Are dead] rather, 'died,' i.e. in baptism. Those addressed had been adult converts. Their baptism had been a definite act of attachment to Christ and of detachment from the sinful world. Although to crucify sinful and selfish desires is painful, it is done even joyfully by those who are inspired to the imitation of Christ by the perfect beauty and goodness of His sacrifice, for they have 'that mind' in them 'which was also in Christ Jesus.' This, which is part of the inner meaning of baptism, is the spirit in which the true Christian will live his life.

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