How did St. Paul connect Christian baptism with Jesus’ death and resurrection?

St. Paul connected Christian baptism to the death and resurrection of Jesus by framing it as a mystical or metaphorical union with Christ.1

According to Paul, those who are baptized into Christ are baptized into his death. By being "buried with" Christ through this sacrament, the believer effectively dies to the power of sin that reigns in the world. This death with Christ is not merely a symbolic act but a transformative experience that allows the believer to escape the enslaving power of sin.231

Furthermore, this union extends to Christ’s resurrection. Paul taught that dying with Christ provides "newness of life" in the present and serves as a guarantee that the believer will be raised with him in the future. In this view, the believer becomes "one" with Christ, sharing in both his death and his resurrected life. Thus, baptism serves as the mechanism for the believer's transfer from the power of sin to the power of Christ.13