What does it mean for us to be in Christ? I will explain this with an illustration. Peking produces a certain kind of lacquer box with a number of boxes being in a set. Each box in the set fits into another one. Outwardly there is only one box. But when one opens up the box, there are more boxes inside that one box; within the big box are the smaller boxes. This is the way we are in Christ. Our being in Christ is in contrast to Christ being in us. We are all descendants of Adam, and we were all in Adam. Adam is like the big box, while we were like the small boxes. The many small boxes come out of that one big box. Out of the one Adam, we were produced. When one is opened, there are many. We are the many. When we put the many into the one, we see only the one. From our side, there are many individuals. We are the many individuals. From God's side, we are only one man in Adam. This is like the many small boxes contained in the one big box. Outwardly there is only one box. Because we are all in Adam, "the disobedience of one man" constituted many sinners. Because we are all one in Adam, every one of us is condemned. God saved us according to the same principle. He has put us all into Christ, and "through the obedience of the One the many will be constituted righteous." Because we are one in Christ, we have all received justification of life (Rom. 5:18-19). God considers all of us as one person in Adam. In the same way, He considers all of us as one person in Christ. Adam is like one big box, while Christ is like a second big box. God has taken us out of the first big box and put us into the second big box. We are one in the first big box—Adam, and we are one in the second big box—Christ. The Bible calls the Lord Jesus "the second man" and "the last Adam" (1 Cor. 15:47, 45). The Lord Jesus is the last Adam, and God has included all of us in Him.

When Jesus of Nazareth was living as a man on earth, He was the unique One. But when He went to the cross, God included us all in Him. Therefore, when Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, that cross was not only His cross, but our cross as well. Because God put us into Christ, the cross is no longer just His cross, but a cross in which all those who are in Him have a part. We must realize that the cross of Christ is also our cross. If God had not put us into Christ, we would have nothing to do with the cross. Since God put us into Christ, we have a great deal to do with the cross. Thank and praise God that when Christ was crucified, we were included in Him. Since we are included in Him, His experience on the cross becomes our experience. This is what Romans 6:6 means when it says, "Our old man has been crucified with Him."

If we are not in Christ, we cannot be crucified together with Christ. Consequently, someone has said, "If we are not in Christ, we cannot be with Christ." This is a spiritual word as well as a scriptural word. We must remember that in order for us to be with Him, we have to be in Him. If we are not in Him first, we cannot be with Him. This is our fundamental faith, and we must be clear about it.