In verses 11-12, Paul uses both the old covenant sign of circumcision and the new covenant sign of baptism to picture how Christians are united with Christ and freed from sin.
This is a complex issue. "Flesh" is possibly a metaphor for our sinful nature. Paul is not teaching that the physical part of man is sinful. Paul appears to be teaching that, while Christians are alive ("in the flesh"), we will continue to sin. But our new nature will be fighting against our old nature. Paul also uses "flesh" in this chapter to refer to the physical body.
Paul mentions several issues in this chapter that imply information about the context of the church in Colossae. It is best to allow the text to remain uncertain over the actual details. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit]])
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