When Christ died as the Lamb of God, He died for us; that is, He died on our behalf. This is somewhat objective, because it implies that He died on the cross by Himself, apart from us. However, He also died in the likeness of the flesh of sin, meaning that He died in the likeness of a sinner. This indicates that He identified Himself with us. The fact that He died in the likeness of the flesh of sin means that He died in our likeness. This is not objective, but subjective to us. He joined Himself to us the sinners. He even put us, the sinners who are the flesh of sin, upon Himself. Thus, He died in our likeness.
Then, when Christ died on the cross as the brass serpent, He brought the Devil with Him. However, we need to realize that the Devil whom Christ brought to the cross is in us. On the day of man’s fall, the Devil, Satan, as the personification of sin, entered into man (Rom. 5:12). From that day until now, Satan as sin has been dwelling in our flesh, in our sinful nature (Rom. 7:18-20). Therefore, when Christ died in our likeness, He brought the Devil with Him to the cross. Hallelujah, Christ died in the flesh! Since Satan was in the flesh, when Christ died in the likeness of our flesh, the Devil died with Him. In His death He brought the Devil with Him. Thus, Hebrews 2:14 says that through death Christ destroyed the Devil, the one who has the might of death. When Christ was crucified in the likeness of the flesh of sin, He crucified Satan in the flesh of sin.
Then, as the last Adam, Christ died with all of us, that is, with the old man. As the last Adam, the last of mankind, He brought all mankind to the cross. Thus, Romans 6:6 says that our old man has been crucified with Christ.
Then, as the first item of all creation, He died on the cross not only with us, the sinners, but with all the creation. Hebrews 2:9 says that in dying on the cross, Christ tasted death on behalf of everything. In this way He redeemed and reconciled all the creation to God (Col. 1:20).
Then, as the Peacemaker, Christ died on the cross with the law. According to Colossians 2:14, when Christ died on the cross, God nailed the ordinances of the law to the cross. Furthermore, Ephesians 2:15 says that on the cross Christ abolished the law of commandments in ordinances. One of the strongest ordinances in the law was the ordinance of circumcision, which required all the Jewish males to cut off a part of their flesh (Gen. 17:10-13; Lev. 12:1-3). Another strong ordinance was the requirement to keep the Sabbath (Exo. 20:8-11; 31:13-17). The third major ordinance in the law was the keeping of the dietary regulations recorded in Leviticus chapter eleven. According to these regulations, certain animals were considered clean and could be eaten by the Israelites, while certain other animals were considered unclean and could not be eaten. It is because of these regulations that the devout Jews, even today, do not eat pork. To them the meat of the swine is a most unclean thing. Circumcision, Sabbath-keeping, and the keeping of the dietary regulations are the three main ordinances which separate the Jews from the Gentiles. However, when the Lord Jesus went to the cross, He brought all these ordinances with Him, and they were all nailed to the cross by God. Therefore, the separation between the Jews and Gentiles has been taken away.
Finally, as the grain of wheat, the Lord Jesus died with the human shell. Every kind of seed has a certain shell. Within that shell life is concealed. Christ is God, and God is the divine life. This divine life, which is God Himself, was concealed in Christ’s humanity. Christ’s humanity was a shell in which the divine life was concealed. When He went to the cross to die, that human shell was crucified. The human shell was broken and the divine life concealed within that shell was released.
Let us count how many items were with Christ when He was crucified on the cross. Actually, the number of items is countless. First, Christ was crucified with our sin, and second, with our sins. The third item was the flesh of sin, which is simply we, the sinners. The fourth item was the old serpent, Satan, and the fifth item was the old man. Christ was also crucified with the old creation, including the heavens, the earth, the birds, the cats, the dogs, the turtles, and all created things. They all shared in Christ’s death. All creation was crucified with Christ on the cross. According to Matthew 27:51, at the moment Christ died, the veil in the temple was torn. On the veil cherubim, the living creatures, were embroidered (2 Chron. 3:14; Ezek. 1:5, 10; 10:14-15). When the veil was torn, the living creatures were also torn. This indicates that when Jesus died as the first item of God’s creatures, all the creatures died with Him.
Furthermore, the ordinances of the law were also included in Christ’s crucifixion. These ordinances include the habits and customs of all the different peoples on the earth. Every nation has its own habits and customs. For example, the Orientals use chopsticks to eat their food, while the Europeans and the Americans use forks. However, we need to realize that both chopsticks and forks were nailed to the cross. Hallelujah, in the church there are no Chinese chopsticks and no American forks! This means that in the church life there are no Chinese and no Americans. In the church life there is only the all-inclusive Christ, the Son of God. Although I was born in China, I do not consider myself as Chinese, nor do I consider you as Chinese, Japanese, American, or Korean. We are all children of God, and we are all brothers.
In the church there are no Chinese, Japanese, Americans, or Koreans. According to tradition, the Japanese wear kimonos and the Chinese wear long gowns. However, we all need to realize that the Japanese kimono and the Chinese long gown have both been crucified on the cross. Eventually, the human shell, our very humanity, was crossed out on the cross. The cross has terminated everything, including the Devil, Satan.