But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God – Romans 2:29.

To be a Jew meant you were in God’s family, an heir to all of His promises. As the Jews strayed away from God, we too, as spiritual Jews, stray away from the instructions God has given us and lean to our own understanding and misconception of the doctrine of Jesus Christ.

The Pharisees were one of the three sects of Judaism in the time of Jesus. The name meant separated by notable works. A Pharisee requested Jesus to dine with him; after sitting at the table, the Pharisee noticed Jesus didn’t wash His hands, and because of their tradition of washing hands before eating and other purity rituals, he wondered why Jesus didn’t wash His hands. Jesus said  “And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, but your inward parts is full of ravening (grasping or robbery) and wickedness – Luke 11:39″.

 Many Christians are clean on the outside, but inwardly, they are bitter, unforgiving, fault-finding, judgmental, envying, jealous, gossiping, controlling, and belittling others. Just as the Pharisees were quick to tell others how to live, but they weren’t living what they were teaching, there are many Christians who are quick to judge others, but they haven’t taken an inward inspection of themselves.

How can we be the body of Christ if I can walk past you and act as though you weren’t there or cannot sit on the same pew with a fellow brother or sister because of holding offenses? We can run, jump, skip, fall out, and speak in tongues, but if we’re mistreating another brother or sister, our worship, as well as our prayers, are hitting the ceiling rather than opening the doors of heaven.

What we do to each other, we’re doing it to Jesus. We’re the body of Christ, and the eyes of the Lord are everywhere, beholding the good and the evil. Another spirit is in operation when I can mistreat or disrespect another believer and a nonbeliever. It’s the spirit of Satan that comes against the believer, not the Spirit of God.

If the Spirit of God dwells in us, we should be careful of how we treat one another. God the Father is love, and if He’s living in us, we, too, will have a love for the brethren manifested through our behavior toward each other.

How can we expect to win the world while fighting each other? True love is on display at all times toward others. Speaking in tongues without the Fruit of the Spirit in manifestation is worthless. It’s the heart that is acting out in our behavior and character; when the heart lines up with the Word of God, everything else will come into order.

Circumcision of the heart occurs when we love God with all our being, presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, spirit, soul, mind, and body. We will love one another as Christ has loved us.