Baptized into Christ Rom 6:3-4
Cognizance element of Baptism v 3, "Do you not know . . . ? surely you know this about baptism! Why? Because this is basic, this is fundamental. This is an elementary teaching in the Christian life. All believers are baptized and it has this meaning everywhere.
Common Nature of Baptism v. 3 all of us Christians can't go on living in sin by saying that the meaning of their baptism contradicts it. "All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death." Baptism means death with Christ, and those who are dead to sin don't go on living in it. And that means "all of us." That is, all Christians.
Construct of Baptism v. 3 have been baptized aorist passive
Gk "baptizo" means immersion, not sprinkling or pouring, John 3:23 Acts 8:38, along with the symbolism of Rom 6:4, The picture of burial and resurrection is not portrayed by any other method of baptism Piper It is a good symbol if you immerse someone, but if you pour or sprinkle onto someone, the symbolism breaks down. This is where the notion of dipping someone backward into the water comes from. It is not in the New Testament. It is not an essential model. Why do we do it that way? So the image is portrayed- you are being buried. When you are buried you are laid on your back, and then you are brought back to life, representing the resurrection You were baptized into Christ. No longer is sin master over you, Christ is master over you. No longer is sin your lord. Christ is your Lord. That’s symbolized in your baptism. You are not under the dominion of sin, you’re not under the condemnation of the law, you are now living in the free grace reign of the dominion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Even your baptism shows that you shouldn’t go on sinning so that grace might increase, because you’re not of the dominion of sin. You’re under the dominion of your Lord. You are baptized into Christ, into His person, you are bound with Him. You’re in covenant with Him, you’re united with Him. You’re a beneficiary of His work. And you’re baptized into His death. Christ’s person and work can never be separated. And so if you were baptized into Christ, then you were also a beneficiary of His work, and one of His great works was His death. (Duncan)
Categories of Baptism in the New Testament
Repentance – John’s Baptism Mark 1:4, John 1:19-33, Acts 19:1-4, John 3:23
1) It was in Water Mark 1:5, Matt 3:6
2) It required repentance and confession of sin by the recipients Mk 1:4, Matt 3:2, 6, 8; Lk 3:1, 8-14
3) It would result in the forgiveness of sins Mk 1:4, Luke 3:3
4) Demanded baptism of all Jews
5) Was not repeated but once for all.
6) The precursor to the Baptist of the Holy Spirit Matt 3:11, Lk 3:16 (Leo Garrett)
Representation –Water baptism Matt 3:16, Matt 28:19,
Salvation: Baptismal regeneration- Three primary groups
Pentecostal Oneness, Acts 2:38, Acts 19:1-5
Roman Catholics-(sacraments are the way to administer grace -Baptism, the gateway to the sacraments, is necessary for salvation, either by actual reception or at least by desire. By it people are freed from sins, are born again as children of God and, made like to Christ by an indelible character, are incorporated into the Church. It is validly conferred only by a washing in real water with the proper form of words (The Code of Canon Law (London: Collins, 1983; The effects of baptism are the removal of the guilt of sin and all punishment due to sin, conferral of the grace of regeneration and the infused virtues, incorporation into Christ and his Church, receiving the baptismal character and the right to heaven.- infant baptism (pedobaptism)).,
Church of Christ - process of salvation involves the following steps: 1) One must be properly taught, and hear (Romans 10:14); 2) One must believe or have faith (Hebrews 11:6); 3) One must repent, which means turning from one's former lifestyle and choosing God's ways (Acts 17:30); 4) One must confess belief that Jesus is the son of God (Acts 8:36–37); 5)One must be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38); and 6) One must live faithfully as a Christian (1 Peter 2:9).) John 3:5, Acts 2:38 (Acts 3:19 -Acts 10:43 Gk eis which, with the accusative case, meaning on account of, on the basis of.). 1 Peter 3:20-21 (Gk antitupon. It means "copy," "type," corresponding to," "a thing resembling another," "a picture or pattern," Baptism is a representation, a copy, a type of something else. Of oour baptism in Christ. Acts 22:16 ( Acts 9:17-18) Eph 1:7, Titus 3:5, Gal 3:5) Mark 16:16-18 , Col 2:11-12
Symbol: It is an outward representation of an inward reality. For example, it represents the reality of the inward washing of Christ's blood upon the soul. Acts 8:12-13, Acts 16:14-15, 30-34, Acts 18:7-8, Paul: 1 Cor 1:14-17, Eph 2:8-10, John 1:12, 3:16 (baptized “ into” used in Rom 6:3, 1 Cor 10:2, 12:13, and Gal 3:27- all are an identified with the thing being baptized into. The focus is not the baptism itself but on the thing the baptism represents Col 2:12 - baptism evokes images: 1) the cleansing of sins, our uniting with Christ in his death. We were buried with Him and raised again.. Tom Nettles: Understanding the Four Views of Baptism: Four historic views on baptism are considered in depth: • Baptism of the professing regenerate by immersion (Baptist) • Believers’ baptism on the occasion of regeneration by immersion (Christian Churches/Churches of Christ) • Infant baptism by sprinkling as a regenerative act (Lutheran) • Infant baptism of children of the covenant (Reformed) Nettles states: Baptism is the immersion in the water of a believer in Jesus Christ performed once as the initiation on such a believer into a community of believers, the church
Regenerational - Spirit Baptism into Christ John1:19-34 v. 33 he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, Mark 1:8, Matt 3:11-12, Acts 1:5,11:16, 1 Cor 12:13 , Acts 10: 44-48, John 3:5, Titus 3:4-7
The text is referring to baptism that is wrought by the Spirit because water baptism doesn’t achieve union, it does not produce it . The glorious thing about salvation is that I am taken out of Adam, that I have finished with him and I am dead to sin. I am in Christ, and all the blessings that come to me come because of my union with Christ. What we are dealing with is something that has happened to us. Something that results from the Holy Spirit upon us 1 Cor 1:30 You must never say that at one stage you have only taken Christ as your justification, and later you will take him as your sanctification. If you are Christian you are complete in Christ Col 2:10. He is now your wisdom, your righteousness, your sanctification, and your redemption. You are no longer in Adam, you are in Christ; and if you are in Him, what is true of Him is true of you. You realize it progressively, but it is true now. Because you are in Christ, you are in His death, you are in His life, your are in everything that is His. You are “In Him” Jones The repetition of the word "into" in v 3 - 4. Baptized "into Christ Jesus," and baptized "into his death" (v 3), and baptism "into death" (v 4a). What this says is that baptism portrays our union with Christ, that is, we are united to him spiritually so that his death becomes our death and his life will become our life (Piper)
Controversy over Baptism - The controversy comes from saying that baptism in Rom 6:3-4 "signifies" our death with Christ. The other view that I have in mind would say, "No, what the text plainly says is not that baptism signifies our death with Christ, but that it effects or causes or brings about our death with Christ." They would point to the last words of verse 3, "[we] have been baptized into His death." They would not take this as a picture of what happened by faith, but as the way we actually died with Christ – in the act of baptism. They would point even more forcefully to verse 4: "We have been buried with Him through baptism into death." They would stress the words "through baptism." Baptism, they would say, is not the symbol of our death with Christ, but the instrument of our death with Christ. "We have been buried with Him through baptism into death." Baptism is when and how we died with Christ, and before baptism, they say, we were not united with Christ and not justified and not saved. The saving function of faith is stressed in many texts where baptism is not mentioned at all, which would be very strange if baptism were the decisive instrument of union with Christ without which there is no union, no salvation. Belo are passages that speak of saving faith, but apart from baptism: Acts 4:4, 32; 10:43; 11:21; 13:39, 48; 14:1; 15:5, 9; 16:31, 34; 20:21; Romans 1:17; 3:22, 25, 26, 28, 30; 4:5, 9, 11, 13; 5:2; 9:30; 10:6, 9-17; 13:11; 1 Cor 1:17-21; 15:2; Gal 2:16; 3:2, 5, 7-9, 14, 22, 24-27; 5:6; Eph 1:13; 2:8; Phil 3:9; 2 Tim 3:15 (Piper)
Piper suggests three reasons the text teaches that baptism signifies our death with Christ that was accomplished at Calvary and was first experienced when we were united to Christ by faith.
1) NT teaching that we are justified by faith alone because of the union with Christ that happens through faith Rom 5:1, 8:1 - justification (that is, freedom from condemnation) comes through being in Christ Jesus. And it comes through faith. Therefore faith is the means of our being in Christ Jesus and the sole instrument of our justification. Where does that leave baptism? Following closely behind faith, baptism signifies this great union with Christ, especially in his death and resurrection. But the inner, spiritual union with Christ comes through the inner, spiritual act of faith, not through the outer, physical act of baptism.
2) When Paul explicitly relates faith and baptism he does so in a way that shows faith is the instrument that unites us to Christ, not physical baptism. Gal 3:26 –27: The "for" at the beginning of verse 27 shows that "baptism into Christ" is either an outward expression of faith or a proof of faith. But it is "through faith" that we are sons of God. In Col 2:12 the instrument of our burial and resurrection is faith ("through faith"). The baptismal act appears to be the outward expression of this inward spiritual experience of union with Christ by faith. Faith is the instrument that unites us to Christ and thus justifies.
3) Rom 6:3-4 describes the symbol of dying with Christ rather than the instrument of dying with Christ. In a wedding putting on the ring is a sign of forsaking all others and cleaving only to your spouse. The decisive leaving and cleaving is in the promise, the vows. Then comes the ring, the symbol. In that analogy, the vows stand for faith in Christ, and the ring stands for baptism
Correlation of Baptism v. 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, it signifies our death with Christ that was accomplished at Calvary and was first experienced when we were united to Christ by faith. Three events in that statement – in chronological order this time: 1) the accomplishment of our death with Christ -the historical event of Christ's death at Calvary when God saw us in Christ, so that his death was our death. 2) the application to us through faith of what God accomplished for us at Calvary. We trusted in Christ and were thus united to him experientially, so our death with him became personal to us. 3) the signification of our death with Christ. We were baptized in Christ's name Baptism signifies (portrays, dramatizes, expresses outwardly, symbolizes) our death with Christ which was accomplished for us historically at Calvary and then was applied to us experientially by faith.
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