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Being physically dead and spiritually dead are two different things. Your example suggests only physical death, yet someone who is spiritually dead but not physically dead can do an obedient act. This is proven by Christ who said, "Let the dead bury the dead." How can the physically dead bury the physically dead? That would be impossible, like your example. However, contrary to your example, Christ meant that the spiritually dead should bury the physically dead so that the man he was talking to would have no excuse to not follow Him right then. When we OBEY by getting baptized we are raised out of the water alive with the Holy Spirit. The bible says that God will punish those who know not God, and OBEY not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The work during baptism is spiritual- not physical, and God does the work, not you- for the work that He does is circumcission. (Colossians chapter 2).
Doing a physical act is not the question here. One who is physically alive can do a physical act.
What is in question, is doing a act that is not self focused, Self preserving, and self motivating. A spiritually dead person are unable to do this, because they are spiritually dead. They can not please God, and can do nothing.
It must be made alive before it can do an outward, unselfish act of trusting God and pleasing him.
A dead man can not walk to the baptismal. A spiritually dead man can not be baptised for the proper reasons. It would be self focused. because that is all the dead flesh can do.
If your not washed by the blood of the lamb, and renewed by the HS (titus 3: 5) Your baptism is useless.
God does do circumcision as you correctly said in colossians 2. But you missed the point of HOW God circumcises us. By baptising us into Christ. It is God baptising us, The baptism of God is what cleanses us, not the baptism of man.