spiritual death is separation from God

At first blush, “spiritual death” may seem to be a nebulous academic theological term, difficult to comprehend, and of little practical value. It is a theological term all right, but it’s neither nebulous nor difficult to comprehend, and understanding it is of practical value in our daily lives as we move among and relate to the lost. Just as we need clarity in knowing who the lost are, we need clarity in knowing the meaning and significance of their condition of spiritual death.

So far I’ve described spiritual death as being separated from God, and therefore unable to relate to, understand, or fellowship with him. God isn’t flesh and blood, but spirit. We relate to him, and he to us, spiritually. The lost can’t relate to God because they have no spiritual connection with him; that’s why we say they are spiritually dead. It’s analogous to the blind having no link with the visual world, or the deaf having no link with the auditory world.

The lost have no spiritual link with God because they are tainted by sin, something God cannot abide. God has provided a means for them to remove the sin barrier, faith in Jesus Christ, but they reject it. As long as they reject Christ the barrier will remain and they will have no spiritual link with God.

Jesus confirmed the truth that man’s link with God is spiritual when he was speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:5-28). During the conversation she commented about the disagreement between the Jews and the Samaritans over where people should worship. Was it at the Samaritan Temple on nearby Mount Gerazim, or at the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem?

In essence, Jesus said she misunderstood the nature of worship. It wasn’t dependent on a physical location but was based on a spiritual connection. As part of his answer he said:

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”(John 4:24)

Notice how Jesus linked “spirit” and “truth” together. The specific meaning of his statement that God must be worshipped in truth is uncertain. In the context of his conversation with the Samaritan women he may have been referring to the “true” Jewish faith as compared the Samaritan religion’s apostasy. Or, he may have been referring to the need for true heartfelt worship, as compared to meaningless ritual.

Regardless of Jesus’ specific meaning in the above verse, the link between God and truth is one that is found throughout the Bible. It also speaks to the first of two major points regarding the practical outworking of spiritual death on the spiritual state of the lost, points we need to understand as we interact with them. It’s that since the lost are unable to understand or accept truth they lead lives based on lies.