Of all the doctrines of Christ, this may be one of the most misunderstood. And aside from faith for salvation and repentance it is the most important subject for the new Christian to learn. In this teaching is found the core intent of the purpose of God in salvation and creation itself.
1 Corinthians 15:
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
That we have been baptized into Christ is part of the overall plan of God to be "all in all". These words are difficult for the natural mind to receive. They are just words to the natural man. But the spirit man inside receives them and there is a burning. God wants to be in us, and being baptized into Christ is the process by which this goal is accomplished.
Because Adam died spiritually, it is logical to say that he was "born again" as a child of the devil. His spirit became one with satan in nature and ability to do righteousness. He became of a member of the "body of satan" or the "kingdom of darkness". He was not satan in his identity, but he was a child of satan. This state of being is called "spiritual death" in the scriptures.
Looking at the passage in Genesis 2 we see the following:
Genesis 2 16
¶ And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
The last phrase is very unusual in the Hebrew. It says:
"...for in the day that thou eatest thereof, in dying you will die."
There were two deaths that occurred on that day. One was the death of the spirit of Adam, and the other was the (eventual) death of his body. The spiritual death was passed onto all man. This is evidenced by the fact that all men have sinned. The physical death is just one result of the inner spiritual death.
The sin that Adam sinned was a "sin unto death"(1 John 5:16-17). That is it was a sin that resulted in spiritual death.There is "sin not unto death". This is all sin that does not result in spiritual death. A great deal of confusion is caused when people believe that they die spiritually each time they sin a "sin not unto death". Sin unto death is called sin "after the similitude of Adam" in Romans 5.
Romans 5:14
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.
In other words all men who were born from then on were born with the same spiritually dead nature even though they did not sin the same "sin unto death" (after the similitude of Adam). They put forth evil fruit which comes from all spiritually dead people. 99% of all sin sinned by Christians today is this sort of sin. It is sin "not unto death". If a Christian were to sin a "sin unto death" it would result in his spiritual death like Adam, because this is a sin "after the similitude of Adam".
When a man is born again, this old nature is done away. It is abolished and completely eliminated out of existence. It is "passed away". Unlike the death of Adam in the garden, the spirit is not just changed from it's former state into a new state. In the new birth, the old spirit passes away, and the regenerate spirit that is placed into man is completely new.
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.
In Isaiah 53, likely one of the greatest chapters in the Old Testament, there is a verse that parallels the two deaths of Genesis 2.
Isaiah 53:9
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither [was any] deceit in his mouth.
The word "death" is "deaths" in the Hebrew. Jesus died two deaths on the cross. He first became one with us, and was made sin for (and with) us, so that when He was raised from this state of death, we would be raised up together with Him. He then died physically as the lamb of God for the sins of the world. One death was for "sins", and the other was for "sinfulness". One dealt with the problem of our inner nature, the other dealt with the individual sins of every man throughout history.
When we discuss the topic of baptism into Christ, it is first needful to understand that we were dead with Christ, and He was dead with us. We are baptized into His death with Him when we believe in the gospel. This passage in Romans is rich in spiritual truth that must enter into your logosystem if you are to totally overcome sin in your manner of life.
Romans 6:
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of [his] resurrection:
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.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
You were baptized into Jesus Christ. It is not symbolic or metaphorical. When Adam sinned, he was baptized into satan. That is he became one with satan in nature and identity. A child like unto his father. When we believe into Christ, we are one with Him in His death, burial, AND resurrection. This is the key. In order for us to be raised together with Him, He had to willingly become one with us in death.
There was such rejoicing in hell on that day that Jesus descended into the pit, defeated and broken. Laden with the sin of mankind. One with man in death, being made sin for us. Jesus was one with fallen mankind on that day. But there was to be a victory that the devil could not conceive of. He did not know that because Jesus became one with us, we would be one with Him when God raised Him from the dead. When Jesus was raised up from the dead, we were raised with Him. When God quickened Jesus form the state of death and sin, we were quickened up together with Him.
Few people can bare these verses. They exceed the ability of the mind to grasp. Yet we were one with Christ in death, and are raised up together with Him in new creation life. We cannot grasp or understand how these things could have transpired. But the scripture is clear. Jesus was made sin for us, died two deaths, and was one with us. When Jesus descended into hell, it was the whole body of Christ that descended with Him. The body was already destined to be there. When Jesus (who is the head of the body) descended, it appeared to the devil that the defeat was total. But when God saw that it was enough, He raised up Jesus the head, and glory to God: the body came with Him!
Ephesians 2:
1 ¶ And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
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.
4 ¶ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved
6 And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:
We could not be quickened together with him from a state of sin unless we both shared that state. He was made sin, and was one with us so that when God raised Him from the dead, we would be raised up together with Him.