Austin Bible Church
Physical Death
For the believer, physical death is when the soul and human spirit leave the body. For the unbeliever, only the soul leaves the body. A measurable indicator is loss of brain waves as measured by an electroencephalogram or EEG. Phil. 1:21; 2 Cor. 5:8; Luke 17:22; Matt 8:22; Rom. 8:38-39.
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21, NASB)
“we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8, NASB)
“And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.” (Luke 17:22, NASB)
“But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead."” (Matthew 8:22, NASB)
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39, NASB)
Spiritual Death
Spiritual death is separation from God. We are born spiritually dead, but physically alive. The moment the baby gasps its first breath of air, God the Father imputes the living soul. He also imputes Adam’s original sin to the genetically formed old sin nature provided through the genetic father. The result is the baby is born physically alive, but spiritually dead. Eph. 2:1; Rom. 5:12.
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,” (Ephesians 2:1, NASB)
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—” (Romans 5:12, NASB)
Jesus Christ was always spiritually alive because He had no old sin nature. But for three hours on the Cross, He became spiritually dead (bearing our sins in His humanity), but it wasn’t for His own sin. He had no personal sin or old sin nature. 1 Cor. 15:22; Rom. 6:23.
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22, NASB)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NASB)
Second Death
The Second Death is the final judgment of the unbeliever just before they are cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity. When the unbeliever dies physically, their soul goes to Hades until the end of the Millennium. Then they will be resurrected at the Great White Throne Judgment to be judged by Jesus Christ. Here, all unbelievers are condemned according to their human works and good deeds and cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity. This is the Second Death. Rev. 20:11-15; Heb. 9:27; Matt. 25:41.
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15, NASB)
“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27, NASB)
“"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;” (Matthew 25:41, NASB)
Positional Death
Positional death is the believer’s identification with Christ in His spiritual death, physical death, burial, and resurrection. This is part of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation. In the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, we are placed into union with Christ and His rejection of human good and evil in His spiritual death, His physical death, and His burial. Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:13; Col. 3:13.
“Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3-4, NASB)
“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,” (Colossians 2:13, NASB)
“bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.” (Colossians 3:13, NASB)
Temporal Death
Temporal death is a believer out of fellowship because of personal sin and is in a state of carnality where the old sin nature controls the soul. When we confess our known sins to God the Father using 1 John 1:9, the filling of the Holy Spirit is restored and the Holy Spirit controls the soul. Rom. 8:6; Rom. 8:13; Eph. 5:14; 1 Tim. 5:6; James 1:15; Rev. 3:1; 1 John 3:14; Luke 15:24; Luke 15:32.
“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,” (Romans 8:6, NASB)
“for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13, NASB)
“For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”“ (Ephesians 5:14, NASB)
“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.” (1 John 3:14, NASB)
“‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’““ (Luke 15:32, NASB)
Operational Death
Operational death is lack of spiritual growth due to failure to produce divine good. We should advance in our priesthood and produce divine good as ambassadors for Jesus Christ. The more we grow spiritually, the more divine good production we have as a result of our spiritual growth. Operational death is the status of the believer negative to Bible doctrine and in prolonged carnality called reversionism. James 2:26.
“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26, NASB)
Sexual Death
Sexual death is the inability to procreate or have children. Abraham was 99 years old and sexually dead, but God revived his sexual capability as part of the Abrahamic Covenant to him and to Israel. Rom. 4:17-21; Heb. 11:12.
“(as it is written, “A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.” (Romans 4:17-21, NASB)
“Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE.” (Hebrews 11:12, NASB)