Jesus Christ is fully God, and we are full in him. But what does spiritual fullness mean and how is it ours? In verses 11–15, Paul completes the argument of verses 9–10. Paul begins his explanation of fullness with complete salvation. The metaphors Paul chooses to explain our full salvation are circumcision and baptism. The point of these metaphors is that we are saved totally and exclusively through the work of God, not through any human activity.

No religious ritual can make us alive with Christ. Paul picks two familiar rituals in these verses, but he clearly is not talking about the physical acts of circumcision and baptism. Instead, he is talking about the spiritual reality behind the physical rite. For all our modern medical advancements, no operation or procedure can remove or cut out our sinful nature and give us new life. This is an operation only God can perform. Paul tells us it is not done by the hands of men (v. 11).

Spiritual fullness means complete salvation, full forgiveness, and absolute victory. The resurrection was a declaration of power that Jesus is the Son of God; it is a public demonstration that confirms that his death had been effective for the forgiveness of sin.