writes about in this 11th verse. And as they have
experienced that new birth, that regeneration, so they have that
faith that is of the operation of God. They have that faith
that is the gift of God. in whom also ye are circumcised,
with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried
with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from
the dead. May the Lord be pleased to bless
his work. 3. The Jew is Tentum number 73. By what amazing ways the Lord
vouchsafes to explain the wonders of his sovereign grace towards
the sons of men. 863. ways, the Lord that saves to
explain the wonders of His sovereign grace towards the sons of men. He shows us first how foul by sin, then teaches the believing
soul the way to make it clean. A baptism first declares what
need we When Joseph cries to all goddess,
can purity dispense? Water the body lays, and it is
done by faith. Saves the sinful soul from death. Water no man denies, But brethren
rest not there. Tis faith in Christ that justifies
and makes the conscience clear Baptized into his death we rise
to life divine The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you
all. Amen.