How can we die, resurrect, and ascend? This is a big question, and it is a big problem. We cannot die, resurrect, or ascend. But praise the Lord that He has the way. He has joined us to Christ. Thank and praise Him. "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. 1:30). God has joined us to Christ Jesus. We have to remember this verse: "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus." This means that God's work has put us in Christ. God has put the believers into Christ Jesus. When God puts us into Christ Jesus, Christ's experiences become our experiences. This is like putting a photograph in a book. If someone takes this book and burns it, the photograph is burned as well. In the same way, God has put us into Christ. When Christ died, we also died. When Christ resurrected, we also resurrected. When Christ ascended, we also ascended. Our co-death, co-resurrection, and co-ascension with Christ are not something that we worked out, but something that God accomplished in Christ. God has taken Christ to the cross, resurrected Him, and brought Him to the heavens. Thank and praise the Lord. By putting us into Christ, God has made us partakers of the experiences of Christ. Since He died, we have died. Since He resurrected, we have resurrected. Since He ascended, we have ascended. If we look at ourselves apart from Christ, we have not died, resurrected, or ascended. But if we look at ourselves in Christ, we will say, "Hallelujah. I have died, I have resurrected, and I have ascended!" If we look at ourselves in Christ and believe in the word of 1 Corinthians 1:30, we will surely say, "Thank and praise the Lord. I have died, resurrected, and ascended!" Because we are in Christ, all of His experiences have become ours. This is the first item of God's inheritance to us in Christ.
A brother once testified, "Over ten years ago, I had the following experience: I knew the doctrine of the cross, and I was able to preach this doctrine. I would not admit that I had absolutely no experience of the cross. Yet I realized that I had a problem before the Lord. There were many things in me that I could not say that I had dealt with. I did not have the assurance that I was dead to them. I knew about resurrection and ascension doctrinally. But I did not know these things experientially. For a period of four months, I sought the Lord and asked Him to show me the meaning of dying with Christ. I asked God to help me die with Him at any cost. I wanted to die with Christ at any cost. During those four months, the Lord showed me a little light, and I discovered one thing: God's Word does not say that I should be crucified. God's Word says I have been crucified. However, I could not believe this. When I looked at myself, I did not feel like I was crucified. I could only say that I was crucified if I was not honest with myself. If I was honest with myself, I could not say that I was crucified. I spent four months studying His Word and hoping to find the solution to my problem. One morning while I was praying, I suddenly saw that I was in Christ and that Christ and I were joined together. We two were one. I realized that it was impossible for me not to die when Christ had already died. This was something that happened within less than a minute's time. I asked myself, 'Has Christ died?' I could only say that Christ had died. I would be crazy to say that Christ had not died. Next I asked, 'What about me?' Immediately I jumped up and said, 'Hallelujah! I have died also!' I saw that since Christ had died, I had also died. My problem was solved. I am one with the Lord. Whatever God has done in Him, He has done in me. When He died, I died. When He resurrected, I resurrected. When He ascended, I ascended. From that day until now, I cannot deny this fact. This has become my inheritance." Brothers and sisters, this brother was speaking about God's inheritance to us in Christ. We should accept this inheritance.
Our being in Christ is an inheritance. All we have to do is receive and enjoy it. There is no need for us to do anything. However, many Christians go through many sufferings. They do not see that this is an inheritance and that this is something one receives and enjoys. They continue to suppress themselves and struggle to find their own way. Yet in spite of their repeated efforts, they find that they are still not dead and that their hopes have still not come to pass. Actually, the self that we cannot change and the old man that we have tried to shake off have been crucified on the cross by the Lord already! Because we are in Christ, we are crucified with Christ. Can we attain to this experience by ourselves, or is it something that God has given to us in Christ? This is the problem many Christians face. They think that crucifixion is an experience they have to attain to. But according to the Lord's Word, there is not such a thing. God has accomplished everything in Christ. All that we have to do is receive.
Of course, this depends on how much one has seen. Some have taken crucifixion as a doctrine, and they only understand it as a doctrine and teaching. This is fruitless. We need to have the revelation and the inward vision to see that we are in Christ before we can enjoy the fact of our crucifixion with Christ.
God has done everything in Christ. When we are in Christ, everything that is done in Christ is done in us. This is why 1 Corinthians 1:30 is so precious: "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus." Hallelujah. God has put us in Christ! Thank the Lord that He has given us not only Christ and the power of Christ, but even more the experience of Christ. Not only do we partake of the divine nature, but we partake of the nature of the Son of God, and we share in the experience of the Son of God. Of course, we are talking about His experience of death, resurrection, and ascension. We do not partake of His experiences before His death. At that time, the one grain was still one grain. But after the one grain died, His all became our all.