A.D. 215 – 1871 8 witnesses 9 excerpts
“Likewise also Paul in the Epistle to the Romans writes: "We who are dead to sin, how shall we any longer live in it? Because our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed," down to the words, "do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin."”
“We die figuratively in our baptism, but we shall rise again in reality in our flesh, even as Christ did.”
“Let him who lays his hands upon him adore God, the Lord of the whole world, and thank Him for His creation, for His sending Christ His only begotten Son, that He might save man by blotting out his transgressions, and that He might remit ungodliness and sins, and might "purify him from all filthiness of flesh and spirit," and sanctify man according to the good pleasure of His kindness, that He might inspire him with the knowledge of His will, and enlighten the eyes of his heart to consider of His wonderful works, and make known to him the judgments of righteousness, that so he might hate every way of iniquity, and walk in the way of truth, that he might be thought worthy of the layer of regeneration, to the adoption of sons, which is in Christ, that "being planted together in the likeness of the death of Christ," in hopes of a glorious communication, he may be mortified to sin, and may live to God, as to his mind, and word, and deed, and may be numbered together in the book of the living.”
“Paul did not say "in death" but "in a death like his." For both the first and the second are death but not the death of the same thing. The first is the death of the body, the second is the death of sin.”
“What I had before occasion to remark, that I mention here too, that he continually digresseth into exhortation, without making any twofold division as he does in the other Epistles, and setting apart the former portion for doctrines, and the latter for the care of moral instruction. Here then he does not do so, but blends the latter with the subject throughout, so as to gain it an easy admission. Here then he says there are two mortifyings, and two deaths, and that one is done by Christ in Baptism, and the other it is our duty to effect by earnestness afterwards. For that our former sins were buried, came of His gift. But the remaining dead to sin after baptism must be the work of our own earnestness, however much we find God here also giving us large help. For this is not the only thing Baptism has the power to do, to obliterate our former transgressions; for it also secures against subsequent ones. As then in the case of the former, thy contribution was faith that they might be obliterated, so also in those subsequent to this, show thou forth the change in thine aims, that thou mayest not defile thyself again. For it is this and the like that he is counselling thee when he says, "for if we have been planted together in the likeness of His Death, we shall be also in the likeness of His Resurrection." Do you observe, how he rouses the hearer by leading him straightway up to his Master, and taking great pains to show the strong likeness? This is why he does not say "in death," lest you should gainsay it, but, "in the likeness of His Death." For our essence itself hath not died, but the man of sins, that is, wickedness. And he does not say, "for if we have been" partakers of "the likeness of His Death;" but what? "If we have been planted together," so, by the mention of planting, giving a hint of the fruit resulting to us from it. For as His Body, by being buried in the earth, brought forth as the fruit of it the salvation of the world; thus ours also, being buried in baptism, bore as fruit righteousness, sanctification, adoption, countless blessings. And it will bear also hereafter the gift of the resurrection. Since then we were buried in water, He in earth, and we in regard to sin, He in regard to His Body, this is why he did not say, "we were planted together in His Death," but "in the likeness of His Death." For both the one and the other is death, but not that of the same subject. If then he says, "we have been planted together in His Death, we shall be in that of His Resurrection," speaking here of the Resurrection which is to come. For since when he was upon the subject of the Death before, and said, "Know ye not, brethren, that so many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into His Death?" he had not made any clear statement about the Resurrection, but only about the way of life after baptism, bidding men walk in newness of life; therefore he here resumes the same subject, and proceeds to foretell to us clearly that Resurrection.”
“After the Apostle has shown that through the grace of Christ we are freed from past sin — both the sin introduced through the first man, and that which abounded through the law — here he shows that through the grace of Christ the power to resist future sins is given to us. And concerning this he does two things. First, he raises a question arising from what has gone before; second, he resolves it, at the place, "God forbid. For if," and so on. Now he had said above that where sin abounded, grace abounded still more; which someone could indeed wrongly understand, as though the abundance of sin were the cause of the superabundance of graces. And therefore he introduces the question, saying: "What shall we say, then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" Which indeed it would be necessary to say, if the abundance of sin were the cause of abounding grace, and not merely the occasion, as was said above. Whence also above, in Romans 3:8, the Apostle says: "as we are slandered, and as some affirm that we say, Let us do evil, that good may come." Jeremiah 12:1: "It is well with all that transgress and do wickedly." Then, when he says, "God forbid," etc., he resolves the question raised. And first he assigns the reason why we ought not to remain under sin; second, he draws the intended exhortation, at the place, "Let not sin therefore reign," and so on. Concerning the first he does two things. First he assigns the reason why one should not remain in sin; second he shows that we possess the capacity for this, that we should not remain under sin, at the place, "Knowing this," and so on. Concerning the first he sets forth this reasoning: if we are dead to sin, we ought not to live in it; but we are dead to sin; therefore we ought not to live in sin. Concerning this, then, he does four things. First he sets forth the conditional; second he proves the antecedent, at the place, "Know you not," etc.; third he draws the consequent, at the place, "that as Christ," etc.; fourth he proves the necessity of the inference, at the place, "For if we have been planted together," and so on. He says therefore first, "God forbid" — namely, that with this intention one should remain in sin, that grace may abound — because, as is said in Ecclesiasticus 15:21, "God hath commanded no man to do wickedly." And the reason for this is: for if we are dead to sin — namely, by this, that sin has been put to death in us — how shall we still live in it? For the natural order of things does not allow that one should return from death to life. Isaiah 24:14: "they that die shall not live," and so on. Canticle 5:3: "I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?" Then, when he says, "Know you not," etc., he proves the antecedent, namely, that the faithful are dead to sin. And first he proposes the middle term to show his proposition; second he makes clear the middle term he has introduced, at the place, "For we are buried together with him," and so on. He says therefore first, "Know you not," as if to say: what is to be proposed to you is so manifest that it is not permitted for you to be ignorant of it — 1 Corinthians 14:38: "if any man know not, he shall not be known" — "that all we who are baptized in Christ Jesus": which is understood in three ways. In one way, according to the institution of Jesus Christ, Matthew, last chapter: "teach ye all nations, baptizing them," and so on. Second, through the invocation of Jesus Christ, Acts 8:12: "men and women were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." Third, in Christ Jesus, that is, in a certain conformity to Christ Jesus — Galatians 3:27: "as many of you as have been baptized in Christ Jesus have put on Christ." Thus, then, we are configured to his death, into the likeness of his death, as it were representing the very death of Christ in ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:10: "always bearing about in our body the mortification of Jesus." Galatians, last chapter: "I bear the marks of Jesus in my body." Or, "in his death," that is, through the power of his death. Apocalypse 1:5: "he hath washed us from our sins." Whence from the side of Christ hanging on the cross, after death, there flowed blood and water, as is said in John 19:34. Just as, therefore, we are configured to his death, insofar as we die to sin, so he himself died to mortal life, in which there was a likeness of sin, although sin itself was not there. Therefore all of us who have been baptized are dead to sin. Then, when he says, "For we are buried together," etc., he proves the middle term he had proposed, namely, that we are all baptized in conformity to the death of Christ, saying: "For we are buried together with him by baptism into death." As if to say: burial is owed only to the dead. Matthew 8:22: "let the dead bury their dead." Now through baptism men are buried with Christ, that is, they are conformed to his burial. For just as one who is buried is placed beneath the earth, so one who is baptized is immersed beneath the water. Whence also in baptism a threefold immersion is made, not only on account of faith in the Trinity, but also to represent the three days of Christ's burial. And just as the three days of burial make only one burial, so the threefold immersion makes only one baptism. And from this it is also the case that on Holy Saturday solemn baptism is celebrated in the Church, when the burial of Christ is commemorated, just as also on the vigil of Pentecost, when solemnity is kept for the Holy Spirit, from whose power the water of baptism receives its cleansing force, as is said in John 3:5: "unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit," and so on. It must be considered, however, that bodily someone first dies and afterward is buried; but spiritually the burial of baptism causes the death of sin, because a sacrament of the new law effects what it signifies. Whence, since the burial that is effected through baptism is a sign of the death of sin, it effects death in the one baptized. And this is what he says, that we are "buried into death," so that by this very fact, that we receive in ourselves the sign of the burial of Christ, we obtain the death of sin. Then, when he says, "that as Christ," he infers the consequent, namely, that we ought not to live in sin. For this indeed he introduces a likeness drawn from the resurrection of Christ, saying, "that as Christ rose from the dead by the glory of the Father" — that is, by the power of the Father, from which the Father himself is glorified, according to that word of Psalm 56:8: "arise, my glory" — "so we also may walk in newness of life," that is, that we may proceed by the good works of life. For the life of sin has oldness, because it leads us into corruption. Hebrews 8:13: "that which decayeth and groweth old is near its end." Whence also it is said in Baruch 3:10: "How happeneth it, that thou art in thy enemies' land, thou art grown old in a strange country?" and so on. Whence also it is called newness of life, by which someone returns to integrity, namely, so as to be without sin. Psalm 102:5: "thy youth shall be renewed like the eagle's." Ephesians 4:23: "be renewed in the spirit of your mind." Then, when he says, "For if," he proves the necessity of the inference. For Christ, after he was dead, rose again; whence it is fitting that those who are conformed to Christ as to his death in baptism should also be conformed to his resurrection through innocence of life. And this is what he says: "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death" — that is, if we take up in ourselves the likeness of his death, so that we are incorporated into him as a branch that is grafted onto a plant, so that we are, as it were, grafted into the very passion of Christ — "we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection," namely, planted together with the likeness of it, so that, that is, in the present we may live innocently, and in the future we may arrive at a like glory. Philippians 3:21: "he will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory." 2 Timothy 2:11: "if we be dead with him, we shall live also with him." Thus, therefore, just as the Apostle, through the likeness of the death of Christ, proved that we are dead to sin — which he had set forth beforehand as it were the antecedent — so, through the likeness of his resurrection, he proved that we ought not to live in sin; which he had introduced above as it were the consequent.”
“For if we have been planted together,.... This is not to be understood of an implantation of Jews and Gentiles together in One body; nor of an implantation of believers together in a church state; but of an implantation of Christ and his people together; which is openly done at conversion, in consequence of a secret union with him before; when they are transplanted from a state of nature, and are ingrafted into Christ; have the graces of the Spirit of God implanted in them, and grow up under the dews of grace, and shinings of the sun of righteousness upon them, and bring forth much fruit; now as these persons, by virtue of their secret union with Christ from eternity, as their head and representative, with whom they were crucified, in whom they died representatively, share in his death, enjoy the benefits of it, and feel its efficacy, and through it become dead to the law, sin, and the world, which is meant by the likeness of his death; so these same persons shall be also planted in the likeness of his resurrection; that is, they shall share in the benefits, and feel and enjoy the effects of it; not only their bodies will be raised at the last day, as their souls are now regenerated by virtue of it, and in resemblance to it; but their are, and shall be so influenced by his Spirit and grace, which has raised them from death to life, that they shall walk in newness of life; of which baptism is a lively representation, and to which it is a constant obligation.”
“For if we have been planted together - Συμφυτοι γεγοναμεν. Dr. Taylor observes, that our translation does not completely express the apostle's meaning. Τα συμφυτα are such plants as grow, the one upon and in the other, deriving sap and nourishment from it, as the mistletoe upon the oak, or the scion upon the stock in which it is grafted. He would therefore translate the words: For if we have been growers together with Christ in the likeness of his death, (or in that which is like his death), we shall be also growers together with him in the likeness of his resurrection; or in that which is like his resurrection. He reckons it a beautiful metaphor, taken from grafting, or making the scion grow together with a new stock. But if we take the word planted in its usual sense, we shall find it to be a metaphor as beautiful and as expressive as the former. When the seed or plant is inserted in the ground, it derives from that ground all its nourishment, and all those juices by which it becomes developed; by which it increases in size, grows firm, strong, and vigorous; and puts forth its leaves, blossoms, and fruit. The death of Jesus Christ is represented as the cause whence his fruitfulness, as the author of eternal salvation to mankind is derived; and genuine believers in him are represented as being planted in his death, and growing out of it; deriving their growth, vigor, firmness, beauty, and fruitfulness from it. In a word, it is by his death that Jesus Christ redeems a lost world; and it is from that vicarious death that believers derive that pardon and holiness which makes them so happy in themselves, and so useful to others. This sacrificial death is the soil in which they are planted; and from which they derive their life, fruitfulness, and their final glory.”
“For if we have been planted together--literally, "have become formed together." (The word is used here only). in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection--that is, "Since Christ's death and resurrection are inseparable in their efficacy, union with Him in the one carries with it participation in the other, for privilege and for duty alike." The future tense is used of participation in His resurrection, because this is but partially realized in the present state. (See on Rom 5:19).”
The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.