Pastor and 1st Lady Mims

Mims Chapel Church

Week 10, November 9, 2025

LESSON 10

Buried With Christ in Baptism

Lesson Text:

Colossians 2:12; 3:1-4; Romans 6:3-7;
Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:4-6

Memory Verse
"Buried with him in baptism, wherein a/so ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead" Colossians 2:12

Key Terms
Baptism • The religious ritual of submerging someone in water; a public declaration of faith in Jesus Christ, symbolizing his death, burial and resurrection.
Corporeal • Relating to a person's body, especially as opposed to their spirit.

Suggested Emphasis

Last week's lesson explained the "circumcision made without hands" (Col. 2:11) as the direct action God takes to separate the Saint from the sin nature that has afflicted every human being since Adam. Paul says that this spiritual circumcision is done without human agency. The ritual of circumcision was only a type or illustration of the more significant work God would do Himself. Well, Paul asserts that the ritual of baptism has corresponding symbolism. That ritual is supposed to represent certain spiritual actions that were performed outside the physical act of the minister submerging the new convert into the baptismal pool or pulling him up out of the water. And there is a reality beyond the corporeal experience of being drenched. The spiritual baptism is a very real death and resurrection, and it happens through faith. Only those with faith are united with Christ, buried with Him, and raised with Him.

Emphasis 1:

A Death for the Believer

The initial observation of Colossians 2:12 is that the believer is "buried" with Christ in baptism. This means that, first of all, in Christ we have died. In effect, we died at the moment that we accepted the crucified and risen Jesus as our Lord. We have already died in Him before we even participate in the baptism ritual (Rogness, 1975). The old holiness anthem said, "If I die now, I won't have to die no more." It's not good grammar, but it's solid theology. Paul said, "when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death" (Rom. 6:3, NLT). There has been an actual death. Not a death to our body but a death to our flesh (sin nature). "We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin" (Rom. 6:6,7, NLT).

Emphasis 2:

A Resurrection of the Believer

The next observation of the verse is that "ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God." The believer has been raised up by the power of God. "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-6). The powerful imagery around the baptism ritual suggests that rising out of the water is like rising from the grave. "We are drowned in the water of our baptism"; but being baptized in Christ means every day the old Adam in us should be drowned, and every day we rise up in Christ's new life (Rogness, 1975). "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

Emphasis 3:

Obedience Confirms
Our Resurrection

The resurrection to newness of life that God has affected in us will bear fruit in our lives. Consider how Paul instructs the Colossians later in the epistle: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory" (Col. 3:1-4). The objective realities based on God's actions (the Colossians being "risen with Christ"; their life being "hid with Christ in God") precipitate certain imperatives being given to the Saints ("seek those things which are above"; "set your affection on things above"). The Christian doesn't perform any works to secure a standing in Christ, but because he already has the standing, he is commanded to do good works! Moreover, our obedience to these commands is a confirmation of what God has wrought in our lives. "So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away" (2 Pet. 1:10, NLT).

Missions Application Questions

When does the believer in Christ die?
What is signified by a saint being immersed in water, and then being pulled out?
Why does a Christian think about the things of heaven, and not the things of the earth?

World Missions Prayer Points

Let us pray to remember that we died the moment we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Let us celebrate our burial and resurrection with Christ.
Let us pray for the elevation of our affections on the things that are above.