In his epistle to the Colossians, the Apostle Paul uses forms of a Greek word related to “putting off” three times within 22 verses (a verbal form twice and noun form once). What is interesting is these specific words do not occur anywhere else in the New Testament, nor do they occur in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament). Here are the only uses of these words in the New Testament (author’s translations):
And in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal [ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει] of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ. (Colossians 2:11)
When He had disarmed [ἀπεκδυσάμενος] the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them in Him [or “it,” the cross]. (Colossians 2:15)
Do not lie to one another, since you put off [ἀπεκδυσάμενοι] the old man with its practices. (Colossians 3:9)
In English translations, it is not readily apparent that these verses use the same root word. Yet it seems unlikely that Paul used these similar words so closely for no reason. These are the only three uses of this root word in the Bible, and they are all within 22 verses of the same letter.
Colossians 2:11—the Believer or Christ?
Colossians 2:11 uses the noun form, apekdusis (ἀπέκδυσις), which means “removal, stripping off.” This word is “found nowhere independently of Paul” (BDAG). Colossians 2:11 is a difficult verse, but the main idea is that something was “removed/put off” in the “circumcision of Christ” (a metaphorical phrase).
Part of the debate is whether 2:11 refers to (1) the Christian having put off his sinful “flesh” at the moment of regeneration (2) or Christ’s physical “body” being put off in His death. The clauses in 2:11 are parallel here—“in the removal of the body of flesh” and “in the circumcision of Christ”—meaning both likely refer to the same thing. Thus, both could refer to the believer—“your sinful flesh was put off when you were spiritually circumcised by Christ.” Or both could refer to Christ—“when Christ stripped off His physical body, in His ‘circumcision.’”[1] I favor the latter interpretation (a reference to Christ) for the following reasons:
The language of “the uncircumcision of your flesh” in 2:13 is certainly a reference Christians previously being unregenerate, suggesting “the removal of the body of the flesh” in 2:11 refers to the Christian having put off his sinful flesh. However, Paul may be forming a play on words (i.e., when Christ’s flesh was removed, your sinful flesh was removed). So the language of 2:13 is not determinative for interpreting 2:11.
Rather, the word “flesh” is elsewhere neutral in Colossians (1:22, 24; 2:1, 5), making it less likely it is used as a reference to the “sinful” flesh in 2:11. Instead, it is likely a reference to Christ’s flesh.
There is similar language between Colossians 2:11 (“the removal of the body of the flesh”) and the earlier language of 1:22 that speaks of Christ’s “fleshly body through death,” in reference to Christ’s body. This supports taking 2:11 as a reference to Christ’s death. (1:22, ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ; 2:11, ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει τοῦ σώματος τῆς σαρκός.)
The verbal form of the noun “removal” used in 2:15 (“disarming”) does not refer to something regarding the Christian (as in 3:9) but is a reference to the removing/disarming of spiritual forces by God. So nothing requires the “removal” to be something done to the Christian.
In Jewish literature, including the Bible, “circumcision of…” is grammatically objective, meaning it refers to a person’s circumcision, not circumcision “in/by” him (Exodus 4:25-26; Jeremiah 11:16 [LXX]; Romans 2:29). Thus, the “circumcision of Christ” likely refers to circumcision performed on Christ, in this case metaphorically in His death.
Romans 6:3-4 speaks of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection (“baptized into His death… buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead…”). Similarly, Colossians 2:11-12 speaks of Christ’s circumcision, burial, and resurrection (“circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism… God, who raised Him from the dead.”). The parallel supports “circumcision” in Colossians 2:11 referring to Christ’s death.
Therefore, “circumcision of Christ” in Colossians 2:11 is most likely a metaphor for Christ’s death. In this case, Paul is saying “in Him you were also circumcised” (regenerated) by Christ’s “circumcision” (His death). Rather than a small cutting of the flesh as in physical circumcision, Christ’s entire body was sacrificed. And this “circumcision” brings about the spiritual renewal of the Christian. The parallel in Colossians 2:11-12 shows that Old Testament circumcision is complete and no longer to be performed for religious purposes, as we have been “buried with Him in baptism” (2:12).
Colossians 2:15 & 3:9—Putting off the Old Man
While Colossians 2:11 uses the noun apekdusis (ἀπέκδυσις), Colossians 2:15 and 3:9 both use the verb apekduomai (ἀπεκδύομαι), meaning “take off, strip off” or “disarm” (BDAG). The meaning “take off” in found in Colossians 3:9 (“you put off the old man with its practices”), with the idea being that through union with Christ, Christians have “put off” the old unconverted man and have “put on” the new man (3:10). The meaning “disarm” is found in 2:15 (“He disarmed the rulers and authorities”), with the idea being that God “put off” or “stripped [of power]” the spiritual rulers and authorities in Christ’s death (thus having the meaning “disarmed”).[2]
The verb apekduomai contains a prefix (apo) added to the more common word ekduo (ἐκδύω), which means “to remove clothing from the body, strip, take off” (BDAG). This word ekduo is used for the Roman soldiers “stripping” Jesus’ clothes off Him prior to crucifixion (Matthew 27:28, 31; Mark 15:20). This suggests a theological connection with Colossians 2:11 (if the above interpretation is correct), as the soldiers “stripped off” Christ’s clothes (ekduo) and then Christ “stripped off” His body in death (apekdusis).
While the term ekduo means to “put off,” the term enduo (ἐνδύω) means to “put on.” Both forms are in fact found in Colossians 3:9-12. There Paul says Christians have “put off” (apekduomai) the old man (3:9) and have “put on” (enduo) the new man renewed after the “image” of the Creator (3:10). This latter verse connects back to Paul’s statement that Christ “is the image of the invisible God” (1:15). As Paul says in 1:19, “all the fullness [of God] was pleased to dwell in Him,” and in 2:9, “all the fullness of deity dwells bodily in Him.”
Thus, the image of God is being restored in Christians (3:10) as they are united with God’s “image,” Christ (1:15), in His death and resurrection (2:11-13). In this renewal, there is a “new humanity” with spiritual unity among outward differences (3:10-11). As God’s chosen, Christians are to “put on” (enduo) godly virtue—compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience (3:12).
Conclusion—Putting on Christ
So what is the connection between the same root word being used in Colossians 2:11, 2:15, and 3:9? In 2:11, we see that Christ’s body was “put off” in His death (Christ’s metaphorical “circumcision”), and in union with Him Christians are regenerated (“in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands”). In 2:15, Christ “put off” the spiritual rulers in His death, when His body was “put off” (2:11), showing a theological connection between these verses.
In Colossians 3:9, Christians are said to have “put off” the old man and “put on” the new man. And that new man “is being renewed unto knowledge according to the image of the One who created Him” (3:10). Here we see a connection with 2:11, as both concern the change God brings about in the Christian. In Christ’s death, the Christian is spiritually “circumcised”—i.e., regenerated (2:11). And the Christian is being “renewed” in knowledge according to God’s image—i.e., sanctified (3:10). Regeneration in Christ’s death leads to sanctification according to Christ, and both are wrought by God’s Spirit.
Christians have “put off” the old man (3:9) in regeneration, the source of which is the death of Christ, as He “put off” His body (2:11). Our sinful self died when united to Christ who died on the cross. This is taught also in Romans 6:5-6, which says that “we have become united [with Him] in the likeness of His death,” and “our old man was crucified [with Him].”
Thus, Christ “put off” His body on the cross, in which God “put off” spiritual rulers and in which Christians have “put off” the old unregenerate self and its sinful deeds. The text does not say it, but it is also the case that Christ has “put on” glory in His resurrection from the dead. And as those united through faith to the resurrected Christ, Christians now “put on” Christ and His righteousness. As Paul says, in baptism we were “buried” with Christ and “raised up with Him”—God “made [us] alive together with Him” (Colossians 2:12-13). The regenerate Christian is now sanctified as he lives out the new man and “puts on” the virtue of Christ (3:12)
[1] See David W. Pao, Colossians & Philemon, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 165–166.
[2] For a defense of the standard interpretation of Colossians 2:15 that Christ “disarmed” the rulers and authorities, see Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, The Pillar New Testament Commentary Series (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 212–214.
