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The baptism of the believer is a beautiful picture of our new relationship with Christ. We have become identified with Him. We who were “dead in trespasses and sins” were co-crucified with Christ, co-buried with Him, co-resurrected with Him and are now seated with Him in the heavenly places. Our old life was buried, and we are now alive in Christ. The ordinance of baptism portrays that change in the believer when he put his faith in Christ and was born again. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus. We who were dead in our trespasses and sins are now alive.
The apostle Paul wrote: "having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead" (Colossians 2:12 NASB95). "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him" (Romans 6:4, 8
Baptism is a definite action we take to identify ourselves with Jesus Christ. It is the declaration to a watching world that we are declaring that something has already taken place in our lives. We are stating to witnesses that we have united ourselves with Christ and that we too died and rose again with Him. We die to the old life and old sins with its guilt. We rise to new life in Christ. Baptism is a beautiful picture of what Christ did for us on the cross and His resurrection, and what He has already done in our lives spiritually.
The Christian “died” with Christ and there has taken place a break with our past.
We are “raised” with Christ. We put our faith in Jesus Christ and have been spiritually resurrected. This took place the moment we believed on Christ as our personal Savior.
We will one day “appear” with Christ in glory because we are already “seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” This is our blessed hope and it gives us assurance to live for Christ every day.
Baptism symbolically pictures our vital union with Christ. With Him we are buried, raised and appearing.
Christ is our source of eternal life. In the words of the apostle Paul, Christ is our life.
We have a new relationship with Christ Jesus and a new position before God. We have already had a spiritual resurrection, and one day when Christ returns we are going to have a new resurrection body! Referring to our spiritual resurrection Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live" (John 5:25 NASB95). Then He went on to speak of our future resurrection: “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice" (John 5:28 NASB95).
The apostle Paul declares “you have been raised up with Christ” in the past, “your life is hidden with Christ in God” now, and “you also will be revealed with Him in glory” in the future.
Our new identification with Christ is expressed in the preposition “with”:
“Dead” with Christ.
“Buried” with Christ.
“Made alive” with Christ.
“Risen” with Christ.
“Hidden” with Christ.
“Appear” with Christ.