ACC ~ Romans 6 v4

THE UNCLEAN SOUL ACTIVELY SINFUL UNTIL REBORN. TERTULLIAN: Every soul, by reason of its birth, has its nature in Adam until it is born again in Christ; moreover, it is unclean as long as it remains without this regeneration, and because it is unclean it is actively sinful and infects even the flesh with its shame, because of their fusion. A TREATISE ON THE SOUL 40.

BAPTISM INTO DEATH. ORIGEN: If we have been buried together with Christ in the way we outlined above, i.e., because we have died to sin, it follows that just as Christ was raised from the dead we shall rise together with him. Just as he ascended into heaven we shall also ascend with him, and just as he sits at the right hand of God, we shall also sit with him, as the apostle himself says elsewhere: (He has) made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Christ rose from the dead by the glory of the Father, and if we have died to sin and are buried together with Christ, and all who see our good works glorify our Father who is in heaven,we shall rightly be said to have risen together with Christ by the glory of the Father so that we may walk in newness of life. For newness of life occurs when we have “put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new man who has been created according to God” and “who is renewed in the knowledge of God according to the image of him who created him.” Nor should you think that this renewal of life, which is said to take place once for all, is enough by itself. Constantly and daily this newness must be renewed, if it can be put that way.

When Paul said: “that we too might walk in newness of life,” it seems that he was revealing the spiritual principle that as long as we are making progress we may be said to be walking. For it must not be thought that it is being said that they walk about aimlessly. Rather, those who are making progress will eventually come to the place where they ought to be. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

ENTOMBED IN WATER. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM: As Jesus died in taking away the sins of the world, that, by doing sin to death, he might rise in righteousness, so too, when you go down into the water and are, in a fashion, entombed in the water as he was in the rock, you may rise again to walk “in newness of life.” THE CATECHETICAL LECTURES 3.12.

BAPTISM A FIGURE OF RESURRECTION. AM-BROSE: Baptism is a likeness of death when you go down into the water, and when you rise again it becomes a likeness of resurrection. Thus, according to the interpretation of the apostle, just as Christ’s resurrection was a regeneration, so the resurrection from the font is also a regeneration. THE SACRAMENTS 2.7.20.

SPIRITUALLY CLEANSED. AMBROSIASTER: First of all, this means that Christ raised his own body from the dead. For he is the power of God the Father, as he said: “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.”He was saying this about the temple of his own body. … It also means that we now have a new way of life which has been given to us by Christ. For by baptism we have been buried together with Christ in order that we may henceforth live according to the life into which Christ rose from the dead. Therefore baptism is the sign and symbol of the resurrection, which means that we ought to abide in the commandments of Christ and not go back to what we were before. For the person who dies does not sin; death is the end of sin. This is symbolized by water, because just as water cleanses the dirt of the body, so we believe that we have been spiritually cleansed by baptism from every sin and renewed, for what is incorporeal is cleansed invisibly. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

WALKING IN NEWNESS OF LIFE. CHRYSOSTOM: Here Paul hints at the subject of the resurrection along with the duty of a careful walk. In what way? He means: Do you believe that Christ died and that he rose again? If so, then believe that the same will happen to you. … For if you have shared in his cross and burial, how much more will you share in his resurrection as well? For now that the greater is done away with (i.e., sin), it is not right to go on doubting about the lesser, viz., the doing away of death. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 10.

SEVERIAN: “Newness of life” means that we have put off the old life of sin and that our rebirth promises a new way of life. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

RENOUNCING OUR FORMER LIFE. PELAGIUS: Paul shows that we were baptized so that through the sacrament we are buried with Christ, dying to our sins and renouncing our former life. So just as the Father is glorified in the resurrection of the Son, so too on account of the newness of our lifestyle he is glorified by us all, as long as none of the signs of the old self is recognizable in us. For now we should no longer want or desire anything that those who are not yet baptized and are still trapped in the errors of their old life want or desire. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: As we have been buried, so we must rise with Christ in a spiritual sense. For if to be buried together with Christ means dying to sin, then it is clear that rising with him means living in righteousness. EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

THEODORET OF CYR: The sacrament of baptism itself teaches us to turn away from sin. For baptism is a type of the death of Christ. In it we have become participants in the death and resurrection of Christ. Therefore, because we have shared in Christ’s resurrection, we ought to live a new life now. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

Rom