FEEDBACK: WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE TERM “SPIRITUALLY
DEAD”?
2/9/11
We
appreciate feedback on the studies posted on this website. It helps us to see
if there is anything on this website that does not agree with the Bible.
Below IS A QUESTION ABOUT THE TERM “SPIRITUALLY DEAD”
THE READER’S QUESTION IS IN ITALICS. OUR
RESPONSE FOLLOWS.
On your website, you
say that we can't use the term 'spiritually dead,' because the Bible doesn't
use it. However, in I John 5:12, and other verses, what else could God be
speaking about?
He says that if we
have the Son, we have life, and if we have not the Son, we don't have life. But
other verses teach that even the believer's body is still dead in sins (Romans
8:10), so at the moment of salvation, we become spiritually alive, but we're
dead in our body.
If a person is just
'dead' in sins, and God doesn't differentiate between being dead in body and
soul, then why doesn't a person become fully alive in Christ, and not just in
his soul?
There
are several problems with the term "spiritually dead". One problem is
that most people use it in a vague way without defining what it means.
A
big problem is that it is a misleading term. The term "spiritually
dead" implies that the spirit of unsaved man is dead, but his body is not
dead. This is incorrect because the Bible teaches that both the spirit and body
of unsaved man is dead (Romans 8:10, 1 Corinthians 15:29).
If
people were to say that unsaved man is spiritually and physically dead, then
that would be accurate to the Bible and not misleading.
People
use the term "spiritually dead" to make contrast to a body that they
believe is not dead. So, people think that unsaved man is "spiritually
dead but physically alive". That is because we have mistaken the corpse
for death. The corpse is actually a body sleeping in the dust. Death is the
opposite of life and God is life (John 11:25, 14:6). So, the term "spiritually
dead", which does not come from the Bible, immediately gets people going
down a wrong understanding of what death and life are for mankind according to
the Bible.
The
Bible teaches that before salvation, man's spirit is dead and his body is dead
also. Upon salvation, his spirit is made alive; it passes from death unto life
(Psalm 80:18, John 5:24, 1 John 3:14, etc.). That is because God comes to
indwell and energize his spirit (Romans 8:9, Philippians 2:12-13). God is life.
His
body is still dead (Romans 8:10, 1 Corinthians 15:29). That is because God does
not indwell his body (Romans 7:18). It is clear and correct to use this
language to describe life and death for mankind.
Other
People think of "spiritually dead" as some other kind of death. But,
in their minds, they think of the corpse as really being dead. That is why some
people say "when you're dead you're dead." They are focused upon the
corpse. But, the corpse is a body sleeping in the dust. Death has to do with
man's relationship to God, who is life. Death is separation from God who is
life. God focuses on what is important; man's relationship to God. Man focuses
upon what he can see; a corpse.
Then
they use the term "physically dead" implying that now the body is
dead. However, that does not agree with the Bible that says that the body is
already dead.
A
more clear statement to say is that upon salvation our spirit is made alive,
but our body is still dead. God does teach that after salvation our body is
still dead in Romans 8:10 and 1 Corinthians 15:29. Thus, we can know that when
we are made alive and have passed from death unto life, like the Bible teaches,
this refers to our spirit-essence.
There
is more information on this subject in the studies at the links below:
the Biblical definition of
life and death for mankind
A BODY “SLEEPING IN THE
DUST” VERSUS “DEATH”
You
also asked why is it that only our spirit is made alive upon salvation and our
body is left in it's dead condition. The answer would have to be that this is
just how God has worked out His salvation plan. The believers' bodies remain
dead, separated from God, until the Rapture. We just have to say that this is
so because this is God's plan.
Thank
you for the question.