To be dead with Christ means that, by faith in the gospel, the believer is identified with Christ's crucifixion so that God reckons the old Adamic nature as dead.
When a person believes, God reckons the old Adam as crucified and dead, breaking his control over the believer. This death is not the end of life but the entrance into a new life. Because Christ rose from the dead, believers who are dead with Him will also live with Him.
Romans 6:8 — This verse specifically uses the phrase 'dead with Christ' and connects it to the certainty that believers will also live with Him.
Galatians 2:20 — Paul expresses personal identification with Christ's crucifixion, declaring that the old self is crucified and Christ lives in him.
Romans 6:7 states, “For he that is dead is freed from sin.” Romans 6:8 then applies this to Christ: “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.” Galatians 2:20 shows the personal nature of this death: “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.” Second Corinthians 5:17 describes the result: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Ephesians 2:5 adds that God “hath quickened us together with Christ” even when we were dead in sins.
Les Feldick teaches that 'dead with Christ' is God's way of breaking the old Adam's control. Old Adam is a sinner and cannot be improved; he must be brought to death. The moment a person believes the gospel, God reckons the old Adam as crucified and dead. This is not something the believer works up; it is the power of God exercised in salvation. Les emphasizes that this death is by identification. As Christ was crucified, buried, and raised, so the believer is identified with each step. In God’s sight the believer has died with Christ and has been raised to new life, yet the believer remains on earth and still experiences the pressure of the world and the old Adam experientially. Les points to Paul, who said 'I am crucified with Christ' while still writing and living. The new life the believer lives is by the faithfulness of Christ, and it becomes part of everyday experience. Because Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee that His death was enough, believers who are dead with Him can be certain they will also live with Him. God could not leave them in the tomb any more than He could leave Christ in the tomb.
Les teaches that old Adam must be crucified because he is a sinner. The old relationship cannot be adjusted or improved; it must be brought to death. When a person believes the gospel, God reckons old Adam as dead and crucified. That breaks old Adam’s power over daily behavior, even though the believer may still experience the old nature day to day. Paul’s words in Galatians 2:20 express this: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”
Les draws the full identification with Christ: if we died with Him on the cross, we were also placed in the grave with Him, and we are raised with Him. God did not leave believers in the tomb. He quickened them with resurrection power. This new life is not earned or attained; it is what God has already done for the believer. Les connects this to 2 Corinthians 5:17, where old things pass away and all things become new. The risen life is meant to be lived out in everyday experience as the believer trusts Christ.
Les calls the resurrection fundamental to our faith. If we are dead with Christ, we believe we shall also live with Him. Christ did not stay in the grave, and God could not leave believers there either. Because Christ was raised and dies no more, the believer’s death with Him is not the end. It is the beginning of real life in a new relationship with God. The identification moves through the cross, the tomb, and the resurrection, and every step demonstrates the power that saves and gives life.
Old Adam Must Be Crucified
Les explains that old Adam is a sinner and cannot be adjusted; he must be put to death because Christ's death is the believer's substitute.
Reckoned Dead at the Moment of Faith
Les shows that at the moment of believing, God reckons the old Adam as crucified and dead, which is why the believer should not continue in sin.
Identification with His Death and Resurrection
Les ties being dead with Christ to identification with His crucifixion and the certainty that believers will also live with Him.
The Power of Old Adam Is Broken
Les teaches that old Adam is still in force experientially, but God reckons him dead, and the believer lives by the faithfulness of Christ.
Crucified Yet Alive
Les uses Paul's example to show that a believer is dead in God's sight but still alive and now has the duty to live in light of God's work.
Raised to New Life
Les connects Christ's resurrection to the believer's experience of coming out of deadness into new life, referencing 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Buried and Raised With Christ
Les takes the identification through the grave: when Christ was buried, believers were in the grave with Him, and when He rose, believers rose with Him.
Crucified, Quickened, and Made Alive
Les says God crucified old Adam, reckoned believers as in the tomb, and then quickened them with resurrection power, citing Ephesians 2:5.
Romans 6:8: Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
This is the key verse directly using the phrase 'dead with Christ' and linking it to the certainty of living with Him.
Romans 6:7: For he that is dead is freed from sin.
This verse establishes the principle that death frees the believer from the old relationship with sin.
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 expresses personal identification with Christ's crucifixion, showing that the believer's old self is dead and Christ now lives in him.
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.
This verse describes the result of being united with Christ's death: a new creation and the passing away of the old.
Ephesians 2:5: Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
This verse shows that believers who were dead in sins are made alive together with Christ, the same resurrection power at work.
Les teaches that God reckons old Adam as dead, breaking his power over daily behavior. However, old Adam is still in force experientially, so the believer continues to feel the pressure of the old nature and the world, but the controlling power has been broken.
At the moment a person believes the gospel, God reckons the old Adam as crucified and dead. This is not achieved by works or effort; it is God's power exercised in salvation through faith.
Because Christ did not stay in the grave, believers who were identified with His death are also identified with His resurrection. God quickens them and gives them new life, so the death with Christ is not the end but the beginning of living with Him.
Watch the Teaching: Romans 6:7-12 — Can a Believer Still Sin After Being Set Free?