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In the beginning, God planted, in the midst of the garden of Eden. the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told Adam that if he ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die in the day that he ate of it. (It's an interesting side note that Eve was not yet created when Adam was given this command.)
Genesis 2:16-17 "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But 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." (KJV)
What, exactly, does this mean? How was he to die? We know, from scripture, that he lived many years after eating of the forbidden fruit. We, also, know that whatever type of death Adam incurred was passed down to all men.
Romans 5:12 (KJV) "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:"
Romans 5:15 (KJV) "...For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
1 Cor. 15:21-22 (KJV) "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."
As seen, above, death passed upon all men. It is also apparent that Jesus Christ came to pay the penalty for the sin of Adam and, hence, the sin of all men. In Adam, we die but, in Christ, we are made alive. Adam incurred the curse of death for the broken law but Jesus came to redeem us from the curse.
Galatians 3:13 (KJV) "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
The death penalty for sin must meet two criteria: (1) It must be the final punishment for sin and (2) Christ must have redeemed us from that penalty. If death were the penalty for sin from which Christ has redeemed us, then redeemed man should never die. Correct? To be sure, Jesus taught that to accept him was to avoid death, altogether.
John 8:51 (KJV) "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death."
How could it be that man would never see death since it can't be avoided that all men die? Clearly, physical death must not be what Jesus was referring to in the above verse. To gain a better understanding of what it meant for Adam to die on the day that he ate of the fruit and what Jesus meant by saying man would never die, let's take a look at the three main types of death that a man can suffer.
Physical death
It is helpful to understand death as a separation. Physical death occurs when the spirit is separated from the body, leaving the body lifeless.
James 2:26 (KJV) "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
We know that this did not happen to Adam the day that he ate of the fruit. Physical death was a later indirect consequence of Adam's sin but only because he was driven from the garden before he could eat of the tree of life and live forever in a sinful state (Genesis 3:22-24). We must keep in mind the difference between the penalty for sin and the indirect consequence of sin.
We also know that Jesus did not redeem us from physical death or else those whom he redeemed would not physically die. Furthermore, if physical death were the penalty for sin, then the penalty would be paid at the moment of physical death. There would be no justification for further punishment. Once the penalty is paid, there is no more penalty. If physical death paid the debt for the crime of sin, why would we be judged after the crime was paid for at our physical death? Yet, the Bible teaches that we are judged after death.
Hebrews 9:27 (KJV) "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"
So, physical death is not the curse of the broken law from which Christ came to redeem us and it is not the curse Adam incurred as a result of eating of the forbidden tree. It does not satisfy the two main criteria set forth above.
Spiritual death
Again, understanding death as a separation, spiritual death occurs when man is separated from God because of sin but is still alive, physically.
Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."
1 Tim. 5:6 "But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth."
Matthew 8:22 "But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead."
Certainly, Adam was separated, spiritually, from God because of his sin. But was this the type of death to which God referred as the penalty for sin? Again, we must understand the difference between the penalty for sin and the results of sin. When one is redeemed from the penalty of sin, he can, also, enjoy relief from some of the results of sin. So, is spiritual death the penalty for sin or a result of sin? Does it meet the criteria of (1) being the final punishment for sin and (2) man being redeemed from the penalty by Christ? Well, it appears to meet one of those two. We see in scripture that Christ's sacrifice had the result of making dead people live.
Ephesians 2:1 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;"
Ephesians 2:5 "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)"
We see, also, that Christ's sacrifice caused separated man to be reconciled to God.
Col. 1:21 "And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled:"
Romans 5:10 "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
2 Cor. 5:18 "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;"
Yet, if spiritual death were the penalty for sin, then the penalty would be paid by man being spiritually dead. Hence, there should be no more penalty for sin beyond being spiritually separated from God. If we die, physically, while being spiritually dead, why are we yet judged after death? Clearly, being spiritually dead does not pay the penalty for sin.
Eternal death
Eternal death is eternal separation from God in the lake of fire. The book of Revelation calls this the second death.
Rev. 20:14-15 "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
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."
This penalty occurs after one has died spiritually and physically. Again, if dying spiritually and physically were the penalties for sin for which Christ died to redeem man, then it would be unjust to penalize man further with the second or eternal death. It is from this eternal death that man is redeemed.
Rev. 2:11 "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death."
And how does one overcome? By the blood of the Lamb which he shed at the cross on Calvary.
Rev. 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony..."
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
If everlasting life were the result of being redeemed, it stands to reason that everlasting death was what man was redeemed from. We conclude, then, that when Adam sinned, he incurred the penalty of eternal death or eternal separation from God. The penalty of eternal death meets both criteria. This is the penalty from which Christ came to redeem mankind and this is the final punishment that satisfies the debt of sin. There is no punishment beyond the second or eternal death.The penalty was paid by Christ but we must believe and accept it by faith. If we refuse to believe and accept it, then we must pay the penalty, ourself. One way or another, the penalty must be paid.
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