In this three part series, we will explore what the Bible teaches about humanity’s great enemy—death. In the first study, “The First Death”, we seek to understand death as defined by God’s Word, how it entered the world, and how it should shape every Christian’s mind.
What is death?
People from different cultures and believe systems answer this question in varying ways.
Materialists believe that all reality is physical; thus, human existence ends entirely at death. This worldview denies the existence of the human spirit.
Scripture, however, teaches that humanity is composed of both body and spirit. “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7). The union of body and spirit produced a living being; the separation of the two is death.
Scripture says in Ecclesiastes 12:7 that when a person dies, the body returns to the earth, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. James also reminds us in James 2:26 that the body apart from the spirit is dead.
How death entered the world
In Genesis we read that God created man and put him in the garden of Eden. He gave him access to eat of every tree in the garden. All but for one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:16-17).
God did not give Adam the reason why he didn’t want him to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but His command was clear, disobedience would bring death (Gen 2:17).
When Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree (Gen 3:6), sin entered the world and thus death followed. This death was both physical and spiritual—the beginning of humanity’s separation from God. All of Adam’s descendants die. “Just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12). Death became man’s enemy, every man dies. This is the first death. The seperation of the spirit from the body is the first death.
The Lie that Led to Death
Adam and Eve not only lost access to the tree of life, but also to all the other trees in the garden from which they previously freely ate. Satan attempts to make us reach for things which have been put out our reach for our own good, while skipping over the good things that have been freely given to us. The devil is a liar, part-truths are still complete lies.
The lie from Satan was that man would be like God, even though man had already been made “Imago Dei”, after the likeness of God (Gen 1:26). God had put in Adam and Eve enough of His own attributes that He perceived sufficient for man to have. But Satan convinced them that what had been forbidden was better than what they already had. They bought the lie, Adam and Eve wanted to be like God to know good and evil. But that is not all there is to God. Yes they now had the knowledge they craved for but they were still far short of being like God in all aspects. They were still God’s creation, unlike God who is not anyone’s creation. They were not omnipresent, omnipotent or omniscient like God. And they were certainly not immortal like God.
Why death?
Adam & Eve were created mortal, sustained by God’s provision through the tree of life to “live forever”. God alone has immortality (1 Tim 6:16). After Adam and Eve sinned, God said, ““Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever .” Therefore, the Lord sent Adam and Eve out of the garden” (Gen 3:22-24).
God could have let Adam and Eve stay in the garden of Eden and have access to the tree of life after they sinned. But then man would live forever in shame in a fallen world without reprieve. God’s act of driving them out was both judgment and mercy. To ensure this, God placed a cherubim with a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life. Without access to the tree of life from which to eat, man could not live forever. Adam and his descedants were destined to die the first death. The first death is God’s mercy that prevents humanity from enduring forever in a fallen world. And as we will see later, for Christians, the first death is also the leaving behind of our sinful flesh.
Death compared to sleep
Scripture often describes death as “sleep,” emphasizing its temporary nature for the believer. Speaking of his friend Lazarus who had died, Jesus said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” (John 11:11). The disciplles didn’t understand Jesus’ metaphor of death. Jesus had spoken of Lazarus’ death but they thought He meant Lazarus was taking rest in sleep. “Then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died (John 11:14).”
Paul echoes this metaphor when he gives an account of the ressurected Jesus. He says, “After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep” (1 Cor 15:6). In a vision, Daniel foresaw the resurrection of those who “sleep in the dust” (Dan 12:2).
Where do Christians Go after the first death?
Apostle Paul is confident that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8) and in Phil 1:21-23, he says his desire was to die and be with Christ. Since Christ sits at the right hand of God (Luke 22:69, Col 3:1, Rom 8:31, Heb 10:11, 1 Pe 3:22), believers who die the first death enter into His presence in heaven.
Not everyone Dies the first death
Hebrews 9:27 says that it is appointed for man to die once, however, from scriptures we learn that there are those who did not die and those who will not die the first death.
Enoch was taken up and did not see death (Heb 11:5) while Elijah went up alive by whirlwind into heaven (2 Ki 2:11). These are the only ones recorded in Scripture to not have died the first death.
Scriptures tell of others who won’t taste the first death, they will be “caught up” to be with Christ.
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words (1 Thess 4:13-18).”
Believers who will be alive at the Parousia (the second coming of Christ), will be caught up to be with the Lord without going through the first death.
No fear of the first death
Christians ought not fear the first death. Proverbs 14:32 says “The righteous finds refuge in his death” and in Revelation 14:13, we are told, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” This should bring hope to believers of Jesus Christ. But why? In the second part we will learn that the first death is defeated.
