Can God Die?

“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.” -John 10: 17

Recently while I was preaching the good news one of my friends asked me, “Can God die? God is supposed to be immortal, right? Why does Christianity present a God who died?” I thought for a while and felt a little embarrassed because this question although a very simple one seemed to be very difficult to answer. I did not know where to start. Yet, I was overwhelmed by the fact that Christianity had survived a little over twenty centuries despite this great contradiction which makes it look absurd to anyone who thinks logically. In hind-sight this question seems to puzzle us but history testifies to the fact that every new thing or discovery that at first baffled human mind was a gateway to novel ideas and surpassingly great revelations. We can hence be certain that the idea of ‘God dying on a cross in order to save mankind’ also has some deep spiritual mystery behind it. This chapter is an attempt to uncover some of it.

In my reply I told my friend that I had some more questions in my mind that would make his argument look even stronger, “Can God cry for help? Does God need a spiritual son or partner in order to carry out his eternal plans for the whole creation? And above all, “Why did God need a human birth to ensure the salvation of mankind?” I began to answer his question by asking him to view things from God’s perspective.

God created human beings and placed them in a garden commanding them to take care of it. At that time they could communicate with God directly because while in the garden human beings were fully aware of their own spiritual reality. By spiritual reality I mean to say that they knew they are spirit beings. How many of us are born with a realization that we are spirit beings and not just physical bodies? In fact, we start thinking about our spiritual existence only when others begin to point it to us. Why is it so? The Bible says that this is because we are spiritually dead due to sin. How and where did this sin originate? From the Bible we understand that sin originated when mankind rebelled against God.

God had told them that they would die if they ate the forbidden fruit, but they still went on to eat it and as we all know they did not die physically; they died spiritually and hence lost the awareness of their being spirit-beings. This is evident from the fact that man felt ashamed of his nakedness only after committing the act and never before it. The resultant spiritual death that passed on from generation to generation is the reason why we are born without spiritual awareness. We all know and believe that God loves mankind, wants to restore this spiritual awareness in to us and thereby save us from eternal death in hell. But again, why should God become a human being for this purpose? Can’t He who can do everything that He wants to do choose to forgive people for their sins arbitrarily? Let us examine.

God is righteous and just. He cannot leave any sin unpunished. Therefore, he needs to punish sin but at the same time (because he loves us) He wants to exonerate the sinners. How can he do both these things? One way that we would suggest is for God to change his laws. But, if He does so he would be contradicting his own nature. So he has introduced a new way such that he doesn’t have to change his laws or contradict his nature. He has brought in the system of redemption through sacrifice.

At first he commanded people to sacrifice animals for the forgiveness of their sins. In the Torah, God revealed through Prophet Moses the idea behind the sin offerings for the forgiveness of sins. “If the citizens of Israel do something forbidden by the Lord, they will be guilty of sin. When they become aware of their sin, they must bring as their offering a goat with no physical defects. They are to lay a hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it. The priest will then offer the sacrifice to the Lord. In this way, the priest will make atonement for them and they will be forgiven.” (Leviticus 4: 27-31) The idea was that the sin to be atoned for was transferred from the transgressors to the offering when they laid their hands on it. And the sacrificed animal which has now become a carrier of the sins was punished (killed) instead of the transgressor. As the sins were punished in the body of the animal, the sinners could now be pardoned for their transgressions. Everyone knows that a law breaker cannot stand bail for another law breaker. Similarly, the animals without physical defects symbolized the logic that the one who takes up the defect (sin) should not be of any defect.

But any man who thinks will assert, “What is the logic in punishing innocent animals for the sins of wicked human beings?” Even God is concerned about this statement, but unfortunately there is no one in the entire human race who is completely free from any spiritual defect because we all are dead spiritually due to sin. God knew that since no man qualifies for the act, He himself should take on a human nature, totally identify with us – except for not rebelling in sin and become a sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, He took on a human nature as the One who has revealed the mystery of God to human eyes, the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. God entered time and space, matter and energy, as a weak, poor human baby, lived a common-yet-sinless life and died as a rejected good man to pay the penalty for human sins.

Though He was God, He did not demand and cling to His rights as God. He made himself nothing; He took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. He appeared to be so weak that he cried on the cross because for his sacrifice to be acceptable he needed to identify with humanity in every way. He was oppressed and afflicted yet He did not open his mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers ever so silent. He did not rebel or curse but became obedient to death – even death on a cross.

He was wounded and crushed for our sins; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him. In the Gospel according to St. John, John the Baptist, the last prophet of the Old Testament said to his disciples, “Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  (John 1: 29) He said this about Jesus Christ. Jesus became the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of mankind. For a sacrifice to be acceptable to God the lamb to be offered should be free from all defects. Jesus, being born of a virgin and having lived a sinless life, was free from all spiritual defects so that the criteria of the sacrificial lamb could be fulfilled in Him. He is the savior of the world!

Jesus Christ died and was buried. But, of course, how could death and destruction hold God the Creator? It couldn’t, so in power he rose to a new life and offers that to his Creation: “Be reconciled”. “And, again, in weakness, he entrusts this good news and the message about reconciliation to his human followers, to pass on to all his creatures by the testimony of our lives and words.”

I believe that this explains why God needed a human birth, a sinless life, helpless cries and finally death on a cross to ensure the salvation of mankind. God who cannot die chose to die because he loved us so much. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Even now, some people might argue why couldn’t God who is capable of doing anything even if it means changing his own laws, decrees and ways forgive mankind directly without a sacrifice? Well, I would prefer to answer this question with a counter question, “Will God who is infinitely merciful forgive Satan if he were to ask for it?” If the answer is “no”, I ask, “why so?” Some people suggest that God in his foreknowledge knows that Satan will not ask for forgiveness. Others think that God has created Satan in such a way that he can never ask for forgiveness. Still others believe that Satan cannot ask for forgiveness because God who is in control of everything doesn’t allow him to do so.

If we were to believe any of the above statements, then it would be a direct contradiction to God’s characteristic of Righteousness. How can a righteous God who is always ready to forgive the sins of people punish Satan for his sins without even giving him an opportunity to repent? If God were to forgive everyone who asked for it directly (that is without a sacrifice/ mediator) he would certainly be obliged to forgive Satan as well. But the fact remains that God doesn’t want to forgive Satan. So, we have another problem before us. God in His love wants to forgive mankind but if he does so directly that is, without a sacrifice he would be risking an opportunity for Satan to repent.

We all know that God having decreed Satan’s punishment the moment he sinned doesn’t want to change His statement as that would mean He is contradicting His own nature. So how can God offer an opportunity for mankind to repent but deny it to Satan at the same time?

Jesus Christ is God’s answer to this question. Jesus died to pay the penalty for only human sins (as he was born as a human being) and not for the sins of angels. Only people can claim the forgiveness through his sacrifice. Satan being an angel has no right to partake in it. So through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God has chosen to forgive mankind and denied Satan the opportunity to repent. I believe that this explains the logic behind the need for a sacrifice.

All people are born sinners. They try to escape the punishment by their righteous works. But just as a murderer is not left unpunished in our civil society irrespective of the numerous righteous acts that he might have done in the past or may do in the future, our righteous works cannot cleanse the stain of our sins. The only way out for sinful mankind is dependence on God’s loving-kindness and mercy that He has expressed through the sacrifice of His only begotten son on a cross.

Do you want the forgiveness of your sins through Jesus Christ?

If you repent for your sins and receive Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of your life, God will cleanse your conscience with the blood of Jesus, forgive your sins and fill you with His Holy Spirit. He will come inside you and remain with you forever. You will become a spiritual child of God. He will write your name in the “Book of Life” in Heaven. You will be assured of eternal life.

If you believe this message I exhort you to say the following prayer with all your heart. “Lord Jesus I am a sinner. I repent for my sins and believe that you died on a cross to save me. Please forgive me and cleanse my conscience with your precious blood. I receive you in my heart as my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you for coming into my heart and making me your child. Amen!”

If you have prayed sincerely, God has forgiven your sins. You are united with Him and have become His spiritual child. He has written your name in the ‘Lamb’s Book of Life’ in heaven and you have received eternal life. The Bible also promises all spiritual children of God a complete redemption of their physical bodies when Christ returns from heaven.

Written By: Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore

Copyright © 2012 Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore

http://shalomchristianministry.org/