In part 1
I try to touch on this truth every once in a while to keep it fresh in our minds, because I think its really important. Who you are "in" defines who you are. Look at Romans 5:18 in the Message Bible, "Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us into all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!" So we can see this concept of two men. I wrote a whole book about this--Identity Crisis. About how there are only two men who have ever lived. Adam and Jesus. About how we either identify with one or the other. Adam, of the earth, earthy... or Jesus, the Lord from heaven. Before the cross we were all "in" Adam. He stood as humanity's representative. Whatever he did, we--in a sense--did. Whatever happened to him happened to us. When Adam ate from the tree of knowledge and good and evil he died. And we died in him. Spiritual death. He got us into trouble with sin and death by sinning (unbelieving) and dying. Before the cross we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Because of Adam. Because we were IN Adam. Now look at John 12:32, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto men." He drew us out of Adam and into Himself. He took up that position of representation. No longer did Adam define us. No longer did what happened to him happen to us. From that point on what happened to JESUS happened to us. When JESUS died--the second death, the death OF death--we died. Crucified with Him, yet alive in Him. Because when Jesus was judged by the Father, He was given a life sentence. An abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life sentence! When Jesus was raised from death and brought back to life... so were we. He got us out of trouble. Yes. But more than that, He got us into life. HIS life. We can experience that abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection life of love by letting Jesus live His own life in us, and through us, and as us. We can stop living according to what the world tells us and we can start living according to what our heavenly Father tells us. Because we are "in" the world, but we are not OF the world. We are Spiritual creatures--new creations, a New Man. And we can (and should) act accordingly. We can (and should) set our affections on things above and not on the earth. We don't have to drag around that corpse of the old man anymore. He died when he ate of the tree of death--not a punishment from God, but simply the natural consequences of his action--but at the cross we were able to let go of that dead old man. Drown him in the watery grave of baptism. Let go and let God, as they say. Because we're not in Adam anymore. We're in Christ. Christ is in us. He lives in us. He isn't just visiting. He dwells in us. He's right where He wants to be. So when we need something--anything--we can look inside. Look into our hearts. That's where love is. And love is what we need. We're in Christ. Love is in us. Its not what's outside... its what's in!