And in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (Col 2:11-14 NASB)
In this pericope, Paul states that those "in" (εν) Christ are circumcised with a spiritual circumcision (viz. water baptism [per v. 12]), and paralleling the language used in Rom 6:3-5, we are said to be buried together (συνθαπτομαι) with him "in baptism" (εν τω βαπτισμω), resulting in God freely forgiving (χαριζομαι) us of our trespasses (cf. Rom 6:7, where the Greek uses δικαιοω, "to be justified" as a result of one's water baptism). The only exegetically-sound interpretation is that this pericope teaches baptismal regeneration, not a merely symbolic understanding of water baptism. Of course, it is God, not man, who affects salvation and the forgiveness of sins through water baptism, as the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of baptism, cleanses us from sins and makes us into a new creature.
Commenting on this text, Protestants E.K. Simpson and F.F. Bruce noted:
Their baptism might, secondly, be viewed as their participation in Christ’s burial. The “putting off of the body of the flesh” and its burial out of sight alike emphasized that the old life was a thing of the past. They had shared in the death of Christ; they had also shared in His burial. Similarly, in Rom. 6:3ff. Paul argues that those who have been buried with Christ “through baptism into death” can no longer go on living as slaves to sin.
But baptism not only proclaims that the old order is over and done with; it proclaims that a new order has been inaugurated. The convert did not remain in the baptismal water; he emerged from it to begin a new life. Baptism, therefore, implies a sharing in Christ’s resurrection as well as in His death and burial. (E.K. Simpson and F.F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Ephesians and the Colossians [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1957], 235-36)
Commenting on the transformative nature of being incorporated “into Christ” in this text and the surrounding (vv. 9-15) verses one scholar noted:
Participating in Christ’s Fullness Christ has not only delivered his people from the domain of darkness, but he has brought them into his kingdom and bestowed on them his salvation . . . What Paul says about Christ [in Col 2:9] he immediately applies to the church by declaring, “in him you are filled” (εστε εν αυτω πεπληρωμενοι). The “in him” (εν αυτω) marks a major motif of the entire theological section of 2:9-15. Paul is hereby attempting to help these believers understand the full significance of being in Christ, especially as it relates to their concern about supernatural powers and their temptation to follow the solution offered by “the philosophy.” His solution is for them to gain a fuller- appreciation for their resources in Christ and to grasp hold of their leader and supplier (2:19) and to concentrate on the things above where Christ is at the right hand of God (3:1).
The fullness of God—his power and his grace—are bestowed on believers by virtue of their incorporation into Christ. As Lightfoot has said, God’s πληρωμα is “transfused” into them. The perfect periphrastic construction (εστε . . .πεπληρωμενοι) emphasises their share in the divine fullness as part of their present experience. (Clinton Arnold, The Colossian Syncretism: The Interface Between Christianity and Folk Belief at Colossae [Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1995], 293-95)
In a book defending baptismal regeneration, Christopher Ogan wrote the following about the meaning of water baptism being a “spiritual” circumcision and how it supports water baptism being salvific:
Circumcision is the removal of the foreskin of the flesh, that is, the removal of the hard and insensitive part of the skin. Water baptism is a spiritual circumcision: a circumcision made without human hands, a circumcision made by Jesus Christ himself. At baptism the Lord Jesus circumcises us with a circumcision called the circumcision of Christ. So while we are being baptised physically here by men, Jesus is also busy circumcising us spiritually at the same time, removing the body of the sins of the flesh from off our body. This body of the sins of the flesh from off our body. This body of the sins of the flesh also called the nature of sin is what moves and compels us to sin even when we don't want to, but thank God it is removed at baptism from our body. If we were to see this circumcision I feel it would be like skinning the entire body. I would therefore say at baptism we are spiritually skinned to remove the part of our body that is susceptible to sin. Without the circumcision of baptism we are susceptible and easily attracted to sin. I believe part of the reason God commanded man (through Abraham) to be circumcised physically was for us to understand the spiritual circumcision that happens at baptism. Water Baptism is the spiritual replica of the physical circumcision of the flesh commanded through Abraham.
Genesis 17:11. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
In this light, we see that baptism as a circumcision brings us into a covenant with God. At baptism we come into a spiritual union and covenant with God. We commit God to be the LORD and Saviour of our life. We commit God to secure our salvation and spiritual destiny as seen in Mark 16:16, where it is written that those who are baptised "shall be saved".
Also baptism as a circumcision regenerates us and delivers us from stiffneckedness and spiritual obstinacy.
Deuteronomy 10:16. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
When the insensitive part of us is removed at baptism, we become pliable and flexible to divine guidance.
Water baptism as a circumcision also enables us to love God with all our heart and soul. Note that, when God commands us to do a thing He always makes available the necessary enablement or ability to do as He commands. God commands us to love Him with all our heart and soul (Mark 12:30) and water baptism is God’s medium for the spiritual enablement to love God as He commands.
Deuteronomy 30:6. And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that shou mayest live. The LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart . . .
This I believe reveals why the Lord Jesus has to circumcise us with a circumcision made without hands at baptism. This circumcision also empowers us to love God with all our heart and soul. Until our heart is circumcised we cannot love God as He commands. If water baptism is a spiritual circumcision as documented in the Holy Bible then we need it if we must love God with all our heart, mind, soul, body and strength.
Water baptism as a spiritual circumcision prepares us for the Promised Land (Heaven). Circumcision prepared the children of Israel for the Promised Land.
Joshua 5:2. At the time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.
3. And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
4. And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.
5. Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.
7. And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.
8. And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.
9. And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.
13. And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his word drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14. And he said, Nay; but as captain of the hose of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
15. And the captain of the LORD’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
The same way circumcision prepared the children of Israel for the Promised Land, God sent John the Baptist with the mystery of water baptism to prepare us for Jesus and Heaven.
Note from the above scriptures that the place where the children of Israel were circumcised was called Gilgal. Gilgal was where the Israelites first encamped after crossing Jordan to enter the Promised Land (Joshua 4:19). At Gilgal they were circumcised again the second time, in other words they renewed their earlier covenant of circumcision with God. At Gilgal God rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off the children of Israel, that is, at Gilgal the disgrace and shame the children of Israel suffered at Egypt was removed. Also at Gilgal after the circumcision of the children of Israel, God sent an angel as a captain to fight for the children of Israel. In this light Gilgal can be seen as a place of new beginnings, a place of renewed covenant and commitment, a transition point for the children of Israel, a point where God took over their battle. All these pictures of Gilgal reflect what happens when we are spiritually circumcised at baptism.
We must also note that spiritual uncircumcision is part of the reason God’s wrath is coming upon man. To escape, God’s wrath and fury we must be spiritually circumcised through baptism.
Jeremiah 4:4. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
From the above scripture we understand that we can circumcise ourselves unto God, in other words we separate ourselves unto God through the spiritual circumcision at baptism. By submitting ourselves to the circumcision of water baptism we separate ourselves unto God. We see wherefore that water baptism separates us unto God; it prepares us to become vessels for God’s use. As exemplified in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus, as soon as He was baptised, He became anointed, separated, empowered and commissioned for the kick off of His ministry on the earth (Luke 4:1-21). (Christopher Ogan, The Mystery of Water Baptism: Understanding Water Baptism [The Living Water Media, 2019], 61-67)
Further Reading
Christ's baptism is NOT imputed to the believer