Buried into death and raised into life

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4)

If you are a Christian, you know that Jesus died on the cross and that God raised Him from the dead. But did you know that as a believer in Jesus Christ, you were actually buried with Him into death - and raised with Him into life? The following verse 5 says: ”For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection”. In Colossians 2:12, you can read it even clearer: ”buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead”. Did you notice; raised with Him through faith in the working of God! Not in the working of ourselves, but in the working of God.

Baptism in water is a symbol of the believer’s union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. Also Ephesians 2:6 and Colossians 3:1 confirm that the believers were raised with Christ.

Today’s scripture is part of a context where Paul wrote to the Roman church to teach them that as believers they were dead to sin and alive to God. This is valuable teaching for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. We were united together with Christ in His death so that we could be dead to sin, and we were united together with Christ in His resurrection so that we could be alive to God. If you are a believer, you were raised with Christ and made alive to God, being born again as a new creation. This had to happen, because no one can see the kingdom of God unless being born again (John 3:3).