Some time ago I wrote an article which caused some controversy. It was entitled, “Did Jesus Die the Second Death?” I still stand by the conclusion reached then, that He did not die the second death. But now that I understand the matter better, in the light of Righteousness by Faith, I can see that my explanations were limited and that there were several things which I did not understand. I hope that this article will make the issue much clearer.
The word “death” is used in the Bible to refer to several
states and admittedly, this can cause, and has caused some amount of
confusion when there has been a failure to properly distinguish between
the various kinds of death referred to. We will examine the four kinds
of death most often mentioned in the Bible and for the sake of
convenience we will refer to them as:
a. The first death
b. Spiritual death
c. Death to sin
d. The second death
When we understand the issue of death as the Bible presents it, we
discover that there is a relationship between all four kinds of death.
We also come to a better understanding of what happened when Jesus died
and why He had to die.
The First Death
The first death is the one which we call sleep. It is the death which
came upon all mankind as a result of Adam’s sin. Paul speaks of this
death and says,
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: (Rom 5:12)
Mankind in general is not responsible
for this death. It is entirely the fault of one man, our great
foreparent, Adam. It was he who brought it into the world when he
introduced sin, and as a result, it passed upon all men. Death, in this
sense, refers to the time when the breath ceases and the body returns to
the dust. All men die this death excepting those rare few who have been
and will be translated. In the normal course of things, this death
would have been the end of man. When a man had lived out his appointed
years and died at the end of them, that would have been the end of his
story. Sin would have brought death upon him and this death would have
been an eternal death if Christ had not made provision for a
resurrection. As Paul again tells us,
For since by man came
death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor 15:21-22)
Spiritual Death
The next death mentioned is “spiritual death.” It is not referred to by
this name in the Bible, but it refers to the state where a person is
without the spirit of God and is totally controlled by sin. The Bible
says such a person is “dead in trespasses and sins.”
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: (Eph 2:1)
How does a man get into this condition? Is it by his own choice or are
all born in this state? Again, this condition is the result of Adam’s
sin. When Adam sinned in the garden, the spirit of God departed from him
and his nature changed. He became selfish and unhappy. This condition
has been passed on to all his descendants who are all born unregenerate.
That is, they are all born without the spiritual life imparted by the
holy spirit. This is why all men need to be born again. (John 3:3).
This condition of spiritual death refers to the state of a man’s
relationship with God. A person cannot be saved in this condition and
so, such a person may be physically alive, but since his spirit is not
united with the spirit of God, he is spiritually dead.
But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. (1 Tim 5:6)
Death to Sin
The next death is where we die with Christ, or we enter into the death
of Christ. This death was accomplished for all mankind on the cross and
reverses the consequences of the spiritual death which was imposed on us
by Adam. In this death we die to self or to the sin-nature.
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. (Rom
6:6)
This death is accomplished by the holy spirit which is
restored to us when we are born again, thus setting us free from the law
of sin and death so that we are no longer dead in trespasses and
sins. In other words, by the power of the holy spirit, by the life of
Christ, this death becomes the reality of our experience so that we
receive Christ’s life in which sin has been crucified and righteousness
is the reality. This death is for all men, but can only be experienced
by those who will believe it, who will enter into Christ by faith. This
death is in Christ. It is Christ’s death and can only be experienced
when we become a part of His life.
The Second Death
The second death is the final experience of death, and is the
experience which has caused some amount of controversy. What is this
second death and why is it necessary? In the simplest understanding, the
second death is the final destruction of the wicked as well as of all
things which are destructive and harmful. It is mentioned in Revelation
in four places (Rev 2:11; Rev 20:6; Rev 20:14; Rev 21:8).
But
the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have
their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is
the second death. (Rev 21:8)
It is clear that this second
death represents a total end from which there is to be no return. Here,
this final destruction is referred to as “the lake of fire.”
As we look at the relationship between these four deaths we can see that
all men die the first death. All men are also born into the state of
spiritual death. However, those who choose, will experience the death of
Christ, which is a death to sin. The condemnation which they
experienced in Adam will be taken away when they experience the death
and resurrection of Christ. (Rom. 6:8). Because of this, they will not
experience the second death.
All men must die to sin forever.
The righteous experience this eternal death to sin in Christ. The
unrighteous experience this death to sin in themselves when they are
destroyed finally and forever at the end. Those who will not choose to
die in Christ, will have to die the second death because they will
retain that condemnation in the flesh, the sinful body and mind of
death.
Christ’s Gift For All Men
Romans 6:23 says,
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom 6:23)
Most people understand this verse to be saying that when we die without
repenting of our sins, then we will be sentenced to die the second
death. Therefore, the second death is regarded as the wages of sin. But
this is not the true meaning of the verse.
What is this death,
the wages of sin, which comes upon all men? Firstly this is referring
to spiritual death, or separation from God. This death is a natural
consequence of sin. It is a part of sin and wherever sin goes it follows
automatically. All men, being sinners have this spiritual death working
in them at birth.
But the fact is that this spiritual death
means that man must also die physically – removed from the sustaining
presence of God, man, spiritually dead, must lose his physical life
also. The truth is, all men receive the wages of sin because all men
have sinned. This is the same thing which Paul says in Romans 5:12.
“Death came upon all because all sinned.” But God gives a gift and
provides an answer to sin’s wages. He has provided eternal life for all
men in Christ.
In the normal course of things this death,
(physical) would have been immediate and would have occurred at the same
time as spiritual death. But Christ purchased a probationary life for
man, that is, man’s death was to be delayed for a while. He gave all men
a probationary physical life, a period of time in which it would be
possible for man to have an opportunity of finding his way back to faith
and to spiritual life. Since this life is only probationary and only to
enable man to make his choice, it is not permanent – it is limited in
duration. It eventually ends for all men whether they live good or evil
lives.
It changes our perspective on life when we realize that
death is now our natural state. We are only alive because through
Christ God has set up an unnatural situation to allow us to live for a
time as sinners. In the natural course of things, sin cannot exist in
the universe and utter destruction would have been our destiny from the
inception of sin, if Christ had exercised His power in restraining the
forces which would have surely destroyed the sinner.
Which Death Did Jesus Die?
In addition to a life of probation, Christ obtained something else for
all men. He obtained a resurrection from physical death. The death which
Christ died to save us from, is the death which came upon us because of
Adam’s sin. This includes both spiritual and physical death. Christ
conquered death by submitting to its power, by becoming its victim and
then breaking its chains when He was resurrected, thus breaking its
power. Now He says,
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and,
behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of
death. (Rev 1:18)
Now He has the power and the right to
deliver us from death, to break the chains by which it holds all men,
because He has conquered it. But let us note, it is not the second death
that He frees men from. If Jesus had died to set men free from the
second death then at least some would be brought back from the second
death. But no, Jesus has nothing to do with the second death. It was
death pure and simple that was mankind’s problem, the death which was
imposed upon us by Adam, and so, Jesus came, the second Adam to undo the
damage done by the first Adam. First, to give us spiritual life, to
resurrect us from spiritual death, and secondly to resurrect us from
physical death.
… our Saviour Jesus Christ, … hath abolished
death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel: (2 Tim 1:10)
We have taken the first death lightly
because we have not appreciated the fact that if it were not for Christ,
there would have been no resurrection from this death. If Christ had
not died for us, every man who was ever born would have gone to the
grave and that would have been the end of his existence. Forget about
the judgment, forget about the second death. Such things would not have
been necessary if not for Christ’s provision which provided a
resurrection from the dead. Jesus undid the damage caused by Adam. Now,
the first death is only a sleep but this is so only because of the
provision which Christ has made. Notice what the Bible says so clearly:
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor 15:22)
All die in Adam. That is, everyone who has come of Adam’s life dies. Even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (1 Cor 15:21)
The experience of death came by man. All who experience death have Adam
to thank for it. Likewise all who experience resurrection have Christ
to thank for it.
Why Resurrect The Wicked
You may be thinking, “well, why bother to resurrect the wicked?” The
fact is, all men are resurrected by Christ’s provision. He is the second
Adam. He came to undo the damage done by the first Adam and that
includes death. Let us note that whatever Christ has done for mankind
has been done for all men. God does not deal in predestination and so
His provisions are made for every single human being. In other words,
God makes the provision on the assumption that every person will be
saved. This includes the provision of a resurrection.
The
question is, since Christ has undone the damage caused by Adam, why is
it that all men are not saved? Since Christ will resurrect all men, why
are not all men to receive eternal life?
When Adam sinned, he
made a choice as to whom he would believe, whom he would worship. His
descendants, although born in a state of sin, also needed to be given
that choice. Through Christ, God provided a life of probation for Adam’s
children during which time He would fill their lives with blessings in
an effort to make His love and His way known to them. Men would be able
to see the need to believe in and to trust in God. In Christ, God would
provide a way that it would be possible to recover from all the effects
of Adam’s sin. But since man’s choice must always be respected, this way
of recovery would only be accessible to those who would believe in
God’s gift in Christ. During this life of probation man would be faced
with this great challenge, to believe God and receive His life in
Christ, or to disbelieve Him as Lucifer and Adam did, and to remain in
the lost life of Adam.
So we see that Adam and his offspring
are faced with similar, but radically different choices. Adam’s natural
state was life. All he had to do was to retain what he already had by
continuing to live in faith. To lose life he had to step into the way of
unbelief. But his offspring’s natural state is death. They only have to
continue to live in unbelief and they will retain death which is
already their natural state. Their challenge is to escape the clasp of
death through faith in Christ.
Those who accept the remedy
will escape the disease, those who reject it will retain the disease and
so, will eventually suffer the second death because Christ’s provision
of resurrection for them will be of no avail while the disease of sin is
still present in them.
A Judgment necessary
But between the first and the second death, a judgment intervenes. What
is the purpose of this judgment? What is the question which it is
intended to settle?
Since not all men choose Christ, there is
the necessity of demonstrating that men either have chosen Christ or
chosen to remain in Adam. At the end, the judgment demonstrates which
choice men have made. Those who believe are not condemned but those who
have not believed retain their condemnation.
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already … (John 3:18)
But the question of whether or not men have believed in Christ is
proven by an examination of mens’ works because true faith always
produces works. If a person has believed in Christ the sure evidence
will be the works which he has done. (Matt. 7:17-20; James 2:17).
Said the Judge, “All will be justified by their faith, and judged by their works.” (Christian Service – 88)
However, though judgment is on the basis of works, the real issue is
not, “what kind of works did I do?” but rather, “am I in Adam or in
Christ.”
So all men go down to death with the question still
to be finally settled: During the time of probation on earth did they
choose Christ or did they choose to remain in Adam?” For those who made a
profession of Christianity during their lifetimes, the question is
settled in a judgment, before Christ returns, for the righteous are not
to be brought back from the dead at the coming of Christ to face an
investigation, but only to experience the joy of eternal life.
Those who never possessed true faith in Christ will also be judged
while dead, but later during the millennium. When they are brought back
to life at the end of the thousand years by the power of Christ, the
evidence has already been examined. All that remains is for them to see
it for themselves.
They are raised to life with Adam’s
condemnation, the seed of sin still in them. They never chose to give up
sin, or to accept the gift of life in Christ. They demonstrated that
Adam’s way was more pleasing to them. Death is still working in them in
spite of their resurrection and inevitably, in spite of Christ’s work
for all men, they must return to death, for they never escaped its
condemnation. If Christ should resurrect them a thousand times they
would return to death every time because the life in them is a dying
life.
In the context of the judgment, in the framework of the
law, they are condemned for their sinful actions. However, the law and
the record of sin have only demonstrated that they never chose Christ,
that they never let go of Adam’s life with its condemnation. This is the
real reason why they must die.
As God finally removes the
restraints by which He had preserved this planet and its inhabitants in
their sinful state, those with sin still in them cannot survive. As
germs cannot live in sunlight, so the wicked and everything which is
sinful, cannot survive God’s unveiled presence and they are destroyed by
the “fire” which comes from God.
By a life of rebellion,
Satan and all who unite with him place themselves so out of harmony with
God that His very presence is to them a consuming fire. The glory of
Him who is love will destroy them. (DA 764)
