[Pastor Ralph]

Q1. (Romans 6:3-5) In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ? In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ?

[pickledilly]

First let me say that in studying the Scriptures and responding to these questions, my answers are directed to myself. I'm just seeking whatever truth and application the Holy Spirit is showing me and then I share that in the forum.

Whew, this is really deep stuff. I may be misinterpreting this first question, but I do not believe that the act of baptism "brings about" anyone's union with Christ. The Holy Spirit fuses a believer into Christ and His Body at the moment one engages and applies saving faith. But perhaps it could be said that in participating in the physical baptism, it is a moment in time where you can experience the full meaning of what has happened in your spirit. As the waters close over you, it would be a reality of entering into death - His death to all the forces of worldliness and sin. As I answered Q4 of Lesson 2, I had thoughts about this that I repeat here:

1. He took every form and expression of sin, wickedness, iniquity, and trespass against the LORD to death.
2. He took every excuse, rationalization, and desire for sin to death.
3. He took estrangement and separation from God to death.
4. He took the eternal consequences of God's rightful judgment and wrath to death.

I believe that to go completely under the water is to best represent the total submission to death with Christ, leaving not even a strand of hair untouched by this symbolic action. According to verse 4, it is identification with His burial. To be buried obviously means that there is no life left in the dead thing, and you would never partially bury someone who has died. Just as Christ completely died and was buried, my baptism represents the truth that when I trusted in His work of redemption, I was united in His death to the power of sin, my satisfaction in it, my separation from God because of it, and the judgment of wrath as a result of it. Because I have been grafted, planted, fused, joined - baptized - into Him as my Head, I am united with Him in this death. Life now is not about me, but about Him. I have to die to myself in order for Him to increase through me. But glory to God, just as we are raised back up out of the waters to represent how the Savior was raised by the Father, I know I also can "walk in the newness of life" and will be united completely with Christ in a resurrection like His! Oh, that I will actually live this truth!!!

How I wish that I had more deeply understood this Scripture when I was baptized (by immersion) many years ago. It would have been a much more profound experience!

[jason]

[quote name='Pastor Ralph' date='Aug 16 2008, 01:09 AM' post='37950']
Q1. (Romans 6:3-5) In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ? In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ?
We were united with him in his death on Golgotha. It's an enactment that we do to honour what Jesus did for us when he sacrificed his life, so that we may start again and wash away our old life.
It's a symbolic way of putting to death our old life and being born again in our new spiritual life with Jesus Christ..

[Ms CJ]

Q1. (Romans 6:3-5) In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ? In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ?

1. When we come to the knowledge of Christ, then we begin to understand the work of the cross in a new sense. So, as the Holy Spirit enlightens us with the word of God in the New Testment just as Paul is doing here in Romans we begin to understand the death, the burial and resurrection works done through the cross. Just as He died, was buried and resurrected we to must be. We can never go through what He went through in getting to the grave, but we should by all means go through this baptism to show we understand it, accept it as becoming one with Him and rising to a new way of living from now untill our death of the natural man.

This union shows also that we may die as a natural man, but Glory to God our spirit will never die our soul will (our mind, will and emotions) never die, we truly live forever as He lives. I think how afraid we are of dying until the knowledge of Him is really understood. Just as soon as the breath is gone we are gone in Him and never miss a beat.


2. When we do this act publicly we are acknowledging to the world we are now one with Christ. That we are confessing with not only our mouth that Jesus is Lord in our life, but that we also recognize what He has done on the cross and that our eternal life is now under the authority of our Heavenly Father. This states that we know we are sinners saved by grace, that we must have His mercy, and we must be forgiven.

[Linda Stanley]

Q1. Romans 6;3-5 Coming up out of the water is a resurection to new life with Jesus.Baptism symbolize's our union with Jesus.We think of our sinful life as dead and buried.Although I was baptised as a baby,and then rebaptised as an adult,I believe either way unites us with Jesus Christ.Sprinkled or emersed,the main point is being united with Jesus.Some people are raised up to know God all their life and some are not.Lets go back to John 3;16.This scripture is very important.This is a decission we make in our life,at some point of time.We have to believe this scripture of truth or baptism symbolizes nothing in our life.Of course I am speaking for myself.Everyday I struggle with my flesh to defeat sin,many times looking through wordly eyes I am blinded and do not see the truth, as it is written in Gods Holy Word.I am not saying that I continue on in sin,somtimes I just miss the mark, and stumble.Through Gods grace ,mercy and love,he picks me back up again and I learn from my mistakes,(sins),seek forgiveness through Jesus Christ and move on with my life.This is what I believe or think is being united with Jesus Christ in his resurrection.We have a new life.Amen

[Elwood C O'Dell]

In a sense our baptism unites us with Christ. We become one with Him. (6:3) We are united with Him, much like being grafted into Him. His nature and our nature are fused together. (6:5) As we go under in baptism it symbolizes our sins being washed away. As we rise it symbolizes that we come alive in Him to a new life. In this way we are thus united with Him.

[Stan]

Q1. (Romans 6:3-5) In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ? In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ?


It allows us to be in union with Christ in being buried with Him in His death and being reborn into His resurrection. It symbolizes our death and resurrection into new life with Him as our Head and us as His body.

[nes]

Q1. (Romans 6:3-5) In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ? In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ?

through baptism it brings our union with Christ. union to His death, union to His resurrection, and union to all His suffering.

Baptism symbolize our death and resurrection. it is our public confession that we are united with Christ. that we are in Christ. 2 Cor. 5:17 said "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold new things have come." Baptism also telling us to start a new life.

[masika]

Q1. (Romans 6:3-5) In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ? In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ?
When we are baptized into Christ, we are baptized into His death, and therefore into His burial and resurrection as well. Through baptism we are united with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection; and being united with Him in this manner we rise to new life, leaving behind our old self and rising to a new. Baptism is when our old self dies and our new life begins. Baptism is when we stop living for ourselves and start living for Christ. Through baptism we die to ourselves and exchange our life for His. Baptism is also when we come into contact with the blood of Christ. It is in baptism that we “die” with Christ…and so we therefore will live with Him as well.

In other words, what happens in baptism is that God takes Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection and transposes it onto our life. Our old, sinful self becomes united with Christ in His crucifixion and death through baptism and we rise from the water to new life. This is how we “obey the gospel” (2 Thessalonians 1:8) and how we “put on Christ” (Galatians

[paulcrf]

Q1. (Romans 6:3-5) In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ? In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ?

In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ?
Answer: Baptism involves incorporation into Christ. We become one with Him. All of us who were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death.

In what sense does baptism symbolized our union with Christ?
Answer: Baptism by immersion symbolized burial and resurrection of Christ just as we buried our old sinful nature. Coming up from the water symbolize living a new life just as Christ resurrected from the dead defeating the power of satan over death.

[JustJeff]

In that Christ died for us we, in turn, die into Him by laying down the old person in baptism.
The act of being immersed symbolizes dieing by going under the water and raising up a "new" creation.
See it! http://www.peopletha.../contactus.html

[iam4-1god]

Q1. (Romans 6:3-5) In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ? In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ?

If we are buried like Him, we will be raised like Him. For His death and resurrection are symbolized in baptism. So, when we become baptized, we are joined with Christ, and sin no longer has a hold on us! We are free from sin and death! Now, this doesn't mean that we won't die: it just means that we don't have to be afraid of the consequences of death anymore-we know where we are going, and this causes us to rejoice! It also doesn't mean that we can keep on sinning:we are now joined with Christ, and we are free from sin's hold on us! We have a new life! I love this!

[house]

Romans 6:3-5
"Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into this death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection."

In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ?
I think being baptized fulfills what Jesus spoke of about being identified with him:

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven." Matthew 10:32

In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ?
What better way to identify union with Christ than the symbolic reenactment of Christ's death and burial (immersion) and resurrection (rising up from the water) of baptism?

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comments:

As Linda mentioned in her post,

I was baptised as a baby, and then rebaptised as an adult

I also chose to be baptized again (by immersion) as an adult. I didn't do it because I felt it was necessary to be baptized as an adult or by immersion, but I felt strongly that it was something I wanted to do.

I am not against infant baptism, my son and my daughter were both baptized as infants, but I was very pleased when each chose to be baptized again as a young adult. These baptisms were also by immersion, but what pleased me was that they chose for themselves to do this.

[hanks]

The sacrament of baptism is not a requirement for salvation; it can be a public sign of it.
I don’t think Paul is teaching that water baptism has any inherent merit in the rite. Not all who are baptized are thereby savingly united with Jesus. When a person is saved, he is baptized into Jesus Christ and is identified with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection. This is not the same as baptism in the Spirit, though both occur simultaneously.

Symbolically baptism unites us with our Lord Jesus. Being immersed symbolises our death of the old-self, and the rising out of the water, our resurrection and new-life, our being born again. Our union with Jesus is obviously spiritual rather than physical, but that does not make it unreal.

[GodExcels]

Baptism is bringing us into the realization of Christ's death for us, and our symbolic dying with Him brings us into relationship. And when He rises again so shall we rise.

[reily]

Q1. (Romans 6:3-5) In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ? In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ?

If we had died with him in Baptism, that sin may be done away with. We have union with Christ

I do not understand that I continue to sin. Where is the power over sin in us if we have been freed from sin?
How can I live for Christ completely?

[Jen]

Q1. (Romans 6:3-5) In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ? In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ?


The first baptism happens when we become true believers and are made one with Christ. That is our union with our Lord. It is spiritual.

The water baptism is what symbolizes our union with Christ in a way that is an outward testimony of our inner belief in Christ, His death and resurrection from the dead to newness of life through Him.

God Bless
Jen
Numbers6:24-26

[charisbarak]

Baptism is a sign to the world that we have died to ourselves and that we are alive with Christ! We are not under sin's dominion anymore--we have a new master--Jesus Christ! We are unified to Christ because we have accepted God's free gift for us and identify with Jesus' death & resurrection for us.

[Triciahh]

In baptism we choose to identify with Christ by showing our faith through obedience. It is a visual picture of being buried with Him and rising to new life in Him or of being washed of our sins to new purity in Him.

[JanMary]

Q1. (Romans 6:3-5) In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ?

We become one with Him in our baptism, as we die to our flesh and live for Him in newness of life.

In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ?

As we come up out of the water, we are no longer our own, but His new creation, having shared His death on the cross. (I love that...my sins are nailed there, no longer on my record)