What does Paul mean that we are united with Christ in a death like his?

Explanation:

Paul writes that we have been united to the likeness of his death. At first it is not clear what it means to be united to the likeness of something, but we can detect what Paul means by comparing the nature of Christ’s death with the death we endure when we are united with him by faith. Christ’s death was a physical death on a cross and it had epoch-changing significance.^3,4 For Christ’s death atoned for the sins of humanity, and by participating in it, humans are saved. Paul explains that through baptism we unite with the likeness of Christ’s death. So what does our death as Christians entail, and how is it different from Christ’s? Paul explains that our death entails death to sin (Romans 6:6), so our death is not a literal death on a cross but spiritual. Further, our death in Christ is not epoch-changing, nor does it atone for anyone’s sins. Thus, Christ’s death and ours are similar but different.

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that it is obvious that our death is not identical to Christ’s death. According to this argument Paul is saying that we have been united into Christ’s death (though our death differs from his in important respects). If this is what Paul wanted to say, given that our death is obviously different from Christ’s, he would not have included the term likeness⁵ .Instead, he would simply have written that we have be united with Christ’s death, with the obvious assumption that our death is not the same as his.

Response to counterargument:

Paul uses the same term in Romans 5:14 where it likely means similar to, but not exactly the same as, which is how we propose Paul uses the term in Romans 6:5. For in Romans 5:14 Paul points out that death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not in the likeness of the transgression of Adam. In other words, Adam sinned, and so did all humans from Adam to Moses, except their sins were not identical, because Adam’s is better identified as a transgression. In the same way, as Christ dies on the cross to defeat sin, so all are united to the likeness of his death, but not his exact death, for Christ’s death was on a cross and was a unique epoch-changing event.

Explanation:

We can determine what Paul means when he says we have been united to the likeness of his death, by considering the meaning of the term likeness. The term denotes similarity but not identity. Thus, we have been united with Christ’s death in reality, but our death is not identical to his.⁶ So we have really been united with Christ’s death, but our death is not physical or epoch-changing.

Counterargument:

The term likeness is in fact a technical term used by ancient Greek philosophical writers to denote the form of transcendental reality that is perceptible to humans. For example, idols were constructed with the purpose of capturing some transcendent reality in a form perceptible to the senses, and Paul has already used the term in Romans 1:23 to denote this.⁷ That Paul uses the term again here suggests he has a similar usage in mind. Thus, he likely has in mind that we are united to the form of Christ’s death that in itself transcends this reality.

Response to counterargument:

Pointing out that the term likeness has more than one meaning is not enough to overturn this view. For it is no surprise that likeness has more than one meaning, as most terms do. Thus, we need to use the context to determine which meaning an author intends to convey. In the case of Romans 6:5, the most obvious and natural meaning of likeness is similar to but not the same as. We can detect this because, while we are united with Christ’s death, our death is similar to but not the same as his death.

It is difficult to see what the weakness of this view might be, aside from admitting that likeness could have a technical meaning. Aside from that, this interpretation stands.

Explanation:

When Paul says that we were united into the likeness of Christ’s death, he uses the term ὁμοίωμα for likeness. That term is an important technical term, which we need to understand in order to grasp what it means to be united into the likeness of Christ’s death.

First, we know that the ancient Greek philosophers used the term ὁμοίωμα to denote something like form of a transcendent reality perceptible to humans. In particular, finite things are a likeness in which heavenly ideas are expressed. Similarly, the authors of the Greek Old Testament use the term ὁμοίωμα to forbid the making of idols that are supposed to represent heavenly realities.¹⁰ So ὁμοίωμα is a technical term that denotes the form of a transcendent reality.

So what does Paul mean when he says we have been united with the likeness of Christ’s death? He means that we have been united to the form of a transcendent reality. More specifically, Christ’s death was an epoch-changing event that crushed the dominion of sin, and the form of this transcendent reality is Christ’s death, to which we have been united. Thus, believers are united into the form of a transcendent reality, which broke the power of sin.

Counterargument:

While ὁμοίωμα may sometimes be used to denote the form of something that transcends reality, this meaning cannot make sense of Romans 6:5. In Romans 6:5 Paul writes that we have been united to the likeness of his death. If we paraphrase this according to this view, Paul is saying that we have been united to the form of the transcendent reality perceptible to humans of his death. So what is that form? In other words, what represents the transcendent reality of Christ’s death to which we are united? For the likeness Paul refers to is the likeness of his death, which implies, according to this view, that there is something that represents the transcendent reality of Christ’s death that is perceptible to humans, and we are united with whatever this is. This is not coherent, because there is no obvious candidate for something that represents the transcendent reality of Christ’s death that is perceptible to humans, and even if there was such a thing, it is not clear why believers would be united to it.

Explanation:

To understand what Paul means when he writes that we have been united into the likeness of Christ’s death, it is important to understand the nature of Christ’s death. In particular, his death carries a redemptive-historical aspect that transcends time and space.¹¹ That is, Christ’s death is not only a moment in history but an event that atoned for the sins of humanity and acquired justification for all who put their faith in him. As such, to be united to Christ’s death is not just to be united to his actual death, but to be united to the redemptive-historical significance of Christ’s death, which transcends space and time and has a continued effect on us. And Paul uses the term likeness to denote this transcendent reality. So to be united into the likeness of Christ’s death is to be united into the ongoing reality of Christ’s redemptive-historical work.

Counterargument:

According to this view, Paul is saying that believers are united to the effects of Christ’s death. That is, believers are united to the ongoing reality of Christ’s work on the cross. The problem is that it is strange for Paul to use the term likeness to denote the effects of Christ’s work. For the term normally means state of common experiences, or state of being similar in appearance.¹² In other words, Paul seems to be saying that believers have been united with the common experience of Christ’s death, not the effects of his death.

The weakness of this view is that it overlooks the immediate context. For Paul will go on to explain that our old self was crucified with Christ on the cross. Thus, we are united into the common experience of Christ’s death, not the effects of his death.