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Colossians 2:12 - Baptized into Christ

Romans 6:1-14
Against the deception of a religious way of thinking, Paul has set in stark contrast the truth in Christ Jesus,
in whom all genuine power for the believer resides. Through union with Christ by faith, the believer is
complete; that is, Gods plan for mankind, is completed, in the believer; he has become a son of God, with
all of the privileges of that position, and all of the power associated with it.
To help the believers to understand this better, Paul uses the joined illustration of circumcision and baptism.
Circumcision was the sign of the covenant given to Abraham, a picture of the cutting away of the flesh
body of the Covenant Son, in death.
The promise of new life is borne out in the instructions that the LORD then gave to Abraham, but
circumcision itself is a sign of death. The circumcision of Christ that Paul refers to in this letter pertains to
the putting off of the body of the flesh, the action of the Father upon those who have chosen to become His
sons, through faith in Christ.
Paul then uses baptism to complete the picture of the believer being raised to new life in Christ. In this
way, Paul is pointing out the fulfillment of the Law, in the work of Christ - including the fulfillment of what
circumcision pictured.
The unstated conclusion would be that physical circumcision had been rendered obsolete - a conclusion that
was very pertinent to the assemblies in the Lycus valley, as it appears the false teaching circulating there
embraced physical circumcision.
Lets go ahead and read Pauls statement about circumcision and baptism again, in verses 11 and 12.
[Read Colossians 2:11-12]
Now, when Paul wrote here about the believers circumcision, we have learned that he was not referring to
the physical act. This was the circumcision made without hands; the circumcision of Christ; what
circumcision pictured.
So as Paul continues that thought into baptism, would you expect him to be referring to the physical act water baptism - or to what it pictured? To what it pictured, right? Yes; its spiritual significance. And we
see this borne out, in the language he uses here.
Notice that Paul speaks of being buried with Him - with Christ. Buried in the Greek comes from a root
word that means to perform funeral rites. The idea is of burying a body in a grave or a sepulcher.
Is this done, in water baptism? No, thankfully; a person is simply dunked under water. So for Paul to use
the term buried must mean that he is talking about the significance of water baptism, and not the physical
act; just as he was with circumcision.
Notice that Paul does not explain the significance of either circumcision or baptism in any great detail. And
yet, these are the very illustrations that Paul is using to make his point about believers being complete,
through union with Christ.

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Do you think it could be that Paul somehow missed his opportunity to teach them? Of course not. So what
must we conclude? That they already knew the significance of circumcision and baptism - no doubt
through the teaching of Epaphras, who had likely learned it directly by Paul. So here, Paul is jogging their
memories as to what those things meant.
In light of that, it seems fit for us to refresh our memories as well - and call to mind just what baptism
really means, for the believer.
Turn to Romans chapter 5. Paul has made his case to both Jew and Gentile to show that all men are
justified by faith alone, in Christ alone.
Beginning in verse 12 of chapter 5, Paul shows that this was always the plan of God. In the plan of God,
there were always two men in sight.
As the Creator, God brought all men into the world through one man - the first man, Adam. Adam was the
head of the creation in him - of men in the flesh. Adam also served as the representative before God of the
creation of flesh men, in him.
On the basis of a single act of Adam - his transgression in the garden of the expressed command of God God, as the Judge of all the world, passed His judgment on the entire creation of men in the flesh,
condemning them to death; physical death. God had death pass through upon them, congenitally, through
the now corruptible seed of Adam.
Was this a fair judgment of God? Absolutely - for in the testing of Adam, the creation of mankind was
proven to be lawless, based upon their will for themselves, and their love for themselves. And the justice of
Gods judgment is demonstrated by each man in his life, personally, every time he sins.
But God always had His second Man in sight - even before the foundation of the world. And who is that
Man? Jesus Christ - the Lord from heaven.
God, in His perfect righteousness, came to tabernacle on the earth in a body of flesh. And through a single
act, the second Man delivered to all mankind the free gift of righteousness, by which men can be justified.
What was that act, on the part of the second Man? The sacrifice of Himself, on the cross.
Through that one act, all men could become the righteousness of God, in Christ - which was much more
than what they ever had, as part of the creation in Adam.
And through death, the second Man brought forth eternal Life to men - another thing they never had, as
men in the flesh, who are perishing from the moment they are born into this world.
But through the new birth, men are born again, born of the Incorruptible Seed, Christ - making Christ the
Head of the new creation, in Him - the sons of God. This is the justification of Life - freely offered by God
to all through His second Man, and freely received by any man through faith.
Then Paul concludes his statements concerning Gods two men, in verse 21.
[Romans 5:21] Throughout this chapter, Paul has personified both sin and death as if they are despotic
rulers; both the Sin and Death reign over the creation in Adam.

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But those who have been born again have been delivered into the Kingdom of the Son of Gods love, where
there is a new ruler. And who is it that Paul indicates reigns in this kingdom, as we see in this verse?
Grace reigns.
Now, Grace is not a despotic ruler, who forces His rule upon men, overpowering them. Grace is a
benevolent ruler. What does Grace desire, for the sons in Gods kingdom? Only and exactly what is good
for them, and good for others; that is to say, what is right. Grace desires righteousness.
And Grace rules in love; Grace will not force the sons of the kingdom to do whats right; the sons must
choose righteousness, for themselves. Thats why Paul speaks of the reign of Grace conditionally - that
Grace might reign.
Letting Grace reign is a choice - a choice that only believers can make. But if believers will let Grace
reign, the righteousness that the second Man gave them, as a gift, will be manifested in their lives; Grace
with reign through righteousness. And the sons will be living the life that Christ died to give them - eternal
Life.
As Paul continues in the next section of his letter, he is proceeding from the subject of justification, to
sanctification. Now that the believer has been declared not guilty in Christ, Paul begins to enlighten
them as to how to live free from sin.
[Romans 6:1-14]
v. 1-2 Paul introduces his teaching on sanctification with a question - one which plays off of what he had
just said before. In verse 20, Paul indicated that where sin had abounded, grace abounded much more.
God was able to more than cover all sin, for all time, through the sacrifice of Jesus; He took sin away.
So Pauls question here is based on that; since God has sin completely dealt with, why not just keep
sinning, so that God can extend His grace? After all, wouldnt that make God look good?
Now, thats perverse. Jesus sacrificed Himself, to put sin away; this thinking implies that believers are
ready to bring it back!
We must ask, why would Paul pose such a question? Only to absolutely refute it - lest anyone would
suggest the Paul was advocating licentiousness, which his legalistic detractors did, upon occasion. Paul
shows that he is advocating just the opposite; believers are not free to sin; they are free to not sin.
Notice the next question that Paul poses, in verse 2. Paul is showing the impossibility of the believer
continuing in the Sin- because he has died to the Sin.
What exactly does Paul mean by this? The believer is not physically dead; he is still in residence, in his
body. By this we can see that Pauls meaning is not literal, but figurative.
What is death? It is the absence of life. To be dead is to be severed from life. This means that death and
life are mutually exclusive; youre one or the other; theres no mixture. Your body is alive, or it is a corpse;
it cant be both.
And death creates separation. Dead bodies are forever and permanently separated from those whose
bodies are still living; and further, the dead bodies return to the dust of the ground; truly they have passed
away.

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And finally, we can see that death is absolute. Once the spirit-being has departed from the body, the body
is dead; the flesh body does not come alive again; theres no going back. Death is a one-way process.
This is the illustration that Paul is using to show the association of the believer now with the Sin. He has
no association with the Sin; he is dead to the Sin. Paul goes on to show how this was effected, for the
believer.
v. 3-4 Paul shows the believers deliverance using the illustration of baptism, as we have seen also in the
letter to the Colossians. We can see that Paul does not literally mean water baptism here, as he writes of
being baptized, not in water but into Christ Jesus; into His death.
Those who heard Pauls letters read - both in Rome and in Colosse - would undoubtedly have been familiar
with water baptism. Just before Jesus had ascended back into heaven, He had instructed His disciples to
preach the good news concerning Him, and to baptize those who placed their faith in Him, referring to
water baptism (Mt 28:18-20, Mk 16:15-16).
Water baptism was to serve as an outward demonstration of the belief they had manifested in their heart; a
witness to their faith. It was a public confession, a declaration that Jesus was their Lord. The NT records
many such water baptisms, of believers. Water baptism became an ordinance of the church.
But does water baptism in any way save a person? Does it wash away his sins? Does it give him a new
life? No. Water baptism is just a symbolic act. The power of salvation, of deliverance from sin, is in the
meaning of the act; just as we saw for circumcision, last week.
So in this letter, Paul is showing the believers in Rome the meaning within water baptism - a baptism they
most likely had received.
The word baptized is derived from a word in the Greek which means simply to dip. It was commonly
used to describe the dying of a garment, or of drawing water by dipping one vessel into another.
When cloth is dyed, its fibers are permanently bound with the dye. From this comes the idea of union; dye
and fabric are united. The idea of dipping a vessel into water brings out the additional concept of filling.
In both cases, we have the ideas of something being immersed, submerged under the liquid, and then
emerging, in a changed condition; the garment is dyed; the vessel is filled. These ideas are also present
with water baptism, and its significance.
Those of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were united to Him, through our faith. Paul is specifically
pointing to the work of Christ, to effect our salvation; the work of the cross.
Joined to Christ, He took us into death with Him; and His death became our death; I have been crucified
with Christ (Gal 2:20). Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the cross (1 Pet 2:24) there He washed us
from our sins in His own blood (Rev 1:5); and by so doing, He freed us from all charges of sin against us;
we were justified.
But our union with Christ takes us further. We were buried with Him, through baptism into death. In the
literal submersion under the baptismal waters, we see this significance, of participating in the burial of
Christ.

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After Jesus died, His body was laid in a sepulcher - like a grave, it is a place of separation from the land of
the living; from this world.
And in the grave, did the body of Jesus see corruption? No. Jesus was not born of the corruptible seed of
Adam; He was conceived of the Holy Spirit (Mt 1:20). And there was never any sin in Jesus; nothing to
corrupt His perfect righteousness.
The Psalmist prophesied that God would not allow His Holy One to see corruption, and that His flesh
would rest in hope (Ps 16:9-10). What hope? The hope of Life everlasting; of being raised from the dead,
a glorified body (Ps 16:11). Jesus rested in that certain hope, until He was resurrected from the dead, in
glory.
Joined to Christ by faith, we were buried with Him. We were separated from flesh men, and from this
world system. Buried with Christ, we rest in Him - taking in His perfect holiness, being filled with His
righteousness, until such time as our certain future hope is realized - of glory. In the burial, we see our
separation unto God from the world; thats our sanctification.
And that leads to the end - the end that God desires, for all men. Christ died, and was buried, and was then
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father - in a glorified body, enlifed with eternal Life.
And Paul says, even so we. That is the end that God has in store for all who have united themselves to
Christ, by faith. He takes them down into death with Him, bringing them up alive as a new creation in Him
- a glorified son of God. The change is complete; the believer is glorified.
But is he yet glorified? Notice that Paul has been speaking in the past tense; in fact, in the Greek, it refers
to one point in time, in the past. The moment you believed, what was true for Christ, 2000 years ago,
became true for you; through faith, you transcended time, and that became your experience, too. From the
eternal perspective, its all finished; a completed work; God has justified, sanctified, and glorified you.
But from the perspective of time, the work is in progress; the believer has been justified, he has received
eternal Life, but he is not yet glorified. Time-wise, he is still in his earthly body, and is in the process of
being sanctified.
And to reflect this, Paul does not indicate that the believer was raised with Christ, past tense. Instead he
says, even so, we: we should walk in newness of life. Paul brings in the temporal reality; we are still in
our earthly bodies, and while there, we should walk - in the new life that Christ has given us, that we have
already received: eternal Life. We should walk, in the spirit; the spirit of life, eternal Life.
Again, Paul uses a conditional tense, here - we should walk - because its a choice, for the believer. But
Paul is saying, we should do it; and as he continues, he shows how to do it. But first, we find Paul giving an
assurance of the completion of what God has begun, in Christ.
v. 5 The word united literally means planted. Believers have been planted together in the likeness of
Christs death - this means they have the same form of Life that He has - eternal Life - for they have been
born again of the Incorruptible Seed, Christ. Because of this, they are assured of a glorified body - the
harvest of which Christ is the Firstfruits (Lev 23:10-21). We shall be of His resurrection, because we
possess His life.
Now Paul proceeds to show how the believer walks in newness of Life - while still in his earthly body. It
begins with something he must know - and understand.

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v. 6-7 This is what we are learning, experientially; what we are coming to understand; that our old man
was crucified with Christ.
Old here means former; our former man. Who would that be? Adam; he is the old man, as Christ is
the new; remember Paul has just laid out the two men in his letter, for the Roman assemblies.
But notice Paul says, our old man; literally, the old man of us - us, in this passage, being believers. And
what was done to our old man? He was crucified with Christ.
Paul is showing what he has already illustrated with baptism in a slightly different way. By using the term
crucified, there can be no mistaking that Paul is referring to a body; its a body, that is put on a cross. For
believers, their old man, Adam, has been crucified; their body of flesh has been crucified, with Christ; they
have died out of the former creation, in Adam. Their life in the flesh is now a thing of the past.
And Paul indicates that this was done for a purpose: that the body of sin might be done away with. Again
Paul continues to emphasize the body; this is the body of the Sin; the body, in the service of the tyrant, Sin.
Done away with actually means rendered inoperative, or powerless. The idea is of a complete cessation;
not a partial or temporary stay. Paul uses the conditional tense again, to show that this is the believers
choice. God has accomplished this work in Christ, but the believer still must put it into effect, in his life.
How does he do that? He must understand that he really has died with Christ.
Through death, he has been severed - cut off, from the old creation in Adam. Through death, he has been
separated - from the domain where the Sin reigned over him. Through death, he has been delivered - theres
no going back. The deliverance is final and complete. And as the believer truly understands that, in the
spirit of his being, he is no longer a slave of the Sin; he has been freed, from the Sin.
Now Paul shifts his focus to the other side of death, for the believer - life.
v. 8-10 How many times did Christ die His sacrificial death, to the Sin? Once - for all mankind. And
having done that, Death no longer has dominion over Christ; He is now alive forevermore - spirit of life, in
a body of glory.
What Paul is showing is that what was true for Christ will be true in the future for those who have united
themselves to Him, through faith - we shall live with Him, as glorified sons of God. But next Paul takes
this thought one step further, carrying it into the present; the here and now.
v. 11 The word reckon literally means to count or number something, but its often used metaphorically
to refer to having an absolute, unreserved confidence in what one knows in the mind to be true. The tense
reflects continuous action. When a believer truly understands what God has done for them, in Christ, they
constantly count on it, building their life upon it.
We can find a good illustration of this with a bank account. Lets say, hypothetically, that you have a bank
account and it has unlimited funds in it.
But if you dont think you have money in your account, are you going to make a withdrawal? Of course
not; you dont believe any money is in there.
What about if you know you have money in your account, but youre not sure how much? Maybe then
youd risk making a withdrawal, but only a small amount, and only if urgently needed.

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But if you actually knew exactly what you had in your account - unlimited funds - then what would you do?
You would draw out exactly what you needed, any time you needed it. Youd count on it, continually,
because youd know its there.
Paul is saying, count on the fact that you are truly dead to the Sin - because you are; youve been crucified
with Christ. How many times did Christ die, to the Sin? Once. How many times did you die with Him?
Once. So how many times did you die, to the Sin? Once. You dont keep on dying and dying to the Sin;
you already died to it - once. Count on it; and live accordingly.
Christ now lives to God, in His glorified body. Are you in your glorified body, yet? Not yet. But are you
alive to God? Yes; in Christ Jesus our Lord, for His seed remains in you (1 Jn 3:9); His eternal Life. Paul
is saying, count on it; live by it. And as Paul continues, we will see that this is all you need to live your life
unto God.
v. 12-13 Based on what he has taught, Paul now exhorting each believer to live a sanctified life: Do not let
the Sin reign, in your mortal body.
Now we can see why Paul had been choosing conditional terms, in this passage: that Grace might reign
through righteousness, that we should walk in newness of life, that the body of the Sin might be rendered
inoperative; that we should no longer be slaves of the Sin. It is because the believer has a choice; you can
still let the Sin reign, in your body.
Thats what you always used to do, as a man in the flesh. You lived by your body; by its senses. Through
your body, you were made aware of the things of the world, and you developed appetites, cravings,
affections for those things; a will for those things, out of love for yourself.
And then, you went after those things; you used the members of your body as instruments of
unrighteousness, to fulfill your will for yourself; to sin. In this way, you lived by your body, obeying its
lusts. You let the Sin reign, presenting yourself and your members to the Sin, carrying out unrighteous acts,
with your body; and you had no ability to do otherwise - like a powerless slave.
But now Paul exhorts you, do not let the Sin reign any longer. How do you do that? You count on the fact
that you have died to the Sin - once and for all. A dead body is insensitive; it cannot respond to lusts; it has
no strong desires. So the Sin cannot have the say, over it. Through death, Christ has freed you from sin.
Paul is charging believers to live, free from sin.
Each believer is now to present himself to God as being alive from the dead. You are not yet in your body
of glory, but you can live now in your earthly body as if you are - for you have the very Life of Christ
within you - including His gift of righteousness.
You need to count on what you have, in Christ; to depend upon it, for every aspect of your life; to draw
upon its inexhaustible reserves - and you will live, free from sin.
Your body, with which you formerly served the Sin, is the same body that you can now present to God, as
alive from the dead - for you are a new creation, in Christ; a son of God. The old has passed away.
Its like getting married. What was your former manner of life? Being single. But are you single
anymore? No; youre married; thats now your reality. Being single is a thing of the past, for you.

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Being married is a big change. It involves commitment, and responsibility, and submission - to another.
You have to change, from how you were before - which was single. And you want to change - out of love,
for your spouse.
So how does that change occur? You think married; and by thinking married, you live married. You
dont do this by minding not being single; by thinking about what youre not doing, or what you shouldnt
be doing, now that youre not a single person. You mind your marriage, instead; and then, thats how you
live.
Paul concludes.
v. 14 In the Greek, Paul individualizes sin to each believer: For your sin shall not have dominion, for you
are not under law, but under grace. Here is a charge of personal responsibility, to each believer.
God did not spare His own Son in order to free you from the shackles of the Sin. Would you so carelessly,
so selfishly put yourself back into bondage to the Sin?
As Paul would say, certainly not! Understand what Christ has done for you. Count on it. Live free. Let
grace reign - through righteousness.
Lets take these thoughts back to our letter to the Colossians, now.
[Return to Colossians chapter 2]
As Paul writes about the believers baptism in verse 12, he is bringing out the same meaning as we found
back in his letter to the Romans - but with an interesting difference.
In Romans, Paul speaks of the believer being raised from the dead - in a body of glory - as a future event.
But what about here? The tense in the Greek indicates that the believer was raised - at one point of time in
the past. When? When Christ was raised from the dead.
Is this a contradiction, with what Paul said, in Romans? No; its a different perspective. Paul is viewing
baptism from Gods perspective here, and it is all finished. The believer has been justified, sanctified,
glorified. He is a completed son of God; as Paul said, you are complete in Him.
Paul is emphasizing to believers here that their deliverance from sin is complete; they have everything they
need to live a completely sanctified life. Through faith, they transcend time, and live by that eternal reality.
Understanding this, all that remains is to walk by faith, in their new life, as a son of God.
And Paul emphasizes to them the power of that Life. The word working means energy, or active power.
The power available to them is the same power of God, that raised Jesus from the dead; the power of the
resurrection.
That power reversed the very laws of the universe, which God had set in place. Can any power be greater
than that? None on earth.
And thats the very power of the new life in the believer. The believer just needs to access that power; how
does he do that? By faith; then the active power of God is activated in his life.

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The believers in Colosse and the other assemblies had been trying to live a sanctified life without this
power - they didnt understand their resources, to draw upon them, by faith. And so they found that they
were powerless to live a righteous life; powerless over sin.
So what did some of them do? They tried to find ways of controlling sin in their lives - putting their flesh
under rules, and regulations, and principles; trying to restrain their flesh. Or alternatively, they tried to
weaken their flesh through ascetic practices - denying their flesh. But all that simply made them focus on
their flesh - and caused sin to abound.
What Paul wants them to see is that the flesh cannot be reigned in or subdued. It has to be reckoned dead.
The flesh body of the believer has already been crucified with Christ; his flesh is dead to the Sin.
The believer has a new life now, and the old one is passed away. And as the believer continually counts on
that, and by faith, walks in the spirit of that new life, he will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Gal 5:16).

Reading: Eph 1:15-23, 2:1-3, 11-12, 4:1-10.