baptism in galatians according to scot mcknight commentary (a covenant guy)

in the galatian text 3:26--29 mcknight makes these comments in regard to baptism...

"Some will no doubt have problems with the observation that faith and baptism are parallel expressions for Paul. Among many free churches in the world, baptism has taken a secondary importance and is too often confined to 'nothing more than an entrance rite' into the church. While it is clear that Paul makes a fundamental difference between external rites and internal reality (cf. Rom. 2:25-29; Phil. 3:3; Col. 2:11; cf. Gal. 5:6), and can even suggest that baptizing was not his purpose (1 Cor. 1:13-17), baptism was in the early church the initial and necessary response of faith. To be sure, their world was more ritual-oriented than ours and consequently got more out of rituals than we do. Nonetheless, we dare not make baptism "nothing more than a ritual of entrance," for it was for the earliest Christians their first moment of faith, and we know of no such thing as an "unbaptized believer." Baptism was not necessary for salvation, but faith without baptism was not faith for the early church. The Galatians knew this, and so Paul appealed to their experience."

he goes on to say:

"The early baptismal ceremony was, in effect, a dying with Christ and a rising with Christ (Rom. 6:1-14). This was its symbolic virtue: it dramatized salvation. Furthermore, the ceremony was frequently associated with two moral ideas: the putting away of sin and the putting on of a new life (cf. Rom. 13:12, 14; Eph. 4:24; 6:11-17; Col. 3:5-17). To be "clothed with Christ" perhaps refers to the early Christian practice of stripping and then reclothing oneself in a white, liturgical robe after the baptismal ceremony, thus symbolizing disrobing oneself of sin and then putting on the virtues of Christ."

and before you can say enough already:

"One more connection needs to be observed. As noted above, "sons of God" in verse 26 parallels the expressions "united with Christ" and "have been clothed with Christ" in verse 27. I would also suggest that the baptism of the Galatians (v.27) was the moment in which they all learned to call God "Abba" (cf. 4:6-7) and so, in effect, learned that they were all "sons of God" (3:26). Paul is now ready to make his point: the Judaizers are wrong because they do not realize that at their baptism the Galatian converts learned that they were sons of God."

it has always been a challenge to say enough in the weekend service and there are always things that we don't have time for...thought this might be an interesting extra...

td