Title: Union with Christ
Commentary on Romans 38
union with Christ
Romans 6:3 - 4
Introduction: In Romans 6, the word baptism appears. However, we must keep in mind that Paul's use of the word baptism here does not mean the water baptism we practice in the church. Paul teaches us the salvation doctrine of Lee Shin-ui in the book of Romans. This justification by faith is based on union with Christ. In Romans 6, Paul describes union with Christ in the word baptism. We can think of three different meanings of the word baptism in the Bible. One is water baptism (Matthew 28:19). The second is the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). The third is baptism, which means union with Christ, which Paul is dealing with in Romans 6, this very baptism.
1. Union with Christ
Paul says in verse 3 that “we were baptized into Christ Jesus”. The expression to join here does not mean baptism. Baptism is not a sign of union with Christ. Baptism is already the sealing of what has happened to you through faith in Christ. Baptism is the confessional sealing of a person who has been united with Christ to life, after realizing the truth. However, in this case, because baptism is a visible ceremony, there are cases in which the union of Christ and life has actually been achieved, and there are cases where people who are not can receive it, so it cannot be a perfect ceremony. However, the baptism Paul speaks of in Romans 6 is the complete baptism into union with Christ.
(1) The most important core of the doctrine of salvation is union with Christ. The word union refers to one's present identity with Christ. Union with Christ means that we are in Christ. Those who are in Christ own everything that is in Christ. He has made us united to Christ so that we may have together the things that are in Christ. In Adam we came to have all of Adam. He shared in the sin he had committed, and in that sin, he was condemned together, and because of that sin, he died with Adam. Our status in these past days is only because we were in Adam.
We are now united to Christ and dwell in Christ. Christ became the sin offering on the cross for our atonement. He has given us salvation. He has given us all the spiritual blessings in heaven. It's not like this for any other reason. Just as all of Adam's possessions became mine because of that one fact because we were in Adam in the past, so because I am in Christ, all that Christ accomplished and possessed became mine.
This is the basis of our salvation and the justification of Christians. Only when we lay down the roots of our faith on such a basis can we lead a victorious life of faith with the assurance of salvation, justification, and apology.
(2) It must be borne in mind that union with Christ is not based on an experiential or subjective judgment, but an objective fact rooted in the Word of God. Even if we look at our status in Adam, there is no way to objectively and experientially find out the answer to when we shared in Adam's sin and why we should share Adam's condemnation. But by the word of God it is true. And that fact is the actual evidence of the human corpse.
The same is true in Christ. We are not dead with Christ. There is no resurrection with him. Such things did not appear to us experientially and objectively. But all these things in Christ, because of this one fact that we are simply in Christ, everything he did, everything he had, became mine. If we ignore this fact and seek salvation and apology from an experiential and objective standpoint, nothing will come back to him. Depending on your thoughts, you will go back and forth between salvation and destruction, righteousness and sin several times a day, depending on your circumstances and circumstances.
(3) “We were baptized into Christ Jesus”. This baptism, called union with Christ, is not a seal after justification, a symbol, or a sign of repentance. This means a whole personal union with me and Christ. not one of them. neither of the two. It means everything, everything you have.
If I have this whole personal union with Christ, it is not for any other reason or on any other pretext, but because of this one fact that I am united to Christ. It is no longer the grace of God. Because I am in Christ by faith on the same principle that I had Adam's possession in Adam in the past, my union with him is rightfully mine in my present situation. When we know that there is no other reason other than that, we can only thank God and be moved.
2. The union of Christ's death and resurrection
The apostle Paul confirms in verse 4, “Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death.” Some Baptists associate Paul's expression with baptism, which they claim doctrinally. It is said that the reason a person is immersed in water at baptism is a symbol of Christ's death and burial, and thus entering the tomb, but it has nothing to do with immersion in water and the union by Christ's death and has no meaning. It's not about giving. Paul is not talking about water baptism here, but he is claiming the justification granted to us through union with Christ.
(1) Paul emphasizes the death of Christ. Just as the death of Christ is a fortified fact, the death of those who are united with Christ is also strongly expressed as a fortified fact. It is not that we must die with him as Christ died. Just as Christ died, so we are already dead with him. Paul is telling us that we are dead, not emphasizing that we must die. This is union. If it is a union, it is a common destiny, so if he died, then I, who was united, should also die with him.
(2) This does not assert the process or necessity of Christian sanctification. Paul is here discussing Christian justification, not the process of sanctification. Paul finally says that he was buried. The word burial is more compelling evidence of the certainty of his death. This is an emphasis on the fact that we are not only dead in union with Christ, but are already buried. After Christ died, he was buried and set free from sin. It's a complete break. In this way, we who are united with Christ have also become like that. It claims that we are united to Christ in all these things.
Conclusion: Those who are united to Christ are thus united not only to Christ's death and burial, but also to his resurrection from the dead. The resurrection of Christ is the living evidence of overcoming the power of sin and the birth of new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Phil 3:20; Ephesians 2:6). He said that God has given us a new life so that we may walk in it. This is the process of sanctification we need, and this sanctification begins on the basis of perfect justification.