The Bible is a mystery until we find the key that opens it. Then the mystery becomes a message. Two words open the Bible to our understanding: life and death.
Death has been a mystery in all ages. Science stands mute in its presence. Philosophy turns poetical upon meeting this enemy. Theology speaks in generalities when attempting to explain it.
The Bible records three kinds of death: spiritual death, physical death, and eternal death, which is being cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8).
Spiritual death came first and then manifested itself in the physical body. God told Adam, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:17). God was referring to spiritual death in this verse. If man had never died spiritually, he would not have died physically.
We have to admit our helplessness and hopelessness. We have to admit that we are lost sinners. Then we can accept what Christ has wrought for us.
Spiritual Death Means Separation From God
Adam became separated from God and united with the devil when he sinned. He became more than a lawbreaker and sinner. Spiritually, he became a child of the devil and partook of his father’s nature.
Man cannot stand in God’s presence as he is because he has the devil’s nature. Man must be saved by someone paying the penalty of sin and by receiving a new nature.
Someone might try turning a mule into a racehorse. You could run the mule around the track every day. But when the gun sounds on race day, he’ll lope down the track! Being a racehorse is not in him.
Yet a racehorse that hasn’t had much training will still take off at the starting line when the gun sounds. He was born to race. For that mule to become a racehorse, he would have to be reborn—and that’s impossible.
Man can be reborn. He can become a new creation in Christ!
Jesus was conceived without the spiritual nature of death in Him. Yet the Bible says that He tasted death for every man (Heb. 2:9).
Jesus took on our sin nature. He “put away sin [not sins] by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb. 9:26). He took on spiritual death that we might have eternal life.
Jesus redeemed us from spiritual death! Adam was banished from the Tree of Life because he rejected God’s Word. But Revelation 2:7 says that all who accept and obey God’s Word are brought back to the Tree of Life.
The New Birth isn’t gradual; it’s instantaneous! It’s a gift from God received the moment we believe.
Ephesians 2:1 says that we who were dead in trespasses and sins have been made alive. Verses 8 and 9 tell us how this happens: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any many should boast.”
“Not of works.” That punctures the balloon of the ego. We can’t do anything to save ourselves.
We have to admit our helplessness and hopelessness. We have to admit that we are lost sinners. Then we can accept what Christ has wrought for us.
Have you passed from spiritual death to spiritual life? Is God your Father? Is His Spirit within you bearing witness that you are His child?
You can answer yes to these questions if you are born again. If you are not born again, accept Jesus as your Savior today!
Faith Nugget
The New Birth
To become a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), you must:
- Recognize you are a sinner—lost, without God, and without hope (Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:12).
- Admit that Jesus died on the cross to save you from sin (John 3:14–17; Rom. 5:8–9).
- Come to God, turning away from sin and confessing Jesus as your Lord—and you shall be born again (John 1:12–13; 3:36; 6:37).
- Believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that God forgave you of your sins and that you are born again (John 5:24; Rom. 10:9–10).
Author
Kenneth E. Hagin
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