Colossians 2:12

Having been buried with him in baptism (suntapente autwi en twi baptismati). Second aorist passive participle of sunqaptw, old word, in N.T. only here and Romans 6:4 , followed by associative instrumental case (autwi). Thayer's Lexicon says: "For all who in the rite of baptism are plunged under the water, thereby declare that they put faith in the expiatory death of Christ for the pardon of their past sins." Yes, and for all future sins also. This word gives Paul's vivid picture of baptism as a symbolic burial with Christ and resurrection also to newness of life in him as Paul shows by the addition "wherein ye were also raised with him" (en wi kai sunhgerqhte). "In which baptism" (baptismati, he means). First aorist passive indicative of sunegeirw, late and rare verb (Plutarch for waking up together), in LXX, in N.T. only in Colossians 2:12 ; Colossians 3:1 ; Ephesians 2:6 . In the symbol of baptism the resurrection to new life in Christ is pictured with an allusion to Christ's own resurrection and to our final resurrection. Paul does not mean to say that the new life in Christ is caused or created by the act of baptism. That is grossly to misunderstand him. The Gnostics and the Judaizers were sacramentalists, but not so Paul the champion of spiritual Christianity. He has just given the spiritual interpretation to circumcision which itself followed Abraham's faith ( Romans 4:10-12 ). Cf. Galatians 3:27 . Baptism gives a picture of the change already wrought in the heart "through faith" (dia th pistew). In the working of God (th energeia tou qeou). Objective genitive after pistew. See Galatians 1:29 for energeia. God had power to raise Christ from the dead (tou egeiranto, first aorist active participle of egeirw, the fact here stated) and he has power (energy) to give us new life in Christ by faith.