Discover Who You Are

Have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? . . . Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.   Romans 6:3,5

The word baptism literally means to be “plunged,” “immersed,” or “saturated.” The apostle Paul tells believers they are “joined with Christ Jesus in baptism.” When you come to faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit connects Jesus’ death two thousand years ago with your life today. You are plunged into him, and the benefits of his death and resurrection flow into your life.

Many churches symbolize this by baptizing believers in water that completely covers them. This is a powerful picture of our immersion in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit brings the believer into a deep spiritual union with Christ, formed through the bond of faith. The believer is “in Christ.”

Being baptized into Christ’s death means that who you were before ceases to exist. I find it helpful to think of it like this: there was once a fellow by the name of Colin Smith . . .

Because he was descended from Adam, he was under the reign of sin, alienated from God, and powerless to do anything about it. If he had stayed in that condition, he would have ended up under condemnation. But that fellow no longer exists. He died. He went down with Jesus at the cross. That’s what Paul means when he says we joined Christ in his death.

But Paul also writes about being raised to life as Christ was. When the Holy Spirit plunged me into Christ, he brought a whole new person into being. This new person, who also goes by Colin Smith, is under the rule of grace. He is a child of God, and his destiny is everlasting life. The Spirit of God lives in this person. He has been raised to live a new life to the glory of God (see Romans 6:4).

This is the consistent teaching of the New Testament: “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is so much more than turning over a new leaf or making a decision.

For further reading, see 2 Corinthians 5