The wages of sin is death. -- Romans 6:23 You were bought with a price. -- 1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23. 1 Timothy 2:5- For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2:6- who gave himself as a ransom [offsetting price; price to correspond] for all; the testimony in its own times.
There are many who claim that Adam would have died physically anyway had he not sinned, and that the condemnation for sin was not physical death, but rather that it was spiritual death. What to the scriptures actually show?
First, we note that the phrase "spiritual death" does not appear in the Bible. Thus the idea of "spiritual death" has to be assumed. Of course, the advocates of the "spiritual death" for the wages of sin theory do have some scriptures that they present to allegedly support their doctrine. While we hope, Yahweh willing, to address those scriptures separately, at present we are going to demonstrate that the wages of sin was not spiritual death. How can we do this?
It is a simple matter to determine what kind of death is the wages of sin by means of the kind of death that Jesus suffered in order to pay the wages of sin. The price that Jesus gave was to offset the result of the condemnation through Adam. -- Romans 5:18; 1 Timothy 2:5,6; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22.
Examining the scriptures, what do we find? What kind of offering for sin did Jesus provide so as to pay the wages of sin, to correspond to the condemnation by means of Adam?
We find that Jesus gave his blood in sacrifice.
Matthew 26:28 – for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins.
Mark 14:24 – He said to them, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many.
Luke 22:20 – He took the cup in like manner after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, that which is poured out for you.
Acts 20:28 – Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which he obtained with the blood of his own Son. – Revised Standard Version.
Romans 5:9 – Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him.
Ephesians 1:7 – in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.
However, what does blood represent? Does it represent a spiritual death? Did Jesus in some manner offer his blood spiritually, not physically, for sin?
Leviticus 17:11 – For the life [Hebrew, nephesh - soul] of the flesh is in the blood.
Deuteronomy 12:23 – The blood is the life [Hebrew, nephesh - soul].
Thus, Jesus' blood represents Jesus' physical existence, his soul, as a human being.
What does the human soul consist of? The human soul consists of the body made from the dust of the ground and the neshamah, activated by spirit of life as received from God. — Genesis 2:7.
Did Jesus offer that human soul as a sacrifice? Yes, Jesus sacrificed his human soul:
Matthew 20:28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life [soul] as a ransom [price to offset] for many.
Isaiah 53:12 He poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. -- [Italics added for emphasis]
Since the body of dust is a part of the soul, does this mean that Jesus also sacrificed his body, his flesh, in paying the wages of sin? Yes, Jesus did sacrifice his human body:
Hebrews 10:10 by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 10:11 Every priest indeed stands day by day ministering and often offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins,
Hebrews 10:12 but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
Hebrews 10:13 henceforth expecting until his enemies to be made the footstool of his feet.
Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.
Luke 22:19 He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and gave to them, saying, “This is *my body which is given [as an offering in sacrifice to God - Ephesians 5:2; Hebrews 9:14] for you*. Do this in memory of me.”
Do any of these scriptures seem to indicate that the wages of sin or the offering that Jesus gave for sin is spiritual, and not physical?
Jesus died; he was totally dead, ceased to be sentient, else there has been no ransom and he failed to pay the wages of sin. His body was given in sacrifice. (Hebrews 10:10; Luke 22:19) Jesus’ soul — his sentiency — was given in sacrifice (Ecclesiastes 9:5) and went into sheol, where there is no work, device, knowledge or wisdom, and wherein one cannot give thanks to, or praise to, Yahweh. (Isaiah 53:12; Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; Ecclesiastes 9:10; Psalm 6:5; Isaiah 38:18) Jesus’ human blood — which represents his human soul/being (Leviticus 17:11; Deuteronomy 12:23) — was given in sacrifice. (Mark 14:24; Acts 20:28; Hebrews 9:14) Thus his soul — his being — as raised, made alive, from the oblivious condition of sheol is no longer human, but spirit.
Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. -- 1 Peter 3:18.
Did Jesus suffer a spiritual death for sins once, or did he suffer a physical death? Was Jesus, in suffering for sin, put to death in the spirit, or was he put to death in the flesh?
Romans 5:6 - For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
Did Jesus die a spiritual death for the ungodly, or did he die a physical death? Does this read: "At the right time Christ died spiritually for the ungodly?" If he died spiritually for the ungodly, how did he die spiritually?
Romans 5:8 - But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Christ died spiritually for the saints?
Romans 5:9 - Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God's wrath through him.
The saints in this age are reckoned (Greek transliterated: logizomai, Strong's #3049; Romans 4:3,5,6,9-11,22-24; 6:11; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23) as justified, being so reckoned in that God calls things that are not as though they were. (Romans 4:17; see also Luke 20:38) Are they thus reckoned as justified by means of a spiritual sacrifice, or are they reckoned as justified by the physical blood of Jesus that he poured out for sin?
Romans 5:10 - For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we will be saved by his life.
Are the saints reckoned as reconciled through a "spiritual" death of Jesus, or are they reconciled through the death of Jesus' whole humanity, his soul, his body, his flesh, etc.?
We believe the only conclusion as demonstrated by these scriptures is that the wages of sin, the result of the condemnation in Adam, is not spiritual death, but rather it is actual physical death.
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