Life In Christ

Two Types of Death

According to the scriptures, there are two types of death revealed by the Spirit of God, the death of the body and the death of the spirit. The phrase 'death of the body' refers to physical death. James 2:26 says, "...the body without the spirit is dead..." That means physical death occurs when the spirit of man departs from his body. Man is a spirit that has a soul and lives in a house called the body. (1 Thess. 5:23). This is why the body does not respond after physical death because the real man, which is the spirit, has departed from the body. So the body falls and becomes immobile, with its life force depleting in seconds.

The Spirit Continues of Live

The death of the spirit is distinct from the death of the body. When the spirit of a person departs from their body, the body ceases to exist. However, the spirit of the person continues to live on; he doesn't cease to exist. Jesus explained this through the story of the rich man and the poor man, Lazarus, both of whom died. 

“And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”               Luke 16:22-23

You see, Lazarus died physically, but his spirit was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man died physically and was buried, but his spirit was found in hell. Notice, the rich man in hell lifted up his eyes and saw Lazarus! They both died physically, but their spirits did not cease to exist. Spirits do not cease to exist, but they can die. So what does it mean for a spirit to die?

Spiritual Life and Death

In Matthew 8:22, “Jesus said unto him, follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.” Notice that Jesus was talking to a man; he said, don’t go back to bury your father; follow me and let the dead bury their dead. Obviously, he was talking about these two types of death. He said, Let the spiritually dead bury their physically dead. This shows that one can be physically alive but, at the same time, spiritually dead.

“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”                                                                                       1 John 5:12

Spiritual life and death can be explained as follows: A spirit that has the life of God within is considered spiritually alive. On the other hand, a spirit that doesn't have the life of God within is considered dead. Therefore, the death of the spirit refers to the departure of the life of God residing in it. Spiritual death occurs when the life of God is absent in a spirit. However, unlike physical death, there are not many things that can kill the spirit of a person. One cannot shoot or poison a spirit to death, nor can one cut its neck. So how does the spirit of a person die then?

The Wages of Sin

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”                                                                   Romans 6:23

Notice, the Bible says the wages of sin is death! But remember, there are two types of death. The Spirit of God explains this further in 1 John 5:16–17. He said, “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it...” What does he mean? We know the wages of sin is death, so what does this mean? He continues, defending his previous statements, “All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.”

Sin and Death

Don't get this wrong. All unrighteousness is sin, and the wages of sin is death. But there is a sin that is paid for in physical death, and there is a sin that is not paid for in physical death but in spiritual death; this is the sin unto death! When one commits the sin not unto death, his physical body starts dying slowly. This is why the Holy Ghost said we should pray for it so that life can be restored to the flesh. But when one commits the sin unto death, the life of God in him departs, and we are advised not to pray for it because not too many things can kill the spirit of man.

The Sin of Adam

You see, Adam committed a sin unto death! How do I know?

“But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”

“And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.”                           Genesis 3:3,9-12

Adam's spirit remained inside his physical body even after eating the fruit, as he did not drop dead on the floor. That was why he could respond to God when he called him. Adam, the first man, was walking and talking. That's how I know that he died spiritually because God said he would surely die, so since he didn't drop lifeless, he died spiritually. Though he was talking, the life of God had departed from his spirit. But there is something striking I saw in Romans 5:12.

The Reality of the Loins

In simpler terms, Adam did not die alone! But how? Through the mystery of fatherhood.

  “And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.”

Hebrews 7:7-10

You see, Levi, the son of Jacob, is the great-grandson of Abraham. In Gen. 14:19–20, Abraham meets the high priest, Melchizedek, the king of Salam, and pays the tithe of his spoils from war. This happened before Isaac was even born. Now, hundreds of years later, in the days of Moses, “The sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law...” (Heb. 7:5).

But it was these sons of Levi who received tithes that the Holy Ghost, through the writer of Hebrews, said, “Paid tithes IN Abraham.” How is that possible? “For he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.” From this, we denote the reality of the loins, which permits us to account the deeds of a father to his children because the child was once in the loins of his father. So whatever the father did, he did it. This was how Levi paid tithes in Abraham, permit me to also say that Jacob paid tithes in Abraham because he was in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. Now, back to 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:”

You see, death passed upon all men, regardless of the century they were born, for all have sinned! Why? We were all in the loins of Adam, the first man, when he committed the sin unto death and died spiritually. So we can say that Robert ate of the tree of good and evil and died spiritually because he was in the loins of his father Adam when he ate it! Thus, we were in Adam; when he sinned, we sinned, and when he died, we died. Now this is why Christ, the last Adam, came! To bring life back into the spirit of man.

Jesus is Lord!

Min. Roi