HAVING SINNED IN ADAM
How does the Bible view the fall of mankind? It shows us that due to the unity of men, when the first man Adam sinned, all sinned in him, although none were yet born.
The way we look at it is whether or not we as individuals have sinned. This is not God’s way. Even if I had never sinned from the day I was born, God would ask from whom I came. If I came from Adam, then I was there and took part when Adam sinned in the garden of Eden, even if I have not sinned from the day I was born. According to biological law, my life is communicated from Adam. The latest life is the same as the first life. According to God, everyone from Adam on is a sinner. Adam sinned; so every single person became a sinner in Adam.
Suppose a man has never sinned (of course, no such person ever existed). God would still reckon him a sinner because his life is a life that sins; he is the offspring of a sinful life. Even though we do not feel that we have the same experience as Adam, the fact is that his life is in man. Up till today we bear this life with us.
ANOTHER MAN
The Bible also shows us another man, Christ. God considers Christ the same way He considers Adam. God counts Adam and everyone from him as one man. In the same way, God considers Christ as the Head and includes everyone who comes out of Him as one man. The life we received from Adam is a life of sin. If we can come out of Christ and receive His life, we can be free from sin in the same manner Jesus was.
For the present, we will not consider how to receive this life that comes out from Him. We will explain this later. We want to see how the life that comes out of Christ is the very life of Jesus Himself. It is a life without sin, a life that is pleasing to God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and absolutely holy and righteous. When we receive such a life, we will be the same as Christ, having the same experiences He had.
NO THIRD MAN
Hence, there are only two men in the whole of humanity. Either you have your being in Adam or in Christ. If you are not associated with Adam, you have to be associated with Christ. You cannot find a third man. Once someone asked me, "How many people are there in hell?" I told him that there was only one, and that there was also only one in heaven. The man in Christ is in one place, and the man in Adam is in another. This is extremely simple.
(The Normal Christian Faith, Chapter 7, by Watchman Nee)
