For the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. Romans 4:13
I approached the ticket window and asked the attendant for tickets for the four members of our family. When I had paid for them, I took the tickets and we made our way to the entrance. When the man at the gate took our tickets, he held out a small ink stamp, and offered to place the stamp on the back of our hands. I asked him if the mark of the stamp was necessary to get into the exhibition. No, he replied, it was not necessary, but it allowed us to come and go from the exhibition grounds as we pleased without paying admission again. It was merely the proof that we had paid the admission. That stamp reminded me of circumcision and its importance to Abraham, and of the Holy Spirit and His importance to believers today.
Abraham received great unconditional promises from God long before he was circumcised. His circumcision was the mark that signified what he had received. In future years and generations, God could look down upon the Israelites, and could identify His people by the physical sign that marked them as obedient and faithful. Today, we require, not a physical sign as Abraham did, but a spiritual sign. Just as Old Testament saints identified themselves to God by circumcision, so today we identify ourselves to God by the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within. Just as an Israelite could not abandon or discard his circumcision, so we cannot today shed the presence of the Holy Spirit. He is forever present, and God is always aware that we are His.
Abraham did not immediately receive the sign of circumcision. But when he did receive it, he made certain that his sons received it as well. The same sign was placed on all male children of Israel. This is a lovely picture of the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the very early days, the disciples and other believers were waiting in anticipation for what the Lord Jesus had promised. But when the Day of Pentecost came, the Holy Spirit came upon all the believers. And since that time, whenever a sinner receives Christ, the Holy Spirit enters and gives proof of the blessings received through faith in Christ. There is a direct parallel between the circumcision of a newborn Israelite and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a newborn child of God. There are great differences, as well, in that the blessings for the Israelite were physical, earthly, and temporary, while the blessings for the Christian are spiritual, heavenly, and eternal. And all through the righteousness available through faith.
The righteousness of God brings us into His blessings and into His presence, because God allows us to exercise the same faith that Abraham had. – Jim MacIntosh