THE DOCTRINE OF DEATHS

Introduction: This doctrine is designed to solve the interpretation of problem passages; Lk 9:60 Let the dead bury their own dead.
Jn 11:26 and everyone who believes in Me shall never die.
Lk 15:24 for this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again.
1Co 15:31 I die daily
Jd 12 doubly dead

Note that death involves a separation.

I. Physical death:
A) For the unbeliever, it involves the soul leaving the body (Lk 16:22f) and:
1) torment in hell vs 23-24
2) remembrance of life on earth v 25
3) is permanent v 26
4) emotional as well as physical pain vs 27-28
5) occurs in the midst of temporal pursuits and is unexpected Lk 12:16-21
B) For the believer, it involves:
1) the separation of soul and spirit from the body Ec 12:7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it
2) conscious existence in heaven Phi 1:23-24 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
3) absence of any discomfort (bliss) Rev 21:4 and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain;
4) no judgement, only reward Rm 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
5) full realization of Ph 3 blessing 2Co 4:17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comprehension
6) in the case of martyrs, special blessing and recognition Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!
C) Capital punishment is legitimate and prescribed by God for various offenses. Ex 21:12f
D) Gods place in physical death :
1) He is the ultimate cause Job 34:14-15 If He should determine to do so, If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath, All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust. cp 2Ki 19:35
2) Protection against death lies with God Ps 30:3 O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
3) He determines the time and manner. Mt 27:5 cp Ac 1:18
4) Although He brings physical death to the wicked as punishment for their sins, He would rather that they repent. Eze 33:11 Say to them, As I live! declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live.
5) As applied to the believer:
a) BD removes the fear of death Ps 23:4; 1Th 4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
b) the positive believer is kept alive by grace to attain maturity Ps 119:17 Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word. cp Pr 12:28
c) the reversionistic believer dies the sin unto death, based on unrepentant continued sinning against God 1Jn 5:16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. cp Pr 5:23
d) there is no further opportunity to produce SG3 after physical death Ps 6:5 For there is no mention of You in death; In Sheol who will give You thanks? Heb 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment
e) dying grace has been promised the positive believer Phi 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
f) Church Age believers are promised a special resurrection, distinct from that of believers from other dispensations 1Th 4:14-18
g) the Rapture Generation will not experience physical death 1Th 4:17
II. Spiritual Death:
A) Definition: all men are born physically alive but spiritually dead born without a human spirit (Jd 19), man is separated from God and is dead before Him. Col 2:13 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, cp Rm 5:17
B) Spiritual death began with Adam and was passed on to all mankind 1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die
C) Christ died spiritually on the cross for all men, which provides the potential for salvation Col 1:22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach
D) When the gospel is presented to unregenerate man, Spiritual Death is first made an issue to him; for the first time he realizes that he is separated from God. 2Co 2:14-16
1) death unto death is a reference to those who, because of positive volition, remove themselves from spiritual death via positional death, those who are perishing, (not yet out of their unsaved state, but will soon be so because of the knowledge of Him)
2) life unto life is a reference to those already saved, and moving towards maturity in Ph2 those who are being saved (recipients of EL moving toward life more abundantly)
E) Spiritual death is canceled by the Holy Spirit in the new birth Jn 3:1-7
F) Faith in Christ is the mechanics Jn 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies (PHYSICAL DEATH), and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.(ETERNAL LIFE)
III. The Second Death:
A) Definition : spiritual death is perpetuated in the Lake of Fire for all who reject Christ (Last Judgement) Rev 20:11-15
B) It is for unbelievers only Rev 2:11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.
C) When an unbeliever dies, he is physically dead and destined for the Second Death, and so is said to be, even when alive physically, doubly dead, in the sense that his destiny is set and sure. Jd 12
IV. Temporal Death:
A) Definition: the believer out of fellowship (carnality and/or reversionism) Rm 7:9 I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died;
B) When one sets his mind (mental attitude) on a selfish or self-serving plane, he is therefore separated from God, since he is not thinking Divine Viewpoint but his own. Rm 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
C) Human viewpoint leads to this death, only by Divine Viewpoint can we escape it. Pr 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
D) The Mosaic Law (or any other system of legal works) only identifies what produces this death, it cannot recover from it. Rm 7:10-11 and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me.
E) The solution is the command in Eph 5:14 Awake sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
F) The mechanics are found in 1Jn 1:9, cleansing us from all unrighteousness.
V. Operational Death:
A) Definition: failure to produce Divine Good Rm 6:13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
B) There is no application of Bible Doctrine, no exercise of the believers faith Js 2:17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
C) It means to be a hearer only Js 1:23-24 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
D) This death is distinct from Temporal Death in that one may be in fellowship but refuse to make an application they are therefore separated from DGP.
E) An example is the situation in Js 2:14-17
F) It is possible for a Local Church to be corporately dead Rev 3:1f
VI. Sexual Death:
A) Definition: the inability to have sex and procreate Rm 4:19 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;
B) The parents of John the Baptist are also examples Lk 1:7-18
C) Their sexual prosperity in old age was the result of faith toward the promises of God. Rom 4:17. (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.
D) Sexual death also occurs due to phallic reversionism Pro 5:1-12
VII. Positional Death:
A) Definition: we are identified with Christ in His death on the cross. This death must be understood in the light of Retroactive Positional Truth.
B) Via the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, we share everything Christ is 1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
C) This includes His deaths on the cross Rm 6:1f
D) Our current positional standing is based on our positional death with Christ Col 3:1-3
E) This positional death carries with it a Ph2 application Rm 6:11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
F) Positional death is also known as crucifying the flesh, as in Gal 5:24,(Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires) cp Rm 6:6; Gal 2:20
VIII. Death to Sin:
A) Definition: the isolation of the Sin Nature, a.k.a. the flesh Rm 8:12-13 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die (temporal death); but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
B) The challenge of Positional Death is to die to the Sin Nature Col 2:20-23
C) Following the analogy of Gal 5:24 (crucified the flesh), the Sin Nature does not die easily, quickly, or permanently during the believers life on earth.
IX. The Two Deaths of Christ on the Cross
A) Since death involves a separation, we must be sure to specify which death of Christ saves us by removal of sin.
B) His spiritual death, the separation of His humanity from a relationship with God, was a prerequisite for God the Father to pour out on Him the penalty for sins. Mk 15:34 At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" which is translated, MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?
C) It was at this time, during His spiritual death, that He endured the punishment for our sins. 2Co 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
D) This spiritual death, and the propitiation that accompanied it, is also called the blood of Christ, via the representation of animal sacrifice and the spilling of blood. Heb 9:13-14 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? also cp Lev 17:11a For the life of the flesh is in the blood,
E) His physical death removed Him spiritually from the necessity of adherence to the Mosaic Law, and placed Him (and us RAPT) under the Covenant of Promise. Rm 6:3f