You have heard of the old wanted posters of yesteryear that pictured the heinous criminal and the words Wanted Dead or Alive. If you ever saw such a poster with the inscription Wanted Dead AND Alive you would probably want to report a printer’s error, but in a biblical sense a person might very well be Dead AND Alive at the same time. I’ll explain.
The Bible teaches us that there is both a physical and spiritual side of man. In both realms, a man is either alive or dead. The physical side of man is most easily observed and everyone understands the concept of dead or alive in this realm, but perhaps the spiritual side of man is less familiar. Let’s start with the fact that when God created man, He breathed into His body the “breath of life” and the first man became a living soul. God’s intention was for man to live forever in His presence. “…all things were created by him, and for him: (Colossians 1:16)” When sin entered the picture, in Genesis 3, though still alive physically, man lost His privilege of fellowship with sinless God, and “died” spiritually. From that point, he and all of his descendants are referred to as “dead in trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1)”
God’s Word says, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3)” If eternal life is knowing God and His Son Jesus, then not knowing Him must be eternal death—separation from God for all eternity. So a person can be alive physically and dead spiritually, or he could be alive in both realms.
If you understand that you are spiritually dead because of sin, and separated from God, you will be encouraged to know that it is possible to be “Born Again” (John 3) in the spiritual realm and be restored to God as part of His eternal family. I’m sure, to some this will sound absurd, but because your eyes and heart have been fixed for so long on the physical, most anything that you might hear of the eternal realm will require a step of faith. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)” To ignore what God has said would be foolish.