Ephesians 2:11-13 establishes that the Jew/Gentile separation based upon physical circumcision has been transcended through the shed blood of a unifying mediator. (13) “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” The blood shed of circumcision which symbolically and provisionally set apart a people gives way to Christ's shed blood that binds us in covenant with Him and, by extension, His people. In this revelation of covenant sign fulfillment, we have a classic example of shadow (O.T. ritual identity) giving way to substance (fellowship with Christ). This is the way covenant signs, symbols, ceremonies, and rituals serve their purpose to reveal God's truth across time. Abrahamic circumcision has been rendered obsolete, having fulfilled its purpose, giving way to a new administration in the timeline of covenant promise. The corresponding New Covenant sign is baptism. Col 2:8-17 lays out this reality in profound detail as Paul clarifies for the New Testament church how the covenant is fulfilled and sustained in Christ. As the signs of old served as an external confirmation or seal of an internal reality, so baptism remains a point of contact for the church today of God's covenant promises. Let us consider the explanatory weight of Col 2 today with respect to baptism as circumcision fulfilled...