We reign in life first in dying with Adam. Dying with Adam is not a doctrine; rather, it is a matter of our being in an organic union with Christ.
Our natural life needs to be terminated with Adam in our co-death with Christ (Rom. 6:3, 4a, 5a, 6-8a; Gal. 2:20a; Eph. 4:22). We were created by God in His image and after His likeness. However, due to Adam’s fall, our life became the natural life of the old creation in Adam.
There are two main elements in our natural life of the old creation. The first element is sin and the second is death. Romans 5—7 shows us that in Adam there are only sin and death. Through one man, Adam, sin entered into the world, and through sin, death (5:12). Thus, sin reigned in us through death (v. 21a; 6:12), and death reigned over us through the offense of the one, Adam (5:17a, 14). Therefore, in Adam we did not reign in life; rather, we were under the ruling of sin and death. However, as the last Adam, Christ died an all-inclusive death on the cross, and through such a death He brought everything of the adamic life to the cross and had a great ending there (6:6).
How can we be delivered out of the reigning of sin and death? It is not by our struggling and striving; rather, it is through the all-inclusive death of Christ that we allow the life of Christ to reign in us instead of sin and death. Thus, it is no longer sin and death that reign in us; rather, it is grace and life that reign in us (5:21).
Our natural life needs to be annihilated, completely destroyed, put out of existence, with Adam in our co-death with Christ. In our baptism we have been buried with Christ into His death, and thereby the natural life of our old man in Adam has been annihilated (6:3-4a).
We reign in life not only in our dying with Adam but also in our living with Christ (Rom. 6:4b, 5b, 8b; Gal. 2:20b). Romans 6:8 says, “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.” This shows our organic union with Christ in His death and resurrection. Such an organic union is best illustrated in grafting. Two separate branches are made one by grafting. We were grafted with Christ and have grown together with Him in His death and resurrection.
Our natural life needs to be raised with Christ in His resurrection. Although our natural life was defiled by sin and death through the fall, we have received the resurrection life of Christ into us through our death and resurrection with Him. This resurrection life of Christ is the life-giving Spirit, who enlivens us from within that we may be raised with Christ. In resurrection our God-created faculties are restored; moreover, they are enriched with, uplifted by, and saturated with Christ’s resurrection life for us to experience and enjoy all that Christ is.
Our natural life needs to be renewed with Christ in His resurrection (Eph. 4:23-24; 2 Cor. 4:16; 5:17). Our natural life belongs to the realm of the old creation, the old man. In baptism we put off our old man; moreover, our old man was crucified with Christ. In our practical experience, however, we need to allow the Spirit, who indwells our regenerated spirit, to spread to our mind so that in such a mingled spirit we may be nourished and renewed by the fresh supply of the resurrection life of Christ.