And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. (Acts 19: 3-6)
St Paul makes a distinction between the baptism which John the Forerunner did as versus what Christians were doing. He says John’s baptism is about repentance, but apparently baptism into Christ is either not about repentance, or repentance is but one small element of it. Baptism into Christ is for rebirth, renewal and restoration (See my post The Many Blessings of Baptism). We are not to limit our understand of baptism as being mostly about repentance or the forgiveness of sins. We receive so much more in baptism. John’s baptism looks to our past – our sins while Christ’s baptism orients us to life in the kingdom to come. Perhaps John’s baptism is for repentance, but the actual remission of sins only comes with being baptized into Christ.
At the baptism service we sing: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).
“By clothing ourselves in Christ through the agency of the Spirit, we acquire a new identity which enables us to live with the life of Christ, sharing in his Cross, so that we may come to share in his glory. This mystical identification with Christ makes it possible for us to share in his relation with the Father, calling him ‘Abba, Father!’ just as he himself does (cf. Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). Our solidarity in Christ that is initiated by baptism is continued and perfected by our participation in the Eucharist…”
In the writings of St Gregory of Nyssa we see how he relates baptism and deification:
‘Deification’ is a word he reserves for the operation of Christ in the sacraments. Baptism enables us to transcend our human nature by becoming sons and daughters of God. It prepares us for Christ’s mingling of himself with our bodies in the Eucharist, uniting our mortal flesh to what is immortal so that we might participate, even corporally in his incorruption. (Norman Russell, FELLOW WORKERS WITH GOD, pp 128, 130)
Fraternized 