United with Christ in Death and Resurrection Life

Paul answers the predictable distortion of grace: should believers continue in sin so grace may increase? “God forbid.” Baptism into Christ Jesus is described as baptism into his death; believers are buried with him so that, as Christ was raised, they may walk in newness of life. Paul speaks of union and participation, not merely imitation from a distance.

The passage repeatedly shifts identity before issuing commands: the old person is crucified with Christ, believers have died with Christ, and death no longer has dominion over the risen Christ. Therefore they are to reckon themselves dead to sin and alive to God, refusing to let sin reign in the mortal body. Exodus-like movement from slavery toward freedom can illuminate the imagery, but Paul does not formally call the Exodus the type here; the explicit center is participation in Christ’s death and resurrection.