Summary:

When God told Adam and Eve they would “die,” He was referring to the curse of spiritual death. After being separated from God, in the Garden of
Eden, man became the slave of sin and death.


A. The first curse to come upon man, as a result of disobeying God, was the curse of spiritual death (Genesis 2:17).

1. Spiritual death is separation from God and His provision (Genesis 3:22-24).

a. Death was not originally part of God’s plan for man.

b. Physical death is an enemy of God and man (1 Corinthians 15:26).

B. You are a tri-part being—a spirit who possesses a soul and lives in a physical body (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

1. Your soul is where your mind, will, and emotions reside (your thinker, feeler, and chooser).

a. It is important to renew your mind with the Word of God so you can fully benefit from your reborn spirit.

b. Your renewed mind is able to hear from God more clearly, through your reborn spirit.

C. An illustration of what happens when we die can be found in Luke 16:19-31.

1. When a person dies, his or her spirit and soul go to their eternal home.

2. Jesus explained what happened to a particular rich man and a beggar when they both died (Luke 16:19-31).

a. The beggar, Lazarus, was taken by angels to Abraham’s bosom.

b. The rich man went to Hell.

c. The rich man could still feel things; he remembered his life on Earth.

d. After physical death, we will have a spiritual body, and our soul will still be intact.

D. There are three types of death from which we have been redeemed.

1. Spiritual death (separation from God).

a. When Adam and Eve listened to Satan, he became their spiritual father.

b. Man became united with Satan and was driven from the Garden, with no legal grounds to approach God.

c. Man no longer responded to God but only to his new, evil nature adopted from Satan.

d. In this state, man is nothing more than a transgressor, law breaker, or sinner; he partakes of the very nature of Satan.

e. For example, the Pharisees were heartless and very religious; Jesus called them children of the devil (John 8:44).

2. Physical death (the separation of the spirit from the body).

3. Eternal death (what happens when a person’s spirit is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone for eternity).

E. Why do we need Jesus?

1. We had to be saved by someone who was willing to pay the price so we could have a new nature.

a. Since we are spirit beings, we can be reborn.

b. When we are born again, we allow Jesus to come into our lives so that we can receive a new nature.

2. The Rebirth

a. Jesus Christ did not have the nature of Satan (John 5:26).

b. Therefore, he took our nature of sin and death and gave us the nature of God (Hebrews 2:9).

c. We must not take credit for our salvation; our good works cannot save us (Ephesians 2:8-9).

d. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can become God’s children again (Romans 8:14-16).


Scripture References:

  • Genesis 2:17
  • Genesis 3:22-24
  • 1 Corinthians 15:26
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:23
  • Luke 16:19-31
  • John 8:44
  • John 5:26
  • Hebrews 2:9
  • Ephesians 2:8,9
  • Romans 8:14-16