Being baptized (Rom 6:3) into Christ means being immersed into Christ (Note: The Greek word for baptism in the Apostolic era was associated with a person drowning or a ship sinking, so the idea of immersion is present). Paul puts this another way in 1 Corinthians 6:17 by stating that believers are united with Christ in spirit. In Galatians 2:20, Paul writes, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Throughout Philippians, Paul repeatedly tells believers that they are in Christ.

Baptism, therefore, symbolizes the divine miracle that occurs at the point of our salvation. It represents our burial with Christ through immersion into His crucifixion (Gal 2:20), His death, His burial, and His resurrection (Rom 6:4). Baptism signifies the hope that believers have in Christ. As sinners, all people are under the sentence of death (Rom 3:23; 6:23). Apart from God’s provision of a Savior, we were hopelessly lost and defeated with no way to pay for sins. By repenting and placing our faith in Christ, we died with Him so that we may also live with Him (Rom 6:8). Since we have died with Christ, we have been set free from the penalty of the law (Rom 6:9-10).