²⁸ A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly,^(A) nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.^(B)

²⁹ No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart,^(A) by the Spirit,^(B) not by the written code.^(C) Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.^(D)

God’s Sovereign Choice

⁶ It is not as though God’s word^(A) had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.^(B)

³ For it is we who are the circumcision,^(A) we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus,^(B) and who put no confidence in the flesh—