To be crucified with Christ means that when a person believes the gospel, God reckons the old Adamic nature — the 'old man' — as dead and crucified with Christ, while the believer continues to live a new life by the faithfulness of Christ.
Les Feldick teaches that God kills and puts the old Adam out of commission at the moment of belief, so its power over daily behavior is broken. Believers were put to death in the mind of God on the cross of Calvary, yet they are left alive in the world; although old Adam remains in force experientially, God reckons him dead, and the believer now lives because Christ lives in him.
Galatians 2:20 — Paul's own declaration, 'I am crucified with Christ,' is the closest direct statement of the truth this question asks about.
Romans 6:6 — Identifies the 'old man' as crucified with Christ so that the body of sin might be destroyed and believers no longer serve sin.
Romans 6:8 — Links death with Christ to the promised result — the believer shall also live with Him.
The Bible plainly teaches that the believer is crucified with Christ. Paul declares in Galatians 2:20, 'I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.' Romans 6:6 goes on to explain the purpose of that crucifixion: 'Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.' And the next verse states the consequence: 'For he that is dead is freed from sin' (Romans 6:7). Romans 6 also connects this death to Christ's resurrection. Verse 8 says, 'Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him,' and verse 9 adds, 'Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.' Paul asks in verse 2, 'How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?' Scripture describes the new condition that follows: 'Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new' (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Les Feldick teaches that being crucified with Christ is God's reckoning of the old Adamic nature. He identifies the 'old man' of Romans 6:6 as the old Adam — the sin nature every person is born with — and explains that when a person believes the gospel, God reckons that old Adam as dead and crucified with Christ. Crucifixion kills: Les says God puts old Adam out of commission so that the body of sin might be destroyed and the believer no longer serves sin. Believers were put to death in the mind of God on the cross of Calvary — they died when Christ died — but they are not taken out of the world. Les is equally clear that God's reckoning does not erase the old Adam from daily experience. He says old Adam 'is still in force, experientially,' and the believer still has to put up with him and with all the pressures of the world. However, old Adam's power over daily behavior has been broken; God reckons him dead, and the believer is freed from serving sin. Finally, Les stresses that crucifixion with Christ is not an ending but a beginning. Old Adam is put to death and life really begins. As Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, 'I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.' This new life is the new creation of 2 Corinthians 5:17 — the believer lives by the faithfulness of Christ.
Romans 6:6 says, 'our old man is crucified with him.' Les Feldick explains that this old man is the old Adam — the Adamic sin nature that every person is born with, the nature that Ephesians 2 describes as by nature disobedient. He recalls that when Adam fell and sinned, he plunged the whole human race into that condition, which is why the old Adam had to be dealt with by crucifixion.
Les Feldick distinguishes between God's reckoning and the believer's daily experience. God reckons old Adam dead and crucified, but Les says old Adam 'is still in force, experientially.' The believer is not taken out of the world at salvation and still has to put up with all the pressures of this world. Yet the power of old Adam over daily behavior has been broken — he is dead in God's reckoning and has been put out of commission, so the believer is freed from serving sin.
Crucifixion with Christ is not the end of the story. Les says old Adam is put to death 'and life really begins' — the believer enters a new relationship with God. Paul, though crucified with Christ, was alive and writing the book of Galatians. This is the new creation of 2 Corinthians 5:17: Christ Himself lives in the believer, and the life now lived in the flesh is lived by the faithfulness of Christ.
This identification is not a physical crucifixion — Paul was not nailed to a Roman cross. Les teaches that it happens by faith: when a person believes the gospel, God identifies the believer with Christ's death and reckons old Adam dead. Scripture says, 'Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him' (Romans 6:8), and Les adds that this all comes by faith when we believe the gospel.
The Fall of Adam and the Old Adamic Condition
Les explains that Adam's fall plunged the whole human race into the old Adamic condition, which is why the old Adam must be crucified and why Christ had to die.
Crucified With Christ Yet Experientially Burdened
Les teaches that old Adam has been put to death and his power broken; the believer is crucified with Christ yet lives, and old Adam, though reckoned dead by God, remains in force experientially.
Old Man Crucified and Put Out of Commission
Les explains that our old man is crucified with Christ, and crucifixion kills — God puts old Adam out of commission so the body of sin is destroyed and believers no longer serve sin.
Put to Death in the Mind of God
Les says believers were put to death in the mind of God on the cross of Calvary — they died when Christ died — yet they are alive and have a duty in light of all God has done.
Dead to Old Adam at the Moment of Belief
Les says the moment we believed, God reckoned old Adam dead and crucified, which is why Paul asks how those dead to old Adam can continue in sin.
Identification With Christ's Death by Faith
Les teaches that identification with Christ's death comes by faith when we believe the gospel; old Adam is put to death and life really begins.
The Old Man Is the Sin Nature
Les defines the old man as the old Adamic sin nature we are born with and says that when we believed the gospel, that old Adam was crucified.
Galatians 2:20 — Crucified Yet Alive
Les walks through Galatians 2:20, explaining that Paul was not nailed to a Roman cross but was crucified with Christ and alive — Christ living in him is the new creation life.
Galatians 2:20: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Paul's direct statement of being crucified with Christ and living by Christ's faithfulness.
Romans 6:6: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Explains why the old man is crucified — so the body of sin is destroyed and believers no longer serve sin.
Romans 6:7: For he that is dead is freed from sin.
States the consequence of being dead with Christ — freedom from sin.
Romans 6:8: Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Links death with Christ to the certainty of living with Him.
Romans 6:9: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Christ's resurrection guarantees the believer's new life since death no longer has dominion over Christ.
Romans 6:2: God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Paul's argument that those dead to sin cannot continue in it — Les paraphrases this as 'dead to old Adam.'
2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Describes the new creation reality that follows crucifixion with Christ.
Ephesians 2:1: And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespass and sins;
Describes the condition of the old Adamic nature from which believers were made alive.
Ephesians 2:3: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Describes being by nature children of wrath — the old Adamic condition Les says Christ's crucifixion addresses.
Romans 7:14: For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Paul's description of being carnal, sold under the old Adamic nature.
No. Les Feldick points out that Paul was not actually nailed to a Roman cross, yet he could say, 'I am crucified with Christ.' It is God's reckoning — the believer was put to death in the mind of God on the cross of Calvary, but remains alive in this world and lives by Christ's faithfulness.
At the moment of belief. Les teaches that when a person believes the gospel, God reckons old Adam dead and crucified — the old man, the Adamic sin nature, is put out of commission at that point.
Yes, in experience. Les says God reckons old Adam dead, but old Adam is still in force experientially, so the believer still has to deal with him. However, his power over daily behavior has been broken, and he has been put out of commission so the believer no longer has to serve sin.
Les explains that the new life of the believer is Christ's own life in him. The believer is crucified with Christ yet lives — 'not I, but Christ liveth in me' — and the life lived in the flesh is lived by the faithfulness of Christ. This is the new creation life of 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Watch the Teaching: Why Every Believer Still Struggles With Sin — Romans 7:15-25