It is as if they are in the hands of a magician who has cast a spell over them. They no longer see what at one time was so prominently displayed among them—the message of the crucified Christ. Thus Paul appeals to their beginnings as Christians, to their experience of entering the new age. How did they come to receive the Spirit, the supreme mark of the new age? By doing something, such as getting themselves circumcised, or by simply hearing the gospel which leads to faith? How do they account for