By Kathryn Wright

Introduction

Many words and expressions fall under the category of “Christianese.” The way believers talk and the stock phrases we use to describe Biblical truth are often so rote that they become like a second language. Often, however, these sayings are rooted, not in Biblical terminology, but in our traditions. This is not always a bad thing, but it is important that we distinguish between Biblical terms and man-made expressions. Our words matter, and we sometimes elevate our pet expressions above the Bible text. Unfortunately, this can influence the way we interpret Scripture.

For example, the word dead in a Bible text automatically conjures up certain concepts in the minds of most Evangelicals. This is partially due to the commonly used phrase, spiritually dead. For many, these words carry significant theological meaning. It might surprise many Evangelicals to learn that this phrase never occurs in the Bible. Nevertheless, it is so commonly used in churches, commentaries, and theological discussions, that many assume it does.

Since it has become a part of our Christian language, it might be helpful to take a closer look at it.

THE DEAD UNBELIEVER

What does spiritually dead mean, and is it a Biblical concept? Most define the unbeliever as being spiritually dead. These are people who have not yet received eternal life and thus are headed to the lake of fire. Indeed, the Bible does describe the unbeliever as dead. For example, in Eph 2:1-2, unbelievers are described as “dead in their trespasses and sins.” John also describes the Great White Throne judgment as dealing exclusively with the judgment of the dead (Rev 20:12-15). These are unbelievers; their names are not found in the Book of Life. A contrast is made between the dead and those found in the Book of Life. However, even in this context, the term dead refers to those who are still physically in the grave until they are brought before the Lord. They are dead in the sense that they were not raised with those who were resurrected (v. 5). It is not necessarily inappropriate to say that the unbeliever is dead if, by that, we mean that he doesn’t possess eternal life. That said, this is not always the meaning of dead, even when describing unbelievers.

This raises the question: Does the Bible use the term dead only about the unregenerate? I would like to offer three examples of the Bible’s using dead to refer to believers.

THE DEAD SON

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, found in Luke 15:11-32, the word dead is used to describe the lost son before he returns home. The father, while speaking to the older son, states:

“It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found” (Luke 15:32).

This parable, so often mistakenly used in evangelism, is actually directed toward believers. It deals with the need for a sinning child/believer to repent of their sins and return home. In other words, this parable deals with discipleship truths. The prodigal son was always a son, even when he was living with the pigs. Thus, the father’s reference to his son’s being dead cannot mean that he is unregenerate. The father speaks of an experiential death resulting from the son’s being out of fellowship with him. The son had squandered his inheritance, came to be in want, and was living in squalor.

This pictures the experience of a believer who is not abiding with the Father. It is an experience full of ruin. Unrepentant believers are metaphorically walking in death when they are not abiding with the Father.

THE DEAD WIDOW

In Chapter 5 of Paul’s first letter to Timothy, the apostle makes this statement regarding certain widows:

“But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.” 1 Tim 5:6

This is a curious statement. Immediately preceding this, the apostle has described godly widows who trust in the Lord and pray daily. They are to be financially supported by the church. By contrast, the widows who are living in pleasure are excluded from receiving aid. The phrase lives in pleasure describes a person who lives a self-indulgent lifestyle.

Mounce comments:

“In contrast to the godly widow, who is alone and has set her hope on God (v 5), those widows who live not for God but for pleasure, who even though they are physically alive, are spiritually dead (a “living corpse”)… should not be supported by the church.” (Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, Word Biblical Commentary, p. 282; emphasis added.)

Mounce uses the phrase spiritually dead to describe this widow and sees her as unregenerate. Towner would agree with this interpretation, saying:

“This widow’s glamorous outward appearance paradoxically conceals a profound state of inward spiritual death. Implicitly, in contrast to the real widow, this woman, whose membership in the church is uncertain, should receive no support from the church, nor should she expect any.” (Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, p. 342: emphasis added.)

While the apostle uses the term dead, the assumption that this refers to a spiritually dead unbeliever (one who does not have eternal life) is unsupported. Once again, it should be noted that the apostle doesn’t use this phrase. It is interpolated due to tradition.

Furthermore, the apostle is dealing with financial aid within the church. The assertion that the worldly widow’s membership in the church is in question cannot be supported. Paul never questions her membership. He doesn’t even suggest that the local church excommunicate such a widow. The issue is the woman’s lifestyle, not her regeneration. In developing their interpretations, Mounce and Towner seem unaware of the possibility that believers can live for pleasure (Luke 8:14; 2 Tim 4:10).

Paul is saying that godly widows in the church should be supported, while self-indulgent widows in the church should not. That the latter group is still within the church body is not in question. The issue is whether they should be given financial aid. This is a discussion about support, not about identifying their status as recipients of eternal life.

The woman Paul describes is one who, in her experience, is dead. Like the prodigal son, the believing widow who squanders money and fulfills fleshly desires is one who, in her experience, walks in death.

THE DEAD APOSTLE

A third example of a believer’s being described as dead is found in another of Paul’s epistles. This time, Paul describes his own experience. In Rom 7:9, Paul states:

I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.

Once again, tradition often comes into play in interpreting this passage. Due to his description of being dead, many assume that Paul is describing his life before salvation. Many commentators assume that Paul is referring to his “spiritual death” prior to coming to faith in Jesus for eternal life. We see here how our traditional use of terminology can impact our interpretation of God’s Word.

This common interpretation is contextually inconsistent. Paul first asserts that he was alive once. This is not a transformation from death to life, which would describe an unbeliever’s coming to faith (John 5:24). It is the opposite. Paul is describing a transition from life to death. Specifically, he is discussing what happened to him as a believer who fell into legalism.

In Romans 7, Paul has been dealing with the role of the Law in his Christian experience. He sought to live the Christian life by the Law and failed. Once he attempted to live by the Law, he experientially died in his legalism,

Hodges comments:

“The material in 7:1-25 is therefore personal material that Paul draws from his own experience with the law. Moreover, as the content of this experience clearly shows, this must necessarily have been his Christian experience with the law, not the experience of his unregenerate days…It is also an example of the reluctance in some quarters to take at face value the NT testimony about the struggles and failures of real-life Christian experience.” (Hodges, Romans: Deliverance from God’s Wrath, p. 192; emphasis added).

In summary, just as the prodigal son and the self-indulgent widow were experientially walking in death, the legalistic believer also experiences death in his Christian life. This is true even though he has eternal life.

Conclusion

We can learn several lessons from this study.

First, the meaning of Biblical words must be determined by their context. Bob Wilkin wrote a book, The Ten Most Misunderstood Words in the Bible, addressing this issue. It is available from the GES bookstore. Words like saved, judgment, and dead require the Bible student to seek their meaning from the context and not assume that a word’s meaning is the same throughout the Bible.

Second, our traditions can cause us to pigeonhole Biblical words and terms. Assumptions are made without considering surrounding factors. We must be open to the possibility that the traditional understanding of words can be wrong. We should be willing to set aside our tradition when evidence of such an error is shown.

Finally, this study discusses the danger of adding words to the text. Since the phrases spiritual death or spiritually dead never occur in the Bible, they should be used with care. If we use them, we must explain what we mean. Hopefully, this article demonstrates that we can confuse people if we don’t.

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Kathryn Wright and her husband, Dewey, live in Columbia, SC. She is the GES missions coordinator, women’s conference speaker, writer, and Zoom teacher.