‘For as many of you as have been baptised into Christ, have put on (‘clothed themselves with') Christ.'
The whole context forbids us as seeing this as suggesting that baptism mechanically results in ‘putting on Christ'. It demands that this means ‘you have responded in faith (that is what the passage is all about) and that is why you have been baptised, and have put on Christ.' At that time those who responded to the message of the cross were immediately baptised, separating them off from the unbaptised world, and signalling their reception of the Holy Spirit. Their baptism was the sign of their response of faith in a heathen world, and revealed that they had died with Christ and had risen with Him to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). At the same time they were ‘incorporated by an overwhelming experience (baptizo) in the Spirit into the body of Christ' (1 Corinthians 12:13). Thus Christ now dwells within them (Galatians 2:20) and they have ‘clothed themselves' (enduo) with Christ.