In Homily XI on Romans, John Chrysostom wrote the following about Romans 6 and the salvific efficacy of water baptism:
"For if we have been planted
together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His
resurrection."
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,3 we shall be in that of His Resurrection,"
speaking here of the Resurrection which (Gr. be of His Resurrection) 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. And that you may know
that he is not speaking of that resulting from baptism, but about the other,
after saying, "for if we were planted together in the likeness of His
Death," he does not say that we shall be in the likeness of His
Resurrection, but we shall belong to the Resurrection. For to prevent thy
saying, and how, if we did not die as He died, are we to rise as He rose? when
he mentioned the Death, he did not say, "planted together in the
Death," but, "in the likeness of His Death." But when he
mentioned the Resurrection, he did not say, "in the likeness of the
Resurrection," but we shall be "of the Resurrection" itself. And
he does not say, We have been made, but we shall be, by this word again plainly
meaning that Resurrection which has not yet taken place, but will hereafter.
Then with a view to give credibility to what he says, he points out another
Resurrection which is brought about here before that one, that from that which
is present thou mayest believe also that which is to come. For after saying,
"we shall be planted together in the Resurrection," he adds,
Ver. 6. "Knowing this, that
our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be
destroyed."
So putting together both the cause
and the demonstration of the Resurrection which is to come. And he does not say
is crucified, but is crucified with Him, so bringing baptism near to the Cross.
And on this score also it was that he said above, "We have been planted
together in the likeness of His Death that the body of sin might be
destroyed," not giving that name to this body of ours, but to all
iniquity. For as he calls the whole sum of wickedness the old man, thus again
the wickedness which is made up of the different parts of iniquity he calls the
body of that man. And that what I am saying is not mere guesswork, hearken to
Paul's own interpretation of this very thing in what comes next. For after
saying, "that the body of sin might be destroyed," he adds,
"that henceforth we should not serve sin." For the way in which I
would have it dead is not so that ye should be destroyed and die, but so that
ye sin not. And as he goes on he makes this still clearer.
Ver. 7. "For he that is
dead," he says, "is freed (Gr. justified) from sin."
This he says of every man, that as
he that is dead is henceforth freed from sinning, lying as a dead body, so must
he that has come up from baptism, since he has died there once for all, remain
ever dead to sin. If then thou hast died in baptism, remain dead, for any one
that dies can sin no more; but if thou sinnest, thou marrest God's gift. After
requiring of us then heroism (Gr. philosophy) of this degree, he presently
brings in the crown also, in these words.
Concerning the phrase "but we shall belong to the
Resurrection," the translator noted that:
The
word σύμφευτοι
should be rendered "united with" (as in R.V.)--literally "grown
together," from συν--φύω, not
"planted together" (A.V.) as if from συν--φευτεύω. The Dat. τῷ ὁμοιώματι may be taken as instrumental
after σύμ. γεγόν. (R.V., Weiss),
or (I think better), after σύν
in composition (Thayer's Lex., Meyer), because there is no indirect
object expressed and on the former view one must be supplied (as αὐτῶ, or χριστῷ). We must
supply in the apodosis, σύμφευτοι
τῷ ὀμοιώματι. The ὁμοίωμα
here means that which corresponds to the death and resurrection of Christ, i.e.
our moral death to sin and resurrection to a holy life (vid.
The following are the relevant excerpts from PG 60:483-85:
