CLOTHED WITH CHRIST
Paul gives us another striking description of baptism in Galatians 3. He writes: “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:26–27)
Notice how closely Paul places faith and baptism together. He does not say we become children of God through baptism instead of faith. Neither does he say faith makes baptism unnecessary.
He says we are children of God through faith, and then immediately explains: “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
Paul does not seem to see a conflict between the two. Faith trusts Christ. Baptism is connected with being clothed with Christ.
What does that mean?
Clothing and Identity
In the ancient world, clothing could identify who a person was.
A king wore royal robes.
A priest wore priestly garments.
A soldier wore the clothing of a soldier.
The clothing identified the person.
That helps us understand Paul's picture when he says:
“All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
(Galatians 3:27)
Paul's point is deeper than simply picturing Christ as a garment placed over us.
Our identity is now found in Christ.
Before Christ, sin identified us and we had no righteousness of our own that could make us right with God.
But now Paul says we have been clothed with Christ.
Our standing before God rests not upon who we are or what we have accomplished, but upon Christ Himself.
That also helps explain what Paul says next about Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female. Our old distinctions do not determine our standing before God.
Everyone who belongs to Christ is clothed with the same Christ.
Unity is not Paul's main point. It is the result of everyone being clothed with the same Christ.
GOING DEEPER
Begin With the Context
Galatians is not primarily a book about baptism. Paul is defending the gospel against those who were trying to require Gentile Christians to live under the Law of Moses, particularly circumcision.
His argument is that people are made right with God through faith in Christ—not by keeping the Law.
Earlier in chapter 3, Paul points to Abraham: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”(Galatians 3:6) Then he adds: “Those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”(Galatians 3:9)
The question running through the chapter is: Who belongs to God's people and receives the promise made to Abraham?
Paul's answer is not only physical descendants of Abraham. Nor is it those who become Jews by keeping the Law. The promise comes through Christ and is received through faith.
That is the setting in which Paul begins talking about baptism.
“Children of God Through Faith”
Paul says: “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.” (Galatians 3:26)
That statement could hardly be clearer. Faith matters. Our relationship with God is not earned through human achievement.
But Paul does not stop at verse 26. The next word is important: “for...”
Then he continues: “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)
Paul connects the two statements: children of God through faith—for those baptized into Christ have clothed themselves with Christ.
We should be careful not to separate what Paul has joined together.
“Baptized Into Christ”
We encountered similar language in Romans 6. There Paul said: “all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.”
Now in Galatians he says: “all of you who were baptized into Christ...”
Once again, Paul uses the expression “into Christ.” That language deserves our attention.
Paul does not describe baptism here merely as something Christians do to announce publicly that they already belong to Christ. He describes them as having been “baptized into Christ.”
Then he immediately explains that idea with another picture.
“Clothed Yourselves With Christ”
Paul says those baptized into Christ have “clothed yourselves with Christ.”
The picture is simple enough to understand. When we put on clothing, we are covered by it. Paul uses that familiar picture to describe the believer's relationship with Christ.
The point is not the physical water. The point is Christ.
The person baptized into Christ has put on Christ.
This fits Paul's larger argument perfectly. Our standing before God is not based upon whether we are Jews or Gentiles. It is not based upon keeping the Law of Moses. It is not based upon our accomplishments.
It is based upon belonging to Christ.
Faith and Baptism Are Not Competitors
Sometimes discussions about baptism force us into a choice Paul himself does not make: Are we saved by faith—or by baptism?
But look again at Paul's words.
Verse 26: “children of God through faith.”
Verse 27: “baptized into Christ.”
Paul places those statements side by side because biblical faith is not merely agreeing that certain facts about Jesus are true. Faith trusts Christ, and throughout the New Testament genuine faith responds to Him.
Baptism does not replace faith. Without faith, baptism is merely getting wet. But neither does Paul use faith to remove baptism from the picture.
He joins them together.
What Happens to Our Old Distinctions?
Paul continues: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)
Paul is not saying that men and women cease being men and women, or that every social distinction disappears from ordinary life. His point concerns our standing in Christ.
Jew and Gentile come to Christ on the same basis. Slave and free come on the same basis. Male and female come on the same basis.
No group has a better way into Christ.
There is one Christ. One gospel. One family. And all who belong to Him are one in Him.
That helps explain why baptism appears here. Baptism is not a special ceremony for one race, class, or nationality.
The gospel is for everyone.
What About Abraham?
Paul then completes the thought: “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29)
This is extremely important in the larger argument of Galatians.
Who are Abraham's heirs?
Paul's answer is: Those who belong to Christ.
The Gentile does not need to become a Jew first. The Gentile does not need physical descent from Abraham. The believer belongs to Christ and therefore shares in the promise made to Abraham.
Notice the progression:
children of God through faith → baptized into Christ → clothed with Christ → one in Christ → belong to Christ → Abraham's seed → heirs according to the promise
These are not unrelated statements. They are Paul's argument.
Does Baptism Earn Any of This?
No. Nothing in Galatians would allow that conclusion.
Paul has spent the chapter arguing against the idea that people can establish their standing before God through works of the Law. The promise rests upon God's grace and is received through faith.
But that makes Paul's reference to baptism even more important. Paul sees no contradiction between salvation through faith and baptism into Christ. He can teach both in consecutive sentences.
If baptism were a meritorious work by which we earned God's favor, it would contradict Paul's entire argument. But Paul himself places baptism inside an argument about faith.
That should tell us something about how he understood baptism.
Don't Stop at Verse 26
This may be the simplest lesson from the passage.
Someone can quote: “You are all children of God through faith...” That is absolutely true.
But Paul continued: “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
Good Bible study requires us to read both verses.
We should not use verse 26 to erase verse 27. And we should not use verse 27 to erase verse 26.
Let Paul say both.
We are children of God through faith. Those baptized into Christ have clothed themselves with Christ.
Paul apparently believed those truths fit together.
So should we.
CONTINUE YOUR STUDY
Next Bible Study
Paul now gives us another picture: “We were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body.” (1 Corinthians 12:13)
What is the one body? And what does baptism have to do with becoming part of it?
That is what we will examine next.
Related Bible Studies
What Does Baptism Mean?
Buried and Raised With Christ
Did the Apostles Preach the Same Message Everywhere?
Read First. Conclude Later.