It uses several powerful analogies to express this miracle. As Michelangelo s fresco needed the grime to be cleaned away, we need to be washed spiritually. The Holy Spirit is a cleaning agent. It scrubs away the staining and tarnishing effects of our sinful nature. This removal, cleansing and cutting out of sin is also described by the metaphor of circumcision.
Christians have their hearts circumcised.
We could say that God mercifully saves us by surgically removing the cancer of sin. This severing of sin the spiritual circumcision is a metaphor for the forgiveness of our personal sins. It was made possible by Jesus through his death as a perfect sacrifice for sin. The New Testament uses the symbol of the cross to describe our sinful nature being neutralized. Of course, the spirit of the world still attempts to cover our minds with the dirty garments of sin.