(The following chapter is composed of two articles by Watchman Nee first published in the Spiritual Light Journal in Nanking in 1925. The first article, "Dying with the Lord to Sin," appeared in Issue #27 of that magazine on June 10, 1925. The second article, "Dying With the Lord to Self," appeared in Issue #28 of that magazine on August 10, 1925.)
When the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, not only did He die for the sinners, opening a living way for sinners to obtain eternal life and to come to God, He also died with the sinners on the cross. If the effectiveness of the cross were merely in the aspect of substitution so that sinners would have eternal life and be saved from perdition, God's way of salvation would not be complete. This is because a person who is saved by believing in Jesus Christ (see Acts 16) still lives in this world; there are still many temptations. Moreover, the devil often cheats him, and the sinful nature within him operates continually. Although he has received salvation, he is not yet free from sin in this age. He does not have the power to overcome sin. Therefore, in His salvation the Lord Jesus had to accomplish both aspects: to save man from the punishment of sin and also to save man from the power of sin. When the Lord Jesus died for the sinners on the cross, He delivered man from the punishment of sin—the eternal fire of hell. When the Lord Jesus died with the sinners on the cross, He delivered man from the power of sin—the old man is dead, and he is no longer a slave of sin. Sin does not come from without but from within. If sin were to come from without, then it would not have much power over us. Sin dwells in us. Therefore, it is deadly to us. Temptation comes from without, while sin dwells within. Since everyone in the world is a descendant of Adam, everyone has Adam's nature. This nature is aged, old, corrupted, and filthy; it is a nature of sin. Since this "mother" of sin is within man, when outside temptations come, that which is within responds to that which is without, and the result is the many sins. Because we have pride inside (though hidden at times), as soon as outside temptation comes, the opportunity to be proud comes, and we become proud. Because we have jealousy inside, as soon as outside temptation comes, we see others better than we are, and we become jealous. Because we have a quick temper inside, as soon as outside temptation comes, we lose our temper. All the sins that man commits come from the old man within.
This old man is truly worthless, irreparable, unchangeable, incorrigible, and incurable. The way God deals with the old man is to crucify him. God wants to give us something new. The old man has to die. God's words charge us to wash away all of our sins in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. "The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." "Who loves us and has loosed us from our sins by His blood." The sins here refer to the acts of sins committed by a person outwardly. The Bible never tells us that the old man within is to be washed. God's word never says that the old man should be washed. (The blood of Jesus Christ washes our sins, not the old man.) The old man needs to be crucified. This is the word of the Bible.
God does everything in this age through the Lord Jesus Christ. He needs to punish sinners, yet He punished the Lord Jesus instead because the Lord Jesus stood in the position and on behalf of sinners. God wants the old man to die, but He caused the Lord Jesus to die on the cross instead. By doing so, He brought all the sinners along with the Lord onto the cross. First there is a substituting death, then a participating death. This is the clear word of the Bible. Jesus Christ is the One who "died on behalf of all; therefore all died."
This point should be emphasized and should not be glossed over easily. A believer, that is, a saved one who confesses that he is a sinner and who believes in Jesus, should remember that the crucifixion of his old man is not an independent activity apart from the Lord Jesus, but is done in union with the Lord Jesus. When the Lord Jesus died, our old man died together with Him and died in Him. This explains the failure of many people. Many times believers exercise their own strength to crucify their old man. However, they find out again and again that the old man is still alive. They try, mostly unintentionally, to crucify the old man independently by themselves without Christ. This can never be done. Unless one dies with the Lord Jesus, there is no crucifixion of the old man. The old man is crucified together with the Lord Jesus.