Colossians 2:11
“In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →In Christ believers received a circumcision not made by hands -- the putting off of the sinful flesh through Christ's own circumcision.
What Does Colossians 2:11 Mean?
Paul reaches for the sign of belonging given long ago. Physical circumcision marked God's covenant people, but the Colossians have received a deeper reality: a circumcision made without hands, worked by God himself.
This inward circumcision is the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh -- the decisive break with the old life of sin. It comes by the circumcision of Christ, that is, through what Christ accomplished, not through any ritual the false teachers might require. The outward sign pointed all along to this inner transformation. Paul's message to the Colossians is that they need no human ceremony to mark their belonging to God; Christ has already done the true work in them. The cutting away that matters is the heart's deliverance from sin, and it is God's doing in Christ.