We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.
Parallel Translations
-
We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.
-
We are buryed with him by baptism for to dye that lykewyse as Christ was raysed vp from deeth by the glorye of the father: even so we also shuld walke in a newe lyfe.
-
We are buried then with him by baptisme into his death, that like as Christ was raysed vp from the dead to the glorie of the Father, so we also should walke in newnesse of life.
Cross-references (31)
Passages linked to Romans 6:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
- Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator,
- Ephesians 4:22-24 that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
- Romans 7:6 But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held; so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter.
- 1 Peter 3:21 This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you—not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
- Romans 6:9 knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him!
- 2 Corinthians 13:4 For he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives through the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we will live with him through the power of God toward you.
- Romans 6:3 Or don’t you know that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
- Romans 13:13-14 Let’s walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.
- 2 Peter 1:4-9 by which he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. Yes, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence; and in moral excellence, knowledge; and in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control perseverance; and in perseverance godliness; and in godliness brotherly affection; and in brotherly affection, love. For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to not be idle or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins.
- 1 John 2:6 he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked.
- Colossians 2:11-13 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
- Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
- Colossians 3:1-3 If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
- Galatians 6:15-16 For in Christ Jesus neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. As many as walk by this rule, peace and mercy be on them, and on God’s Israel.
- 1 Corinthians 6:14 Now God raised up the Lord, and will also raise us up by his power.
- Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
- Philippians 3:17-18 Brothers, be imitators together of me, and note those who walk this way, even as you have us for an example. For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, as the enemies of the cross of Christ,
- 1 Peter 4:1-2 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind; for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that you no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
- John 11:40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”
- Romans 6:19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh, for as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to wickedness upon wickedness, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification.
- Romans 12:1-2 Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.
- Acts 2:24 whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
- Ephesians 1:19-20 and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
- Colossians 1:9-12 For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,
- John 2:19-20 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews therefore said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple! Will you raise it up in three days?”
- Ephesians 2:5-6 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
- Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- Colossians 4:1 Masters, give to your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
- John 2:11 This beginning of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
- Matthew 28:2-3 Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 4. We have then been buried with him, etc.…
4. We have then been buried with him, etc. He now begins to indicate the object of our having been baptized into the death of Christ, though he does not yet completely unfold it; and the object is — that we, being dead to ourselves, may become new creatures. He rightly makes a transition from a fellowship in death to a fellowship in life; for these two things are connected together by an indissoluble knot — that the old man is destroyed by the death of Christ, and that his resurrection brings righteousness, and renders us new creatures. And surely, since Christ has been given to us for life, to what purpose is it that we die with him except that we may rise to a better life? And hence for no other reason does he slay what is mortal in us, but that he may give us life again.
Let us know, that the Apostle does not simply exhort us to imitate Christ, as though he had said that the death of Christ is a pattern which all Christians are to follow; for no doubt he ascends higher, as he announces a doctrine, with which he connects, as it is evident, an exhortation; and his doctrine is this — that the death of Christ is efficacious to destroy and demolish the depravity of our flesh, and his resurrection, to effect the renovation of a better nature, and that by baptism we are admitted into a participation of this grace. This foundation being laid, Christians may very suitably be exhorted to strive to respond to their calling. Farther, it is not to the point to say, that this power is not apparent in all the baptized; for Paul, according to his usual manner, where he speaks of the faithful, connects the reality and the effect with the outward sign; for we know that whatever the Lord offers by the visible symbol is confirmed and ratified by their faith. In short, he teaches what is the real character of baptism when rightly received. So he testifies to the Galatians, that all who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. (Galatians 3:27.) Thus indeed must we speak, as long as the institution of the Lord and the faith of the godly unite together; for we never have naked and empty symbols, except when our ingratitude and wickedness hinder the working of divine beneficence.
Read full note →
By the glory of the Father, that is, by that illustrious power by which he exhibited himself as really glorious, and as it were manifested the greatness of his glory. Thus often is the power of God, which was exercised in the resurrection of Christ, set forth in Scripture in sublime terms, and not without reason; for it is of great importance, that by so explicit a record of the ineffable power of God, not only faith in the last resurrection, which far exceeds the perception of the flesh, but also as to other benefits which we receive from the resurrection of Christ, should be highly commended to us.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That Christ himself being discharged of his infirmity and…
That Christ himself being discharged of his infirmity and weakness, might live in glory with God forever.
And we which are his members rise for this end, that being made partakers of the selfsame virtue, we should begin to lead a new life, as though we were already in heaven.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism…
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Ver. 4. We are buried] Burial is a continuing under death, so is mortification a continuation of dying to sin, Mors quaedam perpetuata; sin is by degrees abated, and at length abolished, when once our earthly tabernacles are dissolved.
Read full note →
Walk in newness of life] Resurrectione Domini configuratur vita, quae hic geritur. Walk as Christ walked after his resurrection.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Therefore: q.d. Because we are thus dead with Christ,…
Therefore: q.d. Because we are thus dead with Christ, therefore, & c.
We are buried with him; i.e. we have communion with him in his burial also, which represents a farther degree of the destruction of sin, by putting it, as it were, out of our sight, Gen 23:4, and having no more to do with it.
Read full note →
By baptism into death: he seems here to allude to the manner of baptizing in those warm Eastern countries, which was to dip or plunge the party baptized, and as it were to bury him for a while under water. See the like phrase, Col 2:12. Baptism doth not only represent our mortification and death to sin, but our progress and perseverance therein. Burial implies a continuing under death; so is mortification a continual dying unto sin.
That like as Christ was raised up from the dead; look as, after the death and burial of Christ, there followed his resurrection, so it must be with us; we must have communion with, and conformity to, the Lord Jesus Christ in his resurrection as well as in his death; both these are represented and sealed to us by the sacrament of baptism.
By the glory of the Father; i.e. by the power of the Father, which is called, Col 1:11, his glorious power. God is said elsewhere to have raised him by his power, 1Co 6:14; and in 2Co 13:4, he is said to live by the power of God. Some read it thus, he was raised from the dead, to the glory of the Father.
The preposition δια is sometimes rendered to: see 1Pe 1:3.
Walk in newness of life; i.e. live a new life, being actuated by new principles, aiming at new ends, and bringing forth new fruits of holiness: see Rom 7:6.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain To urge Christians to farther measures and degrees of…
To urge Christians to farther measures and degrees of mortification of sin, and living unto holiness, the apostle uses here a double argument, one from our baptism, the other from the resurrection of Christ.
Observe, 1. The argument to move us to die unto sin, drawn from our baptism; We are buried with him by baptism into death. The apostle alludes, no doubt, to the ancient manner and way of baptizing a person in those hot countries, which was by immersion, or putting them under water for a time, and then raising them up again out of the water; which rite had also a mystical signification, representing the burial of our old man sin in us, and our resurrection to newness of life.
Read full note →
Learn hence, That the ordinance of baptism lays every baptized person under the strongest engagements and highest obligations to die unto sin, and walk in newness of life. The metaphors of burying and rising again, do imply and intimate thus much: Burial implies a continuing under death; thus is mortification a continued act, a daily dying unto sin; and raising again, supposes a person never more to be under the power of death.
Observe, 2. Another forcible argument to encourage us to die to sin, and walk in newness of life, is drawn from the resurrection of Christ; As he was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so should we also walk in newness of life.
Here note, 1. The proposal of a pattern and examplar to us; Christ was raised from the dead.
2. The author and efficient cause of Christ’s resurrection; He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father; that is, by the glorious power of the Father; yet not without his own power as God: So Christ told the Jews, Destroy this temple of my body, and in three days I will raise it up again.
Note, 3. The conformity or similitude on our part: as Christ arose, so should we arise out of the grave of sin, and walk in newness of live.
Learn hence, That Christ’s resurrection is a powerful motive, and lays a Christian under strong obligations and engagements to arise from sin, and walk in newness of life. Christ’s resurrection is both a pattern and a pledge of our resurrection; a pattern after which we are to conform in our rising from the grave of sin.
Did Christ rise early and speedily? so should we: He arose early in the morning of the day, so should we in the morning of our youth; he rose voluntarily and cheerfully, so should we, rejoicing at our spiritual liberty and resolution never to die more; so should we arise, with desires and endeaveours, that spiritaul death may never more have dominion over us.
And if Christ’s resurrection be thus a pattern of our resurrection now, it will be a pledge of a blessed resurrection at the last day.
Observe, lastly, The duty which every baptized person lies under an obligation to perform, in conformity ot Christ, into whose death they are baptized; and that is, to walk in the newness of life.
Where note, For our encouragement, the account which the scripture gives of the properties of the new life, which such are buried and risen with Christ, do assuredly live: And here we find it is the most noble life, the most delectable life, the most profitable life, the most holy and heavenly life: holy in its principle and motive, holy in its aim and end, holy in its rule and actings.
In a word, newness of life is a preparation for and an introduction into eternal life, and must needs be the most excellent life; for it is a life from God it is a life laid out for God, ye, it is the life which God himself lives ; and none must expect to live with him in heaven hereafter, that do no walk in newness of life but if we have our fruit unto holiness our end will be everlasting life.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into…
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death,.... The nature and end of baptism are here expressed; the nature of it, it is a "burial"; and when the apostle so calls it, he manifestly refers to the ancient and only way of administering this ordinance, by immersion; when a person is covered, and as it were buried in water, as a corpse is when laid the earth, and covered with it: and it is a burial with Christ; it is a representation of the burial of Christ, and of our burial with him as our head and representative, and that "into death"; meaning either the death of Christ as before, that is, so as to partake of the benefits of his death; or the death of sin, of which baptism is also a token; for believers, whilst under water, are as persons buried, and so dead; which signifies not only their being dead with Christ, and their communion with him in his death, but also their being dead to sin by the grace of Christ, and therefore ought not to live in it: for the apostle is still pursuing his argument, and is showing, from the nature, use, and end of baptism, that believers are dead to sin, and therefore cannot, and ought not, to live in it; as more fully appears from the end of baptism next mentioned;
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life; for the end of baptism is not only to represent the death and burial, but also the resurrection of Christ from the dead, which is here said to be "by the glory of the Father", some read the words, "unto the glory of the Father"; meaning either, that the Father might be glorified hereby; or that Christ, being raised from the dead, might enjoy glory with the Father, as he does in human nature; but rather the phrase expresses the means by which, and not the end to which, Christ was raised from the dead: and by the "glory of the Father" is meant, the glorious power of the Father, which was eminently displayed in raising Christ from the dead; and as baptism is designed to represent the resurrection of Christ, which is done by raising the person out of the water, so likewise to represent our resurrection from the death of sin, to a life of grace: whence it must be greatly incumbent on baptized believers, who are raised from the graves of sin by the power of Christ, to "walk in newness of life"; for since they are become new creatures, and have new hearts and new spirits given them, new principles of light, life, grace, and holiness implanted in them, and have entered into a new profession of religion, of which baptism is the badge and symbol, they ought to live a new life and conversation.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain We are buried with him - Alluding to the…
We are buried with him - Alluding to the ancient manner of baptizing by immersion. That as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory - Glorious power. Of the Father, so we also, by the same power, should rise again; and as he lives a new life in heaven, so we should walk in newness of life. This, says the apostle, our very baptism represents to us.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. We are buried with him by baptism…
Verse 4. We are buried with him by baptism into death] It is probable that the apostle here alludes to the mode of administering baptism by immersion, the whole body being put under the water, which seemed to say, the man is drowned, is dead; and, when he came up out of the water, he seemed to have a resurrection to life; the man is risen again; he is alive! He was, therefore, supposed to throw off his old Gentile state as he threw off his clothes, and to assume a new character, as the baptized generally put on new or fresh garments. I say it is probable that the apostle alludes to this mode of immersion; but it is not absolutely certain that he does so, as some do imagine; for, in the next verse, our being incorporated into Christ by baptism is also denoted by our being planted, or rather, grafted together in the likeness of his death; and Noah's ark floating upon the water, and sprinkled by the rain from heaven, is a figure corresponding to baptism, 1Pe 3:20-21; but neither of these gives us the same idea of the outward form as burying. We must be careful, therefore, not to lay too much stress on such circumstances. Drowning among the ancients was considered the most noble kind of death; some think that the apostle may allude to this. The grand point is, that this baptism represents our death to sin, and our obligation to walk in newness of life: without which, of what use can it or any other rite be?
Raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father] From this we learn, that as it required the glory of the Father, that is, his glorious energy, to raise up from the grave tho dead body of Christ, so it requires the same glorious energy to quicken the dead soul of a sinner, and enable him to walk in newness of life.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Therefore we are buried ... - It is altogether…
Therefore we are buried ... - It is altogether probable that the apostle in this place had allusion to the custom of baptizing by immersion. This cannot, indeed, be proved, so as to be liable to no objection; but I presume that this is the idea which would strike the great mass of unprejudiced readers. But while this is admitted, it is also certain that his main scope and intention was not to describe the mode of baptism; nor to affirm that that mode was to be universal. The design was very different. It was to show that by the solemn profession made at our baptism, we had become dead to sin, as Christ was dead to the living world around him when he was buried; and that as he was raised up to life, so we should also rise to a new life. A similar expression occurs in Col 2:12, “Buried with him in baptism,” etc. See the Editors’ Notes at Mat 3:6, Mat 3:16.
Into death - εἰς eis. Unto death; that is, with a solemn purpose to be dead to sin and to the world. Grotius and Doddridge, however, understand this as referring to the death of Christ - in order to represent the death of Christ - or to bring us into a kind of fellowship with his death.
Read full note →
That like as - In a similar manner. Christ rose from death in the sepulchre; and so we are bound by our vows at baptism to rise to a holy life.
By the glory of the Father - Perhaps this means, amidst the glory, the majesty and wonders evinced by the Father when he raised him up; Mat 28:2-3. Or possibly the word “glory” is used here to denote simply his power, as the resurrection was a signal and glorious display of his omnipotence.
Even so - As he rose to new life, so should we. As he rose from death, so we, being made dead to sin and the world by that religion whose profession is expressed by baptism, should rise to a new life, a life of holiness.
Should walk - Should live, or conduct. The word “walk” is often used to express the course of a man’s life, or the tenor of his conduct; Rom 4:12; Rom 8:1 notes; 1Co 5:7; 1Co 10:3 notes; Eph 2:10; Eph 4:1 notes, etc.
In newness of life - This is a Hebraism to denote new life. We should rise with Christ to a new life; and having been made dead to sin, as he was dead in the grave, so should we rise to a holy life, as he rose from the grave. The argument in this verse is, therefore, drawn from the nature of the Christian profession. By our very baptism, by our very profession, we have become dead to sin, as Christ became dead; and being devoted to him by that baptism, we are bound to rise, as he did, to a new life.
While it is admitted that the allusion here was probably to the custom of immersion in baptism, yet the passage cannot be adduced as an argument that that is the only mode, or that it is binding on all Christians in all places and ages, for the following reasons:
(1) The scope or design of the apostle is not to discuss the mode of baptism, Or to state any doctrine on the subject. It is an incidental allusion in the course of an argument, without stating or implying that this was the universal mode even then, still less that it was the only possible mode. His main design was to state the obligation of Christians to be holy, from the nature of their profession at baptism - an obligation just as impressive, and as forcible, from the application of water in any other mode as by immersion. It arises from the fact of baptism, not from the mode. It is just as true that they who are baptized by affusion, or by sprinkling, are baptised into his death; become professedly dead to sin and the world, and under obligations to live to God, as those who are immersed. It results from the nature of the ordinance, not from the mode.
(2) If this was the mode commonly, it does not follow that it was the only mode, nor that it was to be universally observed; There is no command that this should be the only mode. And the simple fact that it was usually practiced in a warm climate, where ablutions were common, does not prove that it is to be observed amidst polar snows and ice, and in infancy, and age, and feebleness, and sickness; see the note at Act 8:38-39.
(3) If this is to be pressed literally as a matter of obligation, why should not also the following expression, “If we have been planted together,” etc., be pressed literally, and it be demanded that Christians should somehow be “planted” as well as “buried?” Such an interpretation only shows the absurdity of insisting on a literal interpretation of the Scriptures in cases of simple allusion, or where the main scope is illustration by figurative language.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Therefore we are--rather, "were" (it being a past act,…
Therefore we are--rather, "were" (it being a past act, completed at once).
buried with him, by baptism into death--(The comma we have placed after "him" will show what the sense is. It is not, "By baptism we are buried with Him into death," which makes no sense at all; but, "By baptism with Him into death we are buried with Him"; in other words, "By the same baptism which publicly enters us into His death, we are made partakers of His burial also"). To leave a dead body unburied is represented, alike in heathen authors as in Scripture, as the greatest indignity (Rev 11:8-9). It was fitting, therefore, that Christ, after "dying for our sins according to the Scriptures," should "descend into the lower parts of the earth" (Eph 4:9). As this was the last and lowest step of His humiliation, so it was the honorable dissolution of His last link of connection with that life which He laid down for us; and we, in being "buried with Him by our baptism into His death," have by this public act severed our last link of connection with that whole sinful condition and life which Christ brought to an end in His death.
Read full note →
that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father--that is, by such a forth-putting of the Father's power as was the effulgence of His whole glory.
even so we also--as risen to a new life with Him.
should walk in newness of life--But what is that "newness?" Surely if our old life, now dead and buried with Christ, was wholly sinful, the new, to which we rise with the risen Saviour, must be altogether a holy life; so that every time we go back to "those things whereof we are now ashamed" (Rom 6:21), we belie our resurrection with Christ to newness of life, and "forget that we have been purged from our old sins" (Pe2 1:9). (Whether the mode of baptism by immersion be alluded to in this verse, as a kind of symbolical burial and resurrection, does not seem to us of much consequence. Many interpreters think it is, and it may be so. But as it is not clear that baptism in apostolic times was exclusively by immersion [see on Act 2:41], so sprinkling and washing are indifferently used in the New Testament to express the cleansing efficacy of the blood of Jesus. And just as the woman with the issue of blood got virtue out of Christ by simply touching Him, so the essence of baptism seems to lie in the simple contact of the element with the body, symbolizing living contact with Christ crucified; the mode and extent of suffusion being indifferent and variable with climate and circumstances).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. Therefore—Since we die, a cognate burial must follow.…
4. Therefore—Since we die, a cognate burial must follow. The faith which precedes baptism produces a death; the holiness which should follow is a newness of life, a resurrection.
Buried… by baptism—Where our regenerating faith is a death, and our sanctified new life is a resurrection, what should be the fitting burial between the two? Obviously, as said in Rom_6:2, our baptism consecrating us into Christ, embodying us into his mystical body the Church, is the burial. Faith insures our mystical death, baptism our mystical burial, sanctification our mystical resurrection.
Read full note →
This mystical burial would be accomplished with equal completeness whether the rite of baptism were performed by affusion or immersion. For, 1. Christ was not buried at all, but temporarily deposited in a new tomb preparatory to burial. 2. A burial is as well symbolized by affusion, picturing the covering over of the body, as by immersion. The amount of water poured upon the body can make no difference; for in Rome, whither this epistle was sent, a handful of dust thrice flung upon a corpse was held to be a legal ritual burial. So in the parallel passage, Col_2:11-12, so minute a rite as circumcision is the figure of an entire “putting off the body of the sins of the flesh.” 3. Immersion, even if it represented burial, does not symbolize the outpoured baptism of the Spirit. Affusion represents both.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. we are buried with him] Better, we were…
4. we are buried with him] Better, we were buried, &c.; the reference being to the past fact of baptism. Burial is the final token of death, and so the strongest expression of death as a fact. Perhaps there is an allusion to the immersion of baptism, as a quasi-burial. (The only parallel passage is Col_2:12.) But the significance of the rite would not depend on such a form of it: the essential is that every true baptism is the ratification of covenant connexion with Christ and His Death. It thus lays the baptized Christian, as it were, with the Lord in that grave where He lay as the slain Propitiation; i.e. it ratifies our share in the Justification of the Cross.
by baptism] by means of baptism, i.e., of course, not by the mere act, but by all that is involved in a true baptism. Baptism is not an isolated thing, but a summary and seal.
Read full note →
into death] Better, into the death, the Lord’s Death. Connect these words with “we were buried.” The whole idea is a union with Christ as the Slain One, so real that it is expressed by the figure of a share in His grave.
that, &c.] The sequence indicated is as follows:—Our new position and conduct as Christians was both to be, and to seem, radically new; as new as resurrection-life after death. Therefore our admission to the covenant was by a rite essentially connected with the Lord’s Death, and thus intended both to remind us of the price of justification, and of the totally new position, principles, and conduct, of the justified.
by the glory of the Father] By the majestic harmony of His Power, Holiness, and Love; all consenting in the great miracle. Perhaps the thought is suggested here that the same “glory” shall be exercised in the “new life” of the justified.
walk in newness of life] i.e. move and act with the new principles and powers of those who, as the justified, are “born again to a living hope.”—“Newness:”—the Gr. word expresses not so much youth as novelty; a condition without precedent in our experience.—“Life:”—in the sense not of a course of life, but of the principle of life. Through the Death of Christ, the justified “live;” in the “newness” of that condition they are to “walk.”—Here again (as in Rom_6:2) note the transition of ideas; from a “death to sin” (with Christ) in respect of penalty, to a “life” (with Christ) in respect not merely of remission but of new principles and acts; i.e. from Justification simply to Justification as resulting in Sanctification. The “life” is not merely the extension of existence to a pardoned man, but the condition and use of that existence where the pardoned are also, as such, accepted among the “brethren” of Christ.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) We are buried with him.—Burial, is the consequence…
(4) We are buried with him.—Burial, is the consequence of death. It is the seal set upon it, as it were, which shows that no revival is possible. Besides, it is the one step which separates it from resurrection. The idea of “buried with Christ” is therefore introduced, on the one hand, to show that the ethical death with Him was final and decisive, and on the other, to prepare the way for an ethical (as well as physical) resurrection with Him.
Into death.—The ideas of physical and moral death and resurrection and life are inextricably blended in the thought of the Apostle.
Read full note →
By the glory of the Father.—The resurrection of Christ is more usually and more naturally ascribed to the power or Omnipotence of God. The word “Glory” is here to be taken as standing for the sum of the divine perfections, power being included among them, “the Majesty on High.”
Even so.—It is to be observed that the mysticism is here resolved into a relation of resemblance. The resurrection of Christ, and the new life of the Christian, are compared instead of being identified. The Apostle does not say “being dead with Christ, let us rise with Him;” but, “as Christ rose again, so we also should walk in newness of life.” The mystical expression for this is given in the next verse.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Therefore we were buried (not are, as in the…
Therefore we were buried (not are, as in the Authorized Version) with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness of life. The mention here of burial as welt as death does not appear to be meant as a further carrying out of the idea of a fulfilment in us of the whole of Christ"s experience, in the sense As he died and was buried, so we die and are even buried too. Such a conception of burial being in our case a further process subsequent to our death in baptism, is indeed well expressed in our Collect for Easter Eve: but the form of expression, "buried into death," does not suit it here. The reference rather is to the form of baptism, viz. by immersion, which was understood to signify burial, and therefore death. So Chrysostom, on John 3, Kayaper gafw tw udati kataduontwn hmwn tav kefalaptetai kai katadutw kruptetai olov kayapax . The main intention of the verse is to bring out the idea of resurrection following death in our case as in Christ"s. The sense, therefore, is As our burial (or total immersion) in the baptismal water was followed by entire emergence, so our death with Christ to sin, which that immersion symbolized, is to be followed by our resurrection with him to a new life. As to the doxa tou patrov , through which Christ is here said to have been raised, see what was said under Rom_3:23. Doxa est gloria divinae vitae, incorruptiblitatis, potentiae, et virtutis, per quam et Christus resuscitatus est, et nos vitae novas restituimur, Deoque conformamur. Eph_1:19, seqq." (Bengel). In some passages our Lord is regarded as having been raised from the dead in virtue of the Divine life that was in himself, whereby it was impossible that he should be holden of death. (see under Rom_1:4) And he said of his own quch , "I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again". (Joh_10:18) But here as most commonly elsewhere, his resurrection is attributed to the operation of the glory of the Father the same Divine power that regenerates us in him. (cf. 1Co_6:14 2Co_13:4 Eph_1:19, etc.; Col_2:12; also our Lord"s own prayers to the Father previously to his suffering, as given by St. John) The two views are not inconsistent, and may serve to show Christ"s oneness with the Father as touching his Godhead. The marked association here and elsewhere of union with Christ, so as to die and rise again with him, with the rite of baptism, supports the orthodox view of that sacrament being not only a signum significans, but a signum efficax; as not only representing, but being "a means whereby we receive" regeneration. The beginning of the new life of believers, with the power as well as the obligation to lead such a life, is ever regarded as dating from their baptism. (cf. Gal_3:27 Col_2:12) It is true, however, that in all such passages in the New Testament the baptism of,adults is referred to; that is, of persons who at the time of baptism were capable of actual repentance and faith, and hence of actual moral regeneration, and they are supposed to have understood the significance of the rite, and to have been sincere in seeking it. Hence what is said or implied cannot fairly be pressed as applicable in all respects to infant baptism. This, however, is not the place for discussing the propriety of infant baptism, or the sense in which all baptized persons are regarded by the Church as in their very baptism regenerate.
"Newness of life:" a New Year"s sermon.
Read full note →
Things new and old make up the sum of human experiences. All that is new becomes old, and the old disappears to come before us again in new combinations, in new shapes. The mind of man seems to have a natural leaning in both directions; we like the old because it is old, and the new because it is new. This is one of the contradictions inseparable from human nature. There is some truth in the common saying that the young prefer novelty and the aged cling to "use and wont." It is easy to see how, to the youthful, change should be welcome, for their knowledge is yet very limited, and new experiences are the appointed means of furnishing and equipping the mind. It is less easy to explain the conservatism of age and its dread of innovation, for experience must have taught the old how imperfect is everything that concerns man"s culture and condition; this trait of character may be largely owing to the increasing feebleness which indisposes to the unwonted exertion of the faculties, or to accommodation to new circumstances. True religion takes advantage of both these tendencies of human nature. It appeals to the natural attachment we feel to what is ancient and sanctioned by prolonged existence; and it appeals also to the yearning for progress and for fresh experiences, which we all either have felt in the past or feel today. But observe in what way revelation makes use of these natural tendencies, and remark the harmony there is between the moral necessities of man and the Divine communications of Scripture. Broadly speaking, whatever concerns God is commended by its antiquity and unchangeableness; whilst that which refers to man approaches us with the charm and the allurement of novelty. A moment"s reflection will show us why this should be so with true religion. Man, in his brief life, with his feeble purposes and his petty achievements, looks away from himself for the eternal and the unchanging. This he knows is not in himself or in his race; and he seeks it in the unseen God. And herein he is right. He does not seek these attributes in vain. For, knowing God, he knows that in him there is absolute being, unaffected by the changes to which all creation is subject. Man can find his true stability and his true peace only when he rests in the care and love of "the Father of lights, who is without variableness and shadow of turning." But, on the other hand, man, when he knows himself, is aware that his past has been a past unsatisfactory to himself, and blamable by his Creator and Judge. His changes have often been from evil to evil; and he looks forward, rather than behind him, for relief. His only hope is in his future. The old he can regard only with pain, with regret, with distress. If there is improvement, it must be in what is new in a new condition, new impulses, new principles of the soul, in new associations and new help. Accordingly, Christianity comes to man with gifts of heavenly newness in her hand. Christianity establishes with man a "new covenant," and gives to him a "new commandment;" makes of him a "new creation," transforms him into a "new man." It opens up to him a "new way" unto the Father by the Mediator of a "new testament," gives him a "new name," and teaches him a "new song," and inspires him with the hope of a "new heaven anti a new earth." In short, it enables him to serve in "newness of spirit," and to walk in "newness of life." "Life" is, in the New Testament, used as equivalent to the history of the spiritual nature. The Lord Jesus professed to be "the Life," "the Life of men;" he came that "we might have life, and that more abundantly," and the acceptance of him as the Divine Saviour is designated the "passing from death unto life." This being understood, it will not be supposed that by "newness of life" the Apostle Paul refers to the life of the body, or to the outward circumstances in which physical life may be passed. And yet the context shows that he is not treating of the future and blessed life in the nearer presence of God. Accordingly, we understand by "newness of life" that which contrasts with the spiritual deadness which hung as a cloud of darkness over heathen humanity, and which contrasts also with the earlier and imperfect developments of spiritual vitality. It is a newness of life which is peculiar to the Christian dispensation, but is yet found wherever Christ is known, trusted, and loved. We greet the new year with gladness and with hope, because it seems to offer us the opportunity to begin life anew. We are thankful for the relief of leaving the past behind, and we cherish the hope that each new year will be one of greater spiritual progress and happiness than the years that are past. Christians wish to forget the things that are behind, and to reach forth to those things that are before. Some who have been undecided as to their course have resolved with the new year to make a fresh beginning in life, and henceforth to live by the faith of the Son of God, and to his service and glory. The subject ought, therefore, to be appropriate and welcome to such as are hopefully and prayerfully aspiring unto "newness of life.
I The newness of the Christian life will appear from the consideration that it is A LIFE IS CHRIST. This very language must be at first unintelligible to a person unacquainted with the gospel. That life should be in a person seems monstrous and meaningless. Yet Christ himself has said, "Abide in me, and I in you;" and his Apostle Paul has taught us that "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation." Christ is the Basis upon which the Christian builds, the Foundation of the edifice of his new and higher life. Christ is the Vine-stem into which the Christian is grafted, and from which he draws all his vitality, his vigour, and his fruitfulness. Christ is the Head, in dependence upon whom the Christian is a living, active, and obedient member. The signs and evidences of this life are these:
1. The renewed man learns who Christ is, and what Christ has done and suffered for him.
2. The renewed man admits the claim Christ has upon his gratitude, his faith, his love; and trusts in him.
3. The renewed man consciously accepts life as the gift of God in Christ.
4. The renewed man, by maintaining fellowship with Christ, advances in the new and higher life.
II The newness of the Christian life is manifest from THE AGENCY BY WHICH IT IS EFFECTED.
1. A spiritual agency.
2. A Divine agency.
3. A freely acting and gracious agency.
4. A transforming agency.
5. A ceaseless and progressive agency.
III The newness of the Christian life is displayed in THE MOTIVES AND PRINCIPLES BY WHICH IT IS GOVERNED.
1. The love of Christ revealed and responded to is the motive power of this life.
2. The law of Christ becomes a law of friendship.
3. The approval of Christ is an animating and cheering power in the heart.
4. Thus self and the world, the common motives to action, fall into their proper place, or are banished from the Christian"s soul.
IV NEW ASSOCIATIONS are a feature of the Christian"s new life.
V The Christian life tends and points to A FURTHER AND HIGHER REGENERATION IN THE FUTURE.
APPLICATION. Newness of life depends comparatively little upon outward circumstances. There is nothing in the colour of a man"s skin, the climate of a man"s birthplace, the nature of a man"s occupation, his condition whether of poverty or wealth, his education whether scanty or liberal, his age or his station, there is nothing in all these things which can interfere with or hinder him from becoming a new man in Christ. Does it seem to any one that for him this is an impossibility, because of the unfavorable circumstances in which he finds himself? Disabuse yourself of this illusion, for illusion it is. It may not be within your power to become a learned man, or an eloquent man, a rich man, or a powerful man; but the circumstances which may prevent you from becoming learned or wealthy, mighty or persuasive, have no force to hinder you from becoming "a new man." The obstacles to this renewal are to be sought within, not without; they are to be found in the will, which is often resolved to resist the authority, to reject the truth, and to ignore the love of God. If you take a savage from his native woods, clothe him in civilized attire, place him in a lordly palace, surround him with books and with music, with paintings and with flowers, does he cease to be a savage? Not until the mind is changed. The man himself may remain the same, whilst all his surroundings are altered. These external changes do not make of him a new man, and his life has not in virtue of them become a new life. So is it with man in relation to the kingdom of Christ. Deprive a human being of the liberty which he has abused, remove him from his evil companionships, shut out from him the temptations to which he has been wont to yield, introduce him into Christian society, constrain him to frequent the means of religious instruction; yet his life has not thereby become a new life. The old nature is still there. The Ethiopian has not changed his skin, nor the leopard his spots. The man"s true life lies in the bent of his thoughts, the affections of his heart, the bias of his will; and whilst all these are toward evil, the old nature is supreme, and the new life is not yet. Love is the one only potentate at whose master-bidding old things will pass away. Before"s Love"s wizard wand alone, the ancient shadows will depart from the gloomy cave of the unregenerated soul, and that cave will become a temple peopled with the forms of the holy, and echoing with the songs of heaven. Divine love can make the wilderness a paradise, can change each thorn into a flower, and all the thistles into fruits. When Love smites the rock, the spring of health and of refreshing will gush forth. He who hears Love"s voice shall forget the weakness and the weariness of the pilgrimage; and his footstep, erst so heavy and so dull, shall bound elastic onwards.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 4. We are buried (Revision) through baptism into death.…
4. We are buried (Revision) through baptism into death. The argument is that a burial implies death. Baptism is a burial, therefore its subject has died. As Christ died through sin, we die to sin; as the Crucified Christ was buried, we who have died to sin through the gospel are buried with him. As death and burial separate from the natural life, so death to sin and burial into Christ should completely sever our relation to sin. That like as Christ was raised up from the dead. The glorious power of the Father lifted up Christ from the tomb. So we, too, rise from the watery burial, with death and burial between us and the old life of sin, in order to walk in newness of life. “This passage cannot be understood unless it is borne in mind that the primitive baptism was by immersion.”—Conybeare and Howson. “That the custom of baptism by immersion is alluded to is generally admitted, but the emersion is as significant as the immersion.”—Dr. Philip Schaff. “It seems to us very probable that the apostle alludes to the external form of the baptismal rite in the primitive church.”—Godet. “The apostle alludes to the ancient manner of baptizing by immersion.”—John Wesley.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 4. “Therefore we have been buried along with him…
4. “Therefore we have been buried along with him through baptism into death.” We find here that the baptism is the agent who executes the work of the burial into the death, which means the atonement of Christ, which is the receptacle of all sin which escapes damnation; i. e., every old man of sin must either be buried into the atonement of Christ and be left there forever, or be burned in hell fire world without end. It is astounding that Bible readers identify this baptism with the burial which is positively contradictory of Paul’s plain statement which makes the baptism the undertaker instead of the interment. “In order that, as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so may we also walk in newness of life.” Here we see that the resurrection must be homogeneous to the interment, being performed by the omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit, who raised the body of Christ from the dead. Therefore it follows as a logical sequence that the Holy Ghost Himself is the agent in both operations, i. e., the internment and the resurrection, thus clearly and demonstratively proving that this is none other than the baptism of the Holy Ghost slaying the man of sin and burying him forever into the death of Christ, the only receptacle of sin as an alternative of hell. When this old body of sin is thus forever removed, eternally buried in the death of Christ, the new man, having been resurrected in regeneration, now utterly disencumbered and free, walks on forever with God in “newness of life.” We must bear in mind that water is not mentioned in this chapter, while all the language is homogeneous with the baptism of the Spirit and out of harmony with a material transaction. If your conscience demands baptism by immersion in water, do not hesitate to satisfy your convictions in the beautiful symbolism of the material ordinance. Yet it is exceedingly pertinent that we do not mar this beautiful, clear and demonstrative statement of the supernatural baptism of the Spirit by confounding it with an outward ceremony. The thing buried in this transaction is not your physical body, which is buried in water and baptized by immersion, and the same identical body immediately raised up by the muscular power of the administrator; but that old body of sin, which is invisible and spiritual, having been crucified by the Holy Ghost in sanctification and now buried into the death, i. e., the atonement of Christ, and left there forever; because if unfortunately Satan raises him up, “the last state is worse than the first.” Hence we see the utter heterogeneity of two transactions, the internment involving the old man of sin after he has been crucified by the Holy Ghost, putting him down deep into the death of Christ, the exterminator of all sin, there to abide forever; while the new man, the son of God, created in the heart by the Holy Ghost in regeneration, is raised up to walk in newness of life forever. Hence we see that one thing is buried, so to remain forever. An infinitely different thing is the subject of the resurrection; i. e., the old man, the son of the devil, is the subject of the interment; and the new man, the son of God, the subject of the resurrection. Hence we see the impertinency in the interpretation of this Scripture as simply applying to water baptism by immersion, in which the same physical body is the subject both of the interment and the resurrection.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain We were buried therefore with him through baptism into…
We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life . [The apostle's argument rests on the nature of Christ's death, etc. Jesus died to take away our sins, to bear them for us, and rid us of them ( Joh_1:29 ; 1Pe_2:24 ); but in order that he may do this for us, so that we may partake of the benefits of his death, it is necessary that he be our representative; i. e., that we be in him, and in him at the very time when he thus gave himself unto death, so that his death becomes, representatively, our death. To aid us in conceiving the accomplishment of this unity with him in the act of death, the ordinance of baptism was instituted, so that, by it, we are not only baptized into him, but also into his death. One purpose, therefore, of baptism is to so unite us with him that, in him, we may die to sin and a life in a sinful kingdom of darkness, and rise to live again in righteousness in a sinless kingdom of light ( Rom_7:4 ; Rom_8:13 ; Gal_2:19-20 ; Gal_5:24 ; Gal_6:14 ; Col_2:11-20 ). Such being the nature of the ordinance, it precludes the idea that a baptized person could continue to commit sin. You must therefore recognize, says the apostle, that in baptism you died with Christ unto sin, or are ye so ignorant of the meaning of that ordinance that you do not understand that it symbolizes your death to sin and your resurrection to righteousness? If you are thus ignorant, then know that all we who were immersed into Christ were immersed into his death. We were buried with him, through immersion, into death as to our sin: that like as Christ was raised from the dead, because the glory of the just and holy Father required it, so we also might walk or act in a new manner of life; i. e., a sinless life. Thus baptism, which is a burial and resurrection performed in water, attests, in the strongest manner, the Christian's obligation to be sinless. Only the dead are buried. Brief as is the momentary burial of the immersed, it is, nevertheless, a seal of their death to sin, and hence of their cleansing from it ( Act_2:38 ; Act_22:16 ). Only the resurrected rise from the grave. Therefore, one who has not fully resolved to live as having died unto sin has no right to be lifted from the waters of baptism. If he is still dead in trespasses and sin, he should remain buried.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 We were buried, then, with him through baptism into…
We were buried, then, with him through baptism into death
Here Paul speaks of a believer's baptism in water as if it were a death and burial. AT: "When someone baptized us, it is just like that person buried us with Christ in the tomb" (See: Metaphor)
Read full note →
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life
To raise from the dead is an idiom for causing a person to live again. This compares a believer's new spiritual life to Jesus coming back to life physically. The believer's new spiritual life enables that person to obey God. You can translate this in an active form. AT: "just as the Father brought Jesus back to life after he died, we might have new spiritual life and obey God" (See: Simile and Active or Passive and Idiom)
from the dead
From among all those who have died. This expression describes all dead people together in the underworld. To be raised from among them speaks of becoming alive again.
become united with him in the likeness of his death ... be united with his resurrection
Paul compares our union with Christ to death. Those who are joined with Christ in death will share in his resurrection. You can translate this in an active form. AT: "died with him ... come back to life with him" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)
translationWords
bury
baptize
Christ
raise
glory
God the Father
walk
life
resurrection
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 6:4 we died and were buried with Christ: The…
6:4 we died and were buried with Christ: The believer’s power over sin and the ability to lead a new life stem from identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection (see 6:5, 8). From God’s perspective, Jesus’ death to sin (see 6:10) is ours as well. His rising to new life means that we also begin to lead a new life, and in the future our bodies will also be raised.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.