Colossians 2:12 When you were buried with him in Baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God.

Those of us who baptize in just a little water lose sight of the possibility of drowning during our baptism! In a river or an ocean we might be more mindful of going down with Christ into the darkness of death and coming back out into the light with him. The early Christians never forgot that as they were being born again the old self was dying, right there in the water.