Identification is two-fold. Man's identification first of all with Adam. And then man's identification with Christ. The entire plan of redemption revolves around this two-fold identification of man with Adam and with Christ. Paul was given the revelation of our redemption and the present ministry of Christ. In Romans 16:25-26 he calls it "my gospel". He tells us in Galatians 1:12, "For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ". Paul's revelation was man's identification with Adam and with Christ. It was necessary that Paul be given the revelation he received. The scripture calls it the revelation of Christ. A revelation given by the Holy Spirit was necessary to get man out of the realm of his five senses and into the realm of the Spirit. The apostle John tells us in I John 1:1-2, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)." Man saw with his physical eyes Jesus the Christ and His deeds. The life of the Son of God was lived before John and the others. They heard with their ears the words He spoke. They could touch Jesus with their hands. The knowledge man possessed of Christ during His life on earth was gained by his physical senses. This physical revelation of Christ was not sufficient for man's faith in Jesus as the Son of God. This physical revelation was not sufficient for understanding of the redemption through Him. In Matthew 16:15-17 Peter declared , "thou art the Christ". Jesus replied to him, "flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." That which is flesh is flesh and that which is spirit is spirit. By means of the five senses of his nervous system, his flesh, he had not been given this knowledge. It had come as a special revelation from God. The disciples even saw the death and resurrection of Christ through physical eyes. They saw the beating, nails, crown of thorns, the dead lifeless body, the tomb, the stone rolled away, then they saw and handled the resurrected body of Jesus. They saw only the physical suffering. They knew not where Christ's spirit was or what He was doing during the time His physical body lay in the tomb. They knew nothing of the conquering of Satan. They knew nothing of the ascension of Christ with His own blood into the Holy of Holies; and they knew nothing of the ministry of Christ at the Father's right hand. They were all spiritually dead men. Even though they walked with Jesus, they were held captive and blinded by Spiritual Death, as was all of mankind.

What they needed. What we need. What we must have is a revelation form the Holy Spirit to the spirit of man. That was made possible and accomplished in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. I Corinthians 2:9-10 says, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit." The revelation which was needed could not be given until after Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came to guide them into all truth. The Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. There was a necessity of a revelation of redemption and how this redemption was accomplished by Identification. First is man's identification with Adam. Romans 5:12-21 gives us a clear picture of what I am referring to as identification. Genesis chapter three gives to us Adam's sin of high treason. For 4,000 years revelation had been silent on this subject. Now Paul reveals it. The human race is identified with Adam in his transgression of God's words and in Adam's spiritual death. Romans 5:12, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" It was no only physical death but spiritual death, the nature of Satan was taken on by man. The scriptures tell us God had said the very day man disobeyed he would die. This was Spiritual Death. Romans 5:14-19 tells us this death even reigned over those who had not committed high treason. Verse 15 states that, "through the offence of one many be dead," or through identification with him the many had died. Verse 18 says that through Adam all men were made sinners and sinners by nature. Paul reveals that down through the ages and to the present day, sin reigned the realm of death, where Satan is lord, because the human race was identified with the first man Adam. Adam had the world to do with as he would. God gave it to him. All dominion and all authority were Adam's. He disobeyed God, broke fellowship and the world which had been given him by God fell to the hands of Satan.

Actually we were not in The Garden with Adam. Legally his death, his bondage, his judgement, and all that spiritual death made him became ours. A spiritually dead being could only bring forth spiritually dead descendants. This is our identification. Now God has redeemed man completely from every result of Adam's treason through identification of the human race with Jesus His Son. This is the real message of Romans 5:12-21. Our redemption through our identification with Christ, but we can not understand our identification with Jesus until we see our identification with Adam. Which Paul explains. Then we can see the identification of the human race with Christ. If the lordship of Satan over man was due to identification of humanity with Adam in his crime of high treason, then it is legally possible for the works of Satan to be destroyed by the identification of man with the Son of God, the second Adam. First we see Christ had to be identified with our humanity. This must be done because of the legal side of man's redemption. This identification took place in His Incarnation. John 1:14 says, "and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Hebrews 2:14, "Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, He also Himself in like manner partook of the same." Jesus walked as the first man should have walked doing the will of the Father God. He lived the perfect life, but that was not enough. Isaiah 53:4-6 tells us, "and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." II Corinthians 5:21, " For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." The Bible never says of an animal that it became sin for a man. God actually made Him to become sin for us. The Why!!! In the eye of God, it is not Christ who hung on the cross, but it was the entire human race. All of mankind. We can say with Paul, "I was crucified with Christ"(Galatians 2:20) In The Garden we were not actually with Adam but legally we were. We actually were not on the cross with Christ but legally we were. The identification of man with Christ was just as complete as was his identification with Adam. If it is not then no one can be saved. Now that the Identification of Christ with humanity was accomplished in the incarnation(God becoming a man), the steps of redemption began. Now man must be identified with Christ.

When Christ ascended into Heaven with His own blood he obtained eternal redemption for us on the basis of His substitutionary death and resurrection on our behalf. He died in our stead, in our place. Hebrews 9:12 tells us, "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Under Jewish law sacrifices had to be continually offered up by the priests. Yet Hebrews 10:4 says, "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." But of Jesus it says in Hebrews 10:12-14, "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." Paul realized his identification with Christ when he said, "I have been crucified with Christ." Romans 6:6 says the old man was crucified with Him. God made Him to become sin for us. It was our spiritual death and our trespasses that He bore. Romans 4:25 states, "He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised up for our justification." We are identified with this death according to Romans 6:5 & 8. The scripture tells us in Colossians 2:13, "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened(made alive) together with him." Ephesians 2:5 tells us that even when we were dead through our trespasses He made us alive together with Christ. The scriptures tell us he was the first born from the dead, from spiritual death to eternal life. Romans 6:9-10 says that, "......death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once." Romans 8:29 tells us, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." Many brethren were legally identified with Him in His birth out of death into eternal life. It is as if Adam could have paid the penalty of his sin and freed mankind from Spiritual Death right from the beginning. Which he did not and could not do. Adam could not redeem all those who would follow after him. I believe one reason is because Adam was spiritually dead and could no longer perceive the things of the spirit world of God. He could not hear nor understand the things of the Spirit. What Adam could not do Christ the second Adam did do. I Corinthians 15:22 plainly states, "For as in Adam all die; so also in Christ shall all be made alive." At the New Birth a man passes from the authority of Satan into the Lordship of Christ. Colossians 1:13, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." God delivered us out of the authority of Satan and into the Lordship of Christ. We see that we are identified with Christ in His death and He with us and our sin nature. Ephesians 2:6 speaking of God and Christ, says, "and raised us up with Him" there by we see we are also identified with Him in His resurrection.

When He returned from the dead He also returned as victor over the devil. Colossians 2:15, "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it." Jesus did not conquer Satan for Himself. He was always greater than Satan. He did it because of His identification with us and our sin. It was just as though we did it. Ephesians 1:20-23 tells of Christ being raised up and seated at the right hand of the Father. Ephesians 2:6 states that God raised us up and seated us with Him in Heavenly Places with Christ Jesus. Our identification with Adam and Christ is summed up in Romans 14-19:
"14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

Sin reigned over all of those after Adam even though they nor we have committed the sin Adam did. We have all been born in bondage to the lord of this world and to our flesh, our reason. If by the one offence of Adam we were all spiritually dead then by the same obedience of the one Jesus Christ we can all be made spiritually alive. To stand in fellowship with God, Holy and Righteous just as if we paid the price our self. Just as if we defeated Satan our self. Justified: Just-as-if-I-never-sinned.