And what are we to understand by this ? I conceive it refers, not to any change of garments which Was made by persons at their baptism ; for we hear of no such custom in the apostolic age : but it refers to the change of garments which was made by Aaron, and all succeeding priests, at the time of their consecra- tion to the priesthood. The persons consecrated to the priesthood were first washed with water, and then had the coat, and the robe, and the ephod, and the breast-plate, put upon them ; and were girded with the curious girdle of the ephod ; and the mitre, with the holy crown upon it, was put upon their head. " Thus were the priests of old consecrated unto Godk:" and thus are we, in our baptism, made " a holy priesthood" to the Lord1. But, though this gives us a general idea of what is meant by putting on Christ, it falls very far short of the full import of the expression, as used in my text. In another place, the expression is used to signify the putting on the moral character of Christ™ : but here it signifies the putting on of his complete and entire character ; so that God may view us altogether as in him, clothed with his righteousness from head to foot, and trans- formed into his image in righteousness and true holiness".
Now, this the Apostle represents as taking place at our baptism. And, not content with so repre- senting it in some cases, or in many, or in most, or generally in all, he speaks as if this change were absolutely universal, without any exception : " As many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." Here is, if I may so express myself, a distributive individuality ; by means of which he comprehends every baptized person separately, and without any exception. Yet, in this very epistle, he speaks of some of whom " he stood in doubt0." How, then, are we to understand this ? The Apostle here spoke according to the judgment of charity ; even as
k Exod. xxix. 4—9. ' 1 Pet. ii. 9. Rev. i. 6.
m Rom. xiii. 14. n Eph. iv. 23, 24.
0 Gal. iv. 20.