Yo Chen on Romans 6:3-4, 8 and 1 Corinthians 15:3-5

 Romans 6:1–11

 

Baptismal tradition: The phrase ἢ ἀγνοεῖτε ὅτι signifies a source or tradition that Paul is appealing to in the verses that follow. Regarding the traditional materials that Paul is quoting, Hellholm suggests that Paul draws from the same kerygma of Christ’s death and resurrection that occurs in 1 Cor 15:3–5:

 

1 Cor. 15:3-5	Rom. 6:3-4/8
1. ὅτι Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν 1a. καὶ ὅτι ἐτάφη 2.καὶ ὅτι ἐγήγερται 2a. καὶ ὅτι ὤφθη Κηφᾷ εἶτα τοῖς δώδεκα	εἰς τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ ἐβαπτίσθημεν συνετάφημεν οὖν αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος εἰς τὸν θάνατον ἵνα ὥσπερ ἠγέρθη Χριστὸς ἐκ νεκρῶν οὕτως καὶ [συζήσομεν αὐτῷ]

 

Granted, one may argue that this does not necessarily prove a ritual background since it could be a fragment of an early credo statement. However, Paul does use the verb βαπτίζω in this pericope, and the usual verbal construction of εἰς …. ἐβαπτίσθημεν when he appeals to the baptism ritual in his other letters. This could intimate that Paul is merging the credo tradition with baptism to form a new understanding by connecting the Christ event with the baptism ritual. Paul’s creative use of tradition is attested by how he shapes the materials. Interpreters have noted that Paul does not complete the parallelism of Christ’s resurrection with the believers. Whatever the exact circumstances surrounding Paul’s writing, it is difficult to ascertain the historical reason why Paul shapes his material the way he does. The burden of the pericope is not so much about the parallels of Christ’s fate with that of his believers as about participation in the Christ event through baptism, denoted by the prepositions εἶς and συν. (Yo Chen, “The Ritual Dimension of Union with Christ in Paul’s Thought” [PhD Dissertation; The University of Edinburgh, 2021], 50-51)