Pastor's Sermon Notes: Five Words You Must Understand (series), Part Thirty-two: "Buried with Him in baptism" (Colossians 2:12)

Sermon Series:  Five Words You Must Understand

1 Corinthians 14:19

Yet in the church I had rather speak five words 

with my understanding,

that by my voice I might teach others also,

than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.

Part Thirty-two: Colossians 2:12 (Romans 6:4)

“Buried with Him in baptism.”

[Audio file on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/Colossians212cp.Romans64]

Introduction:

This sermon series was initiated on 20 MAR 2011. Five sermons in this series were from the book of Revelation. These were preached during the period from MAY 2012 to APR 2013. The last sermon of the 35 already preached in this series — other than the 5 from Revelation — was Part 31, “We have peace with God” (Rom. 5:1), which was preached on 30 OCT 2016.

On the old Daniels and Webster program on ROCK107 we often heard from one Walter Nepasky.  He would begin his commentary with either, “I'm Walter Nepasky and today I wanna talk about three things,” or “Hi. My name is Walter Nepasky. How you doin? Today I want to talk to you about tree tings.”

What if we had a modern Christian radio station —The Rock of Ages 316 — with a program that began, “Hi, I’m Paul of Tarsus, and today I want to talk about five words.”

The Apostle Paul wrote: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding,

that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.[1]

Paul follows up his introduction on The Rock of Ages 316 with his personal example — an extreme preference framed as a mathematical proportion: 5 versus 10,000. This is Paul’s “druthers”!  This is when 5 is better than 10,000!

If Paul were here, and you could pin him down to a literal selection of five words, what do you think he would choose?  “Gimme Five Paul!”

Before we get to a selected list of five word Scripture passages that might be in Paul’s “in box” we should also consider how Charles Haddon Spurgeon went even beyond Paul, perhaps due to “spiritual inflation” in the intervening 17 centuries!

“But the seed, though very small, was a living thing. There is a great difference between a mustard seed and a piece of wax of the same size. Life slumbers in that seed. What life is we cannot tell. Even if you take a microscope you cannot spy it out. It is a mystery, but it is essential to a seed. The Gospel has a something in it not readily discoverable by the philosophical inquirer, if, indeed, he can perceive it at all. Take a maxim of Socrates or of Plato, and inquire whether a nation or a tribe has ever been transformed by it from barbarism to culture. A maxim of a philosopher may have measurably influenced a person in some right direction, but who has ever heard of a someone's whole character being transformed by any observation of Confucius or Socrates? I confess I never have. Human teachings are barren. But within the Gospel, with all its triteness and simplicity, there is a divine life and that life makes all the difference. The human can never rival the divine, for it lacks the life-fire. It is better to preach five words of God's Word than five million words of human wisdom. Human words may seem to be the wiser and the more attractive, but there is no heavenly life in them. Within God's Word, however simple it may be, there dwells an omnipotence like that of God

from whose lips it came.”[2]

This “spiritual inflation” continued for at least the next 121 years from Spurgeon’s day in the 19th century (1889) into our own 21st century (2010) as illustrated in the following from Steven J. Lawson.

“God is the one Source and sole Author of truth. Sin is whatever God says it is. Judgment is whatever God says it is. Salvation is what God says it is. Heaven and hell are what God says they are. It matters not what man says but simply what God says. One word of what God says is worth more than ten thousand libraries of what man says. “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar” (Romans 3:4).”

— Steven J. Lawson, in his sermon titled, “What is Truth?”[3]

Almost a year ago David Murray emphasized this in his blog post, “The Gospel Goes Viral” (3 MAY 2016), on HeadHeartHand Blog:[4]

“Simple Message

Although corporations often think that the more information they pack into a video, the more successful it will be, viral marketers emphasize the need for a short and simple message, ideally with a human touch. That’s exactly what we see here.

Five words: Behold the lamb of God (36)[5]

Five words: We have found the Messiah (41)

Two words: Follow me (43)

Six words: We have found the predicted Messiah (45)

Three words: Come and see (46)

Note how short, how simple, and how personal the messages are. All of them are so focused on Jesus.

Challenge: Are you excusing yourself from witnessing because you don’t know all the arguments, or can’t speak eloquently and persuasively? Look at how short, simple, personal, and effective the Gospel message can be!”

Now for some possibilities from Paul’s “in box.”

Note: The five word statements from Scripture included in this series may not actually be five word statements in either the Hebrew or Greek originals, nor are they necessarily complete sentences or verses in English language translations from the Hebrew and Greek, including the King James Version which is the source translation for the statements. Nevertheless, they were selected for the fundamental truths and span of doctrine that they present.  The current list of 39 examples is not intended to be comprehensive, and may easily be expanded or consolidated.

The 39 passages of Scripture included in this series list thus far are categorized under the following four headings:

1. The Person of Christ — The Redeemer

2. The Work of Christ (as Prophet, Priest and King) — Redemption Accomplished

3. The Salvation of Christ — Redemption Applied

4. The Return of Christ — Redemption Revealed

Transition:

The five word text that is the subject of today’s sermon is listed under heading “3. The Salvation of Christ — Redemption Applied,” and is Part 32 (of 39) in this Five Word Sermon Series.

Here are “Five Words” that you need to understand!

“Buried with him in baptism” (Col. 2:12; cp. Rom. 6:4)

 Col. 2:12 — “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”

Rom. 6:4 — “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

In Romans 6:4 there are two possibilities for five word statements: either “we are buried with him,” or “buried with him in baptism.” I will be focusing on the second of these options since it is closer to what is found in Colossians, which is our primary text for this sermon.

Outline:

I. Buried

II. With Him

III. In Baptism

I. Buried —

1. The Burial of Christ in the Scriptures

2. The Burial of Christ in Creeds and Catechisms

3. The Burial of Christ and the Issue of the Empty Tomb

1. The Burial of Christ in the Scriptures

There is something significant between the crucifixion and the resurrection. Scripture does not skip over it. Each of the four Gospels records the burial of Jesus Christ. We learn from the combined Gospel accounts about the identity, status, and faith of those who buried Him, the creator, owner, nature, and location of the sepulchre, and details concerning the manner of His burial.

Mt. 27:57-61 — ⁵⁷ When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. ⁵⁹ And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. ⁶¹ And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

Mk. 15:42-47 — ⁴² And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. ⁴⁵ And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. ⁴⁷ And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.

Lk. 23:50-56 — ⁵⁰ And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: ⁵¹ (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. ⁵² This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. ⁵³ And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. ⁵⁴ And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. ⁵⁵ And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. ⁵⁶ And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

Jn. 19:38-42 — ³⁸ And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. ³⁹ And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. ⁴⁰ Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. ⁴¹ Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. ⁴² There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

These details are critically important since they establish a clear fulfillment of one of the Old Testament prophecies:

“And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death;

because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.” (Is. 53:9)

For the Apostle Paul the burial of Christ is an essential component of the Gospel. Paul left no doubt that when he taught the Gospel the burial of Christ was included as one of the essential historical events.

1 Cor. 15:1-4 — ¹ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; ² By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. ³ For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ⁴ And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

One account of Paul actually doing this occurred in Pisidian Antioch, and is recorded in Acts 13:29-31 — ²⁹ And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. ³⁰ But God raised him from the dead: ³¹ And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.

We have studied this subject of the burial of Jesus Christ here at Wayside Gospel Chapel before. For example, over five years ago a sermon was preached on “And That He Was Buried” (1 Corinthians 15:4), Five Words You Must Understand, Part 8 (preached 28 AUG 2011).

The condition during the three days in between the crucifixion and the resurrection has both theological significance, and personal application. The crucifixion encompassed hours, and the resurrection was instantaneous. The burial, however, embraces an interval of three days between these other two events, and, perhaps as a result, does not seem to get “equal billing” in Christian calendars or teaching.[6] The burial of Jesus Christ has not, however been entirely neglected in Church history.

2. The Burial of Christ in Creeds and Catechisms[7]

1) Apostles Creed — “...and buried...”

“I believe in God the Father Almighty [Maker of heaven and earth].

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord;

Who was [conceived] by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary;

[Suffered] under Pontius Pilate, was crucified [dead], and buried

[He descended into Hell (Hades)];

The third day he rose[8] from the dead;

He ascended into heaven; and sitteth on the right hand of [God] the Father [Almighty];

From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”[9]

 2) Nicene Creed — “...and was buried...”[10]

“We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; from thence he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.”

3) Heidelberg Catechism[11]

Question 41. Why was He buried?[12]

Answer. To show thereby that He was really dead.[13]

Mark 15:43-46; Acts 13:29

4) Westminster Larger Catechism

Q. 50. Wherein consisted Christ's humiliation after his death?

A. Christ's humiliation after his death consisted in his being buried, and continuing in the state of the dead, and under the power of death till the third day; which has been otherwise expressed in these words, he descended into hell.[14]

Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:24-27, 31; Rom. 6:9; Mt. 21:40

3. The Burial of Christ and the Issue of the Empty Tomb

Christ’s tomb was empty, and we delight to speak of “The Empty Tomb.”

Is it really empty?

It was for him.

The sermon I preached on Resurrection Day eight years ago was about the full tomb: “The Empty Tomb is not Empty!” (John 3:16).[15]

“We need, we really do need to consider the fullness of the tomb.  We need to give serious consideration to what this tomb is filled with.”

My point then was that the empty tomb really was not empty, but was filled with the resurrection glory of God’s presence, love, and life. 

My point in directing your attention back to the tomb this day is related but different.

And so I ask again: Is it really empty? Is the tomb that Christ was buried in really empty?

It was for him. That is undeniable. For Christ His tomb was empty once he was resurrected from the dead the third day following His death by crucifixion. Is there something here in His burial site that we need to be reminded of besides the resurrection glory of God’s presence, love, and life?

Is the tomb really empty?

It must never be for us.

What is the difference?

What makes the difference?

What gets left in the tomb?

What does not get resurrected?

In other words, what stays dead?

People wear crosses around their necks, and hang them on their walls. Why not a tomb? Why one without the other. Both are connected by the Apostle in the Gospel, and not just on rare occasions.

Under the next two points your thinking on these five words will be directed towards the answers to these questions.

II. With Him —

1. The Aspects of our Union with Christ in His Finished Work of Redemption

2. The Reality of our Union with Christ in His Burial

1. The Aspects of our Union with Christ in His Finished Work of Redemption[16]

1) co-crucifixion: “I am crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20), Series: Five Words You Must Understand, Part 29 (preached 27 MAR 2016); cp. also Rom. 6:6; and co-death in 2 Tim. 2:11.

1) co-resurrection: “Ye are risen with Him” (Colossians 2:12), Series: Five Words You Must Understand, Part 19 (preached 5 APR 2015); cp. also Col. 2:13;[17] 3:1; and Eph. 2:5-6.

3) co- burial

We need to consider that this was not possible prior to the Incarnation of the Son of God.

Union with Christ up until then was not a viable reality except in a prospective sense.

Nor is this referred to under the Old Covenant in any sense other than in types and shadow.

Corporate solidarity between the Son of Man and those the Father chose and gave to Him required His taking upon Himself a human nature, i.e., joining Himself to the human race in the Incarnation. Then, and only then, could union with Christ, the corporate solidarity of the Messiah and His people exist in fact rather than in prospect.

2. The Reality of our Union with Christ in His Burial

What difference does our co-burial make during the interval between our regeneration and our glorification? In other words, why does Paul bring this up at such significant points in his epistles to the churches in the first century A.D.?

Many have visited a site near Jerusalem in modern Israel that they believe is the empty tomb of Christ, and is known as “The Garden Tomb.”

I regularly visit graves, but they are not mine. There are thoughts in my mind as I do so. I often take photos of them for those who haven’t been able to visit these cemeteries. Many of the tombstones of these fallen soldiers are so highly polished that when I attempt to take photos I have difficulty doing so without my reflection appearing on the tombstone.[18] That insertion of the living photographer into the picture of a dead soldiers tombstone is not something that I find appropriate or desirable.

The empty tomb of Christ is mine. We are called to consider the tomb in these chapters. We are called to visit the burial site. There are thoughts that should come to our minds as we contemplate this burial site, the grave of every believer in Jesus Christ.

When we go there it must not be empty for us. We must consider our every thought, feeling, motive, word, and deed as either buried there, or not. It cannot be otherwise.

Buried With Christ [19]

Words: T. Ryder. Music: Will­iam J. Kirk­pat­rick (1838-1921)
Source: Cyber Hymnal at http://nethymnal.org/htm/b/u/r/buriedwc.htm [accessed 26 AUG 2011].

---

Buried with Christ and raised with Him, too,
What is there left for me to do?
Simply to cease from struggling and strife,
Simply to walk in newness of life.

Refrain

Buried with Christ and dead unto sin;
Dying but living, Jesus within;
Ruling and reigning day after day,
Guiding and keeping all of the way.

Risen with Christ my glorious Head,
Holiness now the pathway I tread;
Beautiful thought from walking therein,
He that is dead is freed from all sin.

Refrain

Living with Christ, who dieth no more,
Following Christ, who goeth before;
Not under law, I’m now under grace,
Sin is dethroned, and Christ takes its place.

Refrain

III. In Baptism —

1. The differences between Colossians and Romans

2. The different emphases in the contexts in Colossians and Romans

3. The Connection to the Sign of Water Baptism

1. The differences between Colossians and Romans

There are three distinct differences in the five word statements found in Col. 2:12 and Rom. 6:4.

1) There is a different verb form.

Col. 2:12 in the NASB, ESV, HCSB, and NIV — having been buried with Him in baptism

2) There is a different preposition.

Rom. 6:4 — by baptism (KJV, ESV, HCSB, NLT), or through baptism (NKJV, NASB, NIV, YLT)

3) There is a different emphasis in the immediate context.

What is similar in both contexts is that this has to do with death. When the burial of Jesus Christ, and our co-burial with Him in baptism are brought up in Scripture there is always a very good reason. In each of the contexts there is something that must be seen as dead, as dead and buried. Failure to do so has deadly results for the holiness and safety of the disciples of Jesus Christ.

2. The different emphases in the contexts in Colossians and Romans

In Colossians what is being dealt with in are the deadly false teachers.

In Romans it is the death of sin that is focused on.

Colossians 2:4-23 — There is an unmistakable negative emphasis in these verse on false teachings that strike at the heart of the Gospel, and an equally unmistakable positive emphasis on union with Christ seen especially in the prepositional phrases “in him,” and “with him.”

⁴ And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. ⁵ For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. ⁶ As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: ⁷ Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. ⁸ Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. ⁹ For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. ¹⁰ And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: ¹¹ In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: ¹² Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. ¹³ And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; ¹⁴ Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; ¹⁵ And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. ¹⁶ Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: ¹⁷ Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. ¹⁸ Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, ¹⁹ And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. ²⁰ Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, ²¹ (Touch not; taste not; handle not; ²² Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? ²³ Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

Romans 6:1-13 — 14 mentions of death as either a noun or a verb in 13 verses plus 3 additional terms in which death is implicit: buried, crucified, destroyed. In this context our co-burial is seen as a pre-requisite to our co-resurrection enabling us to live free from sin to serve God as new creatures in Christ.

¹ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? ² God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? ³  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? ⁴ Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: ⁶ Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. ⁷ For he that is dead is freed from sin. ⁸ Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: ⁹ Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. ¹⁰ For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. ¹¹ Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. ¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. ¹³ Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

3. The Connection to the Sign of Water Baptism

It will not do to affirm that there is no water in Colossians 2 or in Romans 4, and then to simply leave it at that. It is unthinkable that the Apostle Paul would pose a disconnect between the spiritual reality and the ordinance of the full immersion in water of believers in Christ. The meaning of the sign/seal of the New Covenant is determined by these chapters which are far from “dry.” There is blood here. And there is immersion. There is death here. And there is immersion. There is resurrection here. And there is immersion. There is Christ here. And there is immersion in Him. There is no “a little dab’ll do ya’” when it comes to our union with Christ, or our co-crucifixion, co-burial, and co-resurrection. Baptism is immersion, full immersion, or it is not baptism. Nothing else is worthy of the name. Nothing else adequately depicts what we are confronted with in these chapters.

Paedobaptists wax eloquently about a direct connection between Old Covenant circumcision and New Covenant baptism. In Colossians 2:11-13 there is only partial and indirect connection that may be seen. Physical circumcision is connected to spiritual circumcision, and water baptism is connected to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. However, the ordinance of water baptism symbolizes death, burial and resurrection, while circumcision only relates to the death and burial aspects, and never to resurrection. If such a full and direct connection existed then the Apostle Paul would certainly have referred to it in his polemics against the Judaizers insisting on Gentile circumcision. However, he did no such thing. Conversely, he would have argued against any continuation of the circumcision of New Covenant Jews. There is no Scriptural evidence for this either.

That being said, the significance of our being “buried with Him in baptism” is certainly tied to our completeness in Christ including “the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” (Col. 2:11)

“How is it that we are buried with him in baptism?  What about us, what of us was buried with him?  Why is this important to us and to the Gospel message?  What do we lose if we fail to understand and emphasize the significance of our co-burial with Christ?

The old man

The old nature

The sin nature                                                                                                           

Our sin

The Law”[20]

This should stop us in our tracks when we think that we can sin with impunity, or continue to live like the old man. The confrontation with what remains dead in the sepuchre should guard us against those false teachers who would teach anything that adds to Christ’s finished work, or operate out of and appeals to the flesh of the old nature.

Conclusion:

 “Buried with Him in baptism” are “Five Words” that you need to understand!

Read: “Thine Is the Glory, Risen, Conquering Son” [#171 in Hymns for the Living Church]

Here are “Five Words” that you need to understand: “Buried with Him in baptism”!

[Sermon preached 16 APR 2017 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Complete Outline:

I. Buried

1. The Burial of Christ in the Scriptures

2. The Burial of Christ in Creeds and Catechisms

3. The Burial of Christ and the Issue of the Empty Tomb

II. With Him

1. The Aspects of our Union with Christ in His Finished Work of Redemption

2. The Reality of our Union with Christ in His Burial

III. In Baptism

1. The Differences Between Colossians and Romans

2. The Different Emphases in the Contexts in Colossians and Romans

3. The Connection to the Sign of Water Baptism

Appendix 1: Resources on the Concept of Corporate Solidarity

G. K. Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011), pp. 179, 192-193, 395, 713.[21]

Abner Chou, “Corporate Solidarity: A Heuristic Grid For New Testament Use of the Old Testament,” paper delivered at the Far West Regional Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, May, 2, 2003, at Sun Valley, CA.[22]

E. Earle Ellis, Paul’s Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), pp. 58-60, 72-73, 95, 132-133, 136, and 139.

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, eds. David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), pp. 285-287, s.v. “Corporate Personality.”

Mehrdad Fatehi, The Spirit's Relation to the Risen Lord in Paul (Tübingen, Deutschland: Mohr Siebeck, 2000).

Morna Dorothy Hooker, Jesus and the Servant: The Influence of the Servant Concept of Deutero-Isaiah in the New Testament (London: SPCK, 1959).

Aubrey R. Johnson, The One and the Many in the Israelite Conception of God (Cardiff: University of Wales, 1960).[23]

Arthur H. Lewis, “Resurgent Semitisms In The Testament Theology,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 17:1 (Winter 1974), pp. 3-10.

Kenneth D. Litwak, “The Use Of Quotations From Isaiah 52:13-53:12 In The New Testament,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 26:4 (DEC 1983), pp. 385-394.

Richard Longenecker, Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic Period (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975).

John Murray “The Imputation Of Adam’s Sin,” Westminster Theological Journal 18:2 (MAY 1956), pp.146-162, and Westminster Theological Journal 19:1 (NOV 1956), pp. 25-44.

C. R. North, Isaiah 40–55 (London: SCM, 1952).

C. R. North, The Suffering Servant in Deutero-Isaiah (London: Oxford University, 1948).

Douglas A. Oss, “The Interpretation Of The “Stone” Passages By Peter And Paul: A Comparative Study”,  Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 32:2 (JUN 1989), pp. 181-200. See excerpt below.

Johannes Pedersen, Israel: Its Life and Culture, Vol. 28 in South Florida Studies in the History of Judaism (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1991).

Henry Wheeler Robinson, The Christian Doctrine of Man (1934).

Henry Wheeler Robinson, Corporate Personality in Ancient Israel (1935; reprint Philadelphia: Fortress, 1973, 1980).[24]

Henry Wheeler Robinson, The History of Israel: Its Fact and Factors (1938).

Henry Wheeler Robinson, The Old Testament: Its Making and Meaning (1937).

Henry Wheeler Robinson, The Religious Ideas of the Old Testament (1956).

H. H. Rowley, The Servant of the Lord and Other Essays on the Old Testament (London: Lutterworth, 1957).

Thomas R. Schreiner, Paul, Apostle of God's Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2001), pp. 156-159, s.v. “In Christ.”[25]

Russell Phillip Shedd, Man in Community: A Study of St. Paul’s Application of Old Testament and Early Jewish Conceptions of Human Solidarity (London: Epworth Press, 1958).

Klyne Snodgrass, “The Use of the Old Testament in the New,” in New Testament Criticism and Interpretation, eds. David Alan Black and David S. Dockery (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991), pg. 416.[26]

Thomas F. Torrance, Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ, ed. Robert T. Walker (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2008), pp. 137-138.[27]

Sang-Won (Aaron) Son, Corporate Elements in Pauline Anthropology (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 2001).[28]

Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1973).

Objections: [29]

Joshua R. Porter, “The Legal Aspects of the Concept of ‘Corporate Personality’ in the Old Testament,” Vetus Testamentum 15 (1965), pp. 361-380.

John W. Rogerson, “The Hebrew Conception of Corporate Personality: A Re-examination,” Journal of Theological Studies 21 (1970), pp. 1-16.[30]

Stanley E. Porter, “Two Myths: Corporate Personality and Language/Mentality Determinism,” Scottish Journal of Theology 43 (1990), pp. 289-307.[31]

Appendix 2: Bibliography on “Baptism”

Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, eds. Everett F. Harrison, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Carl F. H. Henry (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1960).

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, eds. W. A. Elwell, and B. J. Beitzel (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1988).

A Dictionary of the Bible: Dealing with Its Language, Literature, and Contents Including the Biblical Theology, eds. J. Hastings, J. A. Selbie, A. B. Davidson, S. R. Driver, and H. B. Swete (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1911–1912).

The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, 5 vols., eds. J. Orr, J. L. Nuelsen, E. Y. Mullins, and M. O. Evans (Chicago: Howard-Severance, 1915); on International Standard Bible Encyclopedia at http://www.internationalstandardbible.com/  [accessed 14 OCT 2016].

The New Bible Dictionary, 1st ed., eds. J. D. Douglas, F. F. Bruce, R. V. G. Tasker, J. I. Packer, and D. J. Wiseman (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1962).

New Bible Dictionary, 3rd ed., eds. D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, and D. J. Wiseman (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996).

The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, gen. ed. Colin Brown, English ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978; trans. from Germ. original, Theologisches Begriffslexikon Zum Neuen Testament, 1971 by Theologischer Verlag Rolf Brockhaus, Wuppertal).

The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 13 vols., ed. Samuel Macauley Jackson (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1909; Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953); on  Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/ [accessed 14 OCT 2016].

Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, electronic ed., eds. G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, and G. Friedrich; trans. G. W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964-1976).

Compiled by:

John T. “Jack” Jeffery

Pastor, Wayside Gospel Chapel

Greentown, PA

10 APR 2017

End Notes:

---

[1] 1 Corinthians 14:19.

[2] Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Mustard Seed: A Sermon for the Sabbath-School Teacher” (Lk. 13:18-19), Sermon No. 2110, delivered 20 OCT 1889, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, U.K.; in Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 35 (1889), pp. 565ff.; in Charles H. Spurgeon, The Parables of Our Lord (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2003), pg. 707; and on The Spurgeon Archive at http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2110.htm [accessed 23 DEC 2014]. Highlighting mine.

[3] Steven J. Lawson, “What is Truth?,” Tabletalk Magazine (1 SEP 2010), on Ligonier Ministries at http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/what-is-truth/ [accessed 3 MAY 2016]. Highlighting mine.

[4] At http://headhearthand.org/blog/2016/05/03/the-gospel-goes-viral/ [accessed 3 MAY 2016]. Highlighting mine.

[5] The numbers in parentheses are the verse numbers from John 1.

[6] For a very recent exception to this neglect see the fine (and interesting!) article on one aspect of this doctrine by Gavin Ortlund, “One Painful and Beautiful Burial: Obeying God in the Dark” (15 APR 2017), on desiring God at http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/one-painful-and-beautiful-burial [accessed 15 APR 2017].

[7] Adapted from “And That He Was Buried” (1 Corinthians 15:4), Five Words You Must Understand, Part 8 (sermon preached 28 AUG 2011 at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA).

[8] The word “again” is inserted here in “A Gallican Creed of the Sixth Century,” in Documents of the Christian Church, ed. Henry Bettenson (New York: Oxford University Press, n.d.; 1956 reprint from 1943 and 1947 originals), pg. 35. This is included in some editions of the Heidelberg Catechism, Q. 23; e.g. The Three Forms of Unity (Birmingham, AL: Solid Ground Christian Books, n.d.; 2012 printing), pg. 74. It is not included in Reformed Standards of Unity (Grand Rapids: Society For Reformed Publications, n.d.), pg. 28. In the Roman, Anglican, and Lutheran translations it is included. See Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostles%27_Creed [accessed 15 APR 2017].

[9] In “The Old Roman Form” the English translation from the Latin is “and was buried.” Creeds of Christendom with A History and Critical Notes, ed. Philip Schaff, 3 vols., 6th ed. (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1877, 1909, 1919), 1:14-23, s.v. §7. “The Apostles’ Creed;” on Christian Classics Ethereal Library at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds1.iv.ii.html [accessed 15 APR 2017].

[10] First Council of Constantinople (381). This clause was not in the creed issued by the First Council of Nicea (325). Source: Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed [accessed 15 APR 2017]; from Creeds of Christendom with A History and Critical Notes, ed. Philip Schaff, 3 vols., 6th ed. (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1877, 1909, 1919), 1:24-29, s.v. §8. “The Nicene Creed;” on Christian Classics Ethereal Library at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds1.iv.iii.html [accessed 15 APR 2017].

[11] Reformed Standards of Unity (Grand Rapids: Society For Reformed Publications, n.d.), pg. 32. “The text of the Heidelberg Catechism....used herein is from Philip Schaff's Creeds of Christendom, published by Harper and Brothers, and is used by permission.” Op. cit., pg. 4. The Heidelberg Catechism of the Reformed Church in the United States, Twentieth Century Edition (Philadelphia: The Publication Board of the Reformed Church in the United States, 1902), pg. 85. “Instead of the old text, a translation made from the Latin, the tercentenary text is used, a translation made from the original German and published in 1863 by synodical direction.” Op. cit., pg. 3. On this translation see also Reformed Standards of Unity, pg. 23.

[12] “Why was He also “buried”?” The Three Forms of Unity (1999 reprint, Mission Committee of the Protestant Reformed Churches of America, pg. 10.

[13] “Thereby to prove that He was really dead.” Ibid.

[14] On the descensus ad inferos see especially the following: The Creeds of Christendom With a History and Critical Notes, ed. Philip Schaff, rev. David S. Schaff, 6th ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, n.d.; 1990 reprint from 1931 Harper & Row ed.), I:21, 21n6; II:45-50, 46n2, 50n4; Daniel R. Hyde, “In Defense of the Descendit: A Confessional Response to Contemporary Critics of Christ’s Descent into Hell,” The Confessional Presbyterian, 3 (2007), pp. 104-117; downloadable PDF file available on The Confessional Presbyterian at http://www.cpjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/hyde.pdf [accessed 3 JAN 2015]; and Daniel R. Hyde, In Defense of the Descent: A Response to Contemporary Critics, in Exploration in Reformed Confessional Theology, eds. Daniel R. Hyde and Mark Jones (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2010).

[15] Sermon preached 12 APR 2009 at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.

[16] On the Greek preposition employed in these compound words see especially Murray J. Harris, Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), pp. 204-205. “There are more words formed from σὺν than from any other preposition….Of special significance are eleven verbal σὺν- compounds in Paul….These eleven verbs may be grouped around two main motifs, two crucial redemptive events, namely, Christ’s death and burial, and his resurrection with all its consequences, events that are reenacted in Christian baptism (cf. Ro 6:3-10).” Harris, op. cit., pg. 204. “But Christians are not associated with aspects of Christ’s historical life before his passion. For example, Paul never says believers are baptized with Christ, are tempted with Christ or are transfigured with Christ.” Harris, op. cit., pg. 205.

[17] “the only N.T. instance of σὺν repeated” — C. F. D. Moule, An Idiom-Book of New Testament Greek, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1953, 1959), pg. 90.

[18] SSG Daniel Laverne Arnold in Montrose Cemetery, Montrose (Susquehanna County), PA; SPC Oliver J. Brown in Tioga Point Cemetery, 803 N. Main St., Athens (Bradford County), PA; SPC William L. Evans in Lakeview Cemetery, Lakeview (Susquehanna County), PA; and SSG Ryan Scott Ostrom in Salem-St. Paul Cemetery, Liberty (Tioga County), PA.

[19] See note 7.

[20] See note 7.

[21] Beale refers to “the biblical concept of “the one and the many” or of “corporate representation.”” Op. cit., pg. 179. “The concept of corporate personality rightly has been qualified by later critics; it is better to speak of corporate solidarity and representation.” Ibid., footnote 56.  See also pg. 395, footnote 24.

[22] Available from the Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) at http://www.tren.com/e-docs/search.cfm?pETS-1613 [accessed 25 MAR 2015]. Reference TREN Product #ETS-161.

[23] Noted by Beale, op. cit., pg. 179, footnote 56, and pg. 395, footnote 24.

[24] The seminal works by Henry Wheeler Robinson (1872-1945), and this one in particular, may shed light on his origin and development of this concept. Beale refers the reader to the bibliography attached to the 1980 ed. of this work by Robinson for “discussion of this concept.” Op. cit., pg. 179, footnote 56.

[25] Schreiner uses the phrases “representative or corporate christology,” and “corporate personality.” Op. cit., pg. 158.

[26] Cited in Robert L. Plummer, 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible, in 40 Questions Series, series ed. Benjamin L. Merkle (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2010), pg. 206-207.

[27] Torrance uses the phrase “incarnational solidarity.” Op. cit., pg. 137.

[28] Cited in E. Earle Ellis, “Perspectives On Biblical Interpretation: A Review Article,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 45:3 (SEP 2002), pp. 489, note 134.

[29] Noted by Beale, op. cit., pg. 395, footnote 24.

[30] Also noted by Schreiner, op. cit., pp. 158, footnote 11.

[31] Also noted by Schreiner, op. cit., pp. 158, footnote 11.