Dead (3498)(nekros from nékus/nekys = a corpse > English - necropsy, necromancy, necrosis, necrophobia, necrophilia, etc) literally describes that which is devoid of life, that which is in the condition in which breath and all vital functions have ceased (Acts 20:9). Nekros means deprived of vital force. Lifeless. As discussed below nekros can refer to literal or figurative death as well as spiritual versus physical death, distinctions which can usually easily be discerned by examining the context of the passage.
While nekros is strictly speaking an adjective, it is used predominantly as a noun in both a literal and figurative sense.
Keep in mind that one of the ideas inherent with death is "separation" and so when Paul says the Ephesians were "dead" in their trespasses and sins, he is in effect describing their spiritual separation from God. In Jn 5:24 Jesus describes that the result of faith in God (and Christ) is that such persons have "passed out of death into life," and in effect ended the gulf between sinful man and holy God. There is no longer separation from God (spiritual death), because they are now spiritually alive.
Nekros often refers to resurrection from the dead (Mt 10:8, 11:5, 14:2, 17:9, 22:31-32, 27:64, Mt 28:7, Mk 6:14, 9:9, 12:25-26, etc).
Richards - In the Greek culture, nekros conveyed the idea that the dead has become mere matter. Whatever it was that had made the corpse a person and animated the body was gone. The dead had reached that final state that destiny has decreed for all people. It is striking to see how nekros is used in the NT. In over half of the 133 times it is found it is linked with affirmations of resurrection. The NT triumphantly announces concerning Jesus that "God raised him from the dead" (Ac 13:30); but it goes on to promise that there is resurrection ahead for us as well (1 Co 15:12-52). Human beings are more than mere matter! (Expository Dictionary)
Nekros (Louw - Nida) = pertaining to being utterly useless, with the implication of total lack of purport (Heb 9:14); Ineffective, powerless, pertaining to being unable to respond (Eph 2:5 - Ed: Spiritually dead - unable to respond to matters relating to God because we were spiritually dead)
Jesus condemned the Pharisees as "like whitewashed tombs full of dead men's bones." (Mt 23:27) The guards at the tomb "became like dead men." (Mt 28:4)
Vine - Nekros is used of (a) the death of the body, cf. 26" class="scriptRef">Jas. 2:26, its most frequent sense: (b) the actual spiritual condition of unsaved men, Mt. 8:22; 5.25" class="scriptRef">John 5:25; Eph. 2:1, 5; 5:14; Phil. 3:11; Col. 2:13; cf. Luke 15:24: (c) the ideal spiritual condition of believers in regard to sin, Ro 6:11: (d) a church in declension, inasmuch as in that state it is inactive and barren, Rev. 3:1: (e) sin, which apart from law cannot produce a sense of guilt, Ro 7:8: (f) the body of the believer in contrast to his spirit, Ro 8:10: (g) the works of the Law, inasmuch as, however good in themselves, Ro 7:13, they cannot produce life, Heb. 6:1; 9:14: (h) the faith that does not produce works, Jas 2:17, 26; cf. James 2:20.? (Dead - Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words)
BDAG summarized - (1) pertaining to being in a state of loss of life (2) pertaining to being so morally or spiritually deficient as to be in effect dead...(a) of persons...of the prodigal son either thought to be dead, missing, or morally dead, depraved Lk 15:24, 32. Of a congregation that is inactive, remiss Rev 3:1 (b) of things...dead works that cannot bring eternal life (Heb 6:1, 9:14)...of sin where there is no law, sin is dead, i.e. sin is not perceptible (Ro 7:8)...Of the believer, in whom Christ lives:...the body (of sarx [flesh] and sin) is dead Ro 8:10. (3) Pertaining to having never been alive and lacking capacity for life, dead, lifeless....Of polytheistic objects of cultic devotion. (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature)
Mounce - Nekros - dead to a thing, no longer devoted to, or under the influence of a thing, Rom 6:11; dead in respect of fruitlessness, Jas 2:17, 20, 26; morally or spiritually dead, Rom 6:13; 5.14" class="scriptRef">Eph 5:14; dead in alienation from God, Eph 2:1, 5; Col 2:13; subject to death, mortal, Rom 8:10; causing death and misery, fatal, having a destructive power, Heb 6:1; 9:14 (Mounce's complete expository dictionary of Old & New Testament words)
Gary Hill - figuratively not able to respond to impulses, or perform functions ("unable, ineffective, dead, powerless," L & N); unresponsive to life-giving influences (opportunities); inoperative to the things of God. nekros ("corpse-like") is used as a noun in certain contexts ("the dead"), especially when accompanied by the Greek definite article. The dead (Gk nekroi) with the article (hoi nekroi) refers to the dead considered as "a definitely conceived whole (Jn 5:21; 1Cor 15:52; 2Cor 1:9; Col 1:18)" (G. Winer, Grammar, 153). (See their excellent resource The Discovery Bible to enable deeper Word Studies = http://www.helpsbible.org - see reviews of "The Discovery Bible")
Stephen Renn - Nekros - General references to “the dead” are found in Mt 8:22; 22:32; 9" class="scriptRef">9.60" class="scriptRef">Lk 9:60; 5" class="scriptRef">24:5; Jn 5:25; Rev. 20:5. More commonly, references to the miraculous “raising or the resurrection of the dead” are found in Mt 10:8; 11:5; Mk 9:10; 12:25ff.; Lk 7:22; 9:7; 15:24; 20:35ff.; 21" class="scriptRef">Jn 5:21; 12:1, 9, 17; Acts 23:6; Php 3:11; Heb.6:2; 11:19. The promise that the Son of Man will be “raised from the dead” is noted in Mt 17:9; Mk 9:9; Lk 24:46; Jn 20:9. The reports of Christ’s resurrection are found, for example, in Mt 27:64; 28:7; Jn 2:22; Acts 3:15; 13:30, 34; 26.23" class="scriptRef">26:23; Ro 1:4; 6:4, 9; 7:4; 8:11; Gal. 1: 1; Eph 1:20; Col. 2:12; 1Th 1:10; Heb. 13:20; 1Pe 1:3, 21; Rev. 2:8. In Ro 4:17, God is said to give life to the dead. Christ is designated as “Lord of the dead” in Ro 14: 9. The “dead” are designated as the objects of divine judgment in Acts 10:42; 2Ti. 4:1; 1Pe. 4:5; Rev. 11:18; 20:12 ff. 1Co 15:12-52 is a significant passage which sets out the supreme significance of Christ’s resurrection from the dead as the firstfruits of the general resurrection for believers. The certainty of resurrection from the dead is dependent on the fact of Christ’s resurrection, without which there is no hope for believers. See also Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5. God is designated as the one who “raises the dead” in 2Co 1:9. 1Th. 4:16 affirms that “the dead in Christ” shall rise first when Christ returns. See also Ro 6:13. The adjectival sense of “dead” refers to the physically deceased in Mt 23:27; Lk 7:15; Acts 5:10; 20:19; 28:6; Rev. 1:17; 16:13. Elsewhere, the adjective “dead” refers to bodies that have been fatally affected by sin in Ro 8:10; 10:9; Eph. 2: 1, 5; Col 2:13. Rev 3:1 describes the “spiritually dead.” Jas 2:17, 26 affirm that “faith without works is dead.”
Ro 7:8 refers to sin “lying dead” apart from the law. Heb. 6:1; 9:14 mention “dead works,” or deeds or actions that are ineffective in gaining merit in the sight of God. (Expository Dictionary of Bible Words- Word Studies for Key English Bible Words Based on the Hebrew and Greek Texts; Coded to the Revised Strong's Numbers)
Friberg - (1) of persons; (a) literally; (i) of human beings and animals no longer physically alive dead, lifeless, deceased (Acts 28.6; James 2.26a); (ii) substantivally ν. dead person (5" class="scriptRef">Lk 7.15); οn nekroi the dead, dead people (MK 12.26); (b) figuratively; (i) of persons unable to respond to God because of moral badness or spiritual alienation dead, powerless (Eph 2.1, 5); (ii) of persons regarded as dead because of separation dead (Lk 15.24, 32); (iii) of persons no longer under the control of something dead to (Ro 6.11); (2) of things; literally lifeless (e.g. idols); figuratively, of what is of no benefit morally or spiritually utterly useless, completely ineffective (Heb 6.1; James 2.26) (Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament- Barbara Friberg and Neva F. Mille Timothy Friberg).
Webster's definitions of dead = lacking power to move, feel, or respond; inanimate, inert; no longer active; figuratively, used to describe anything that has lost any attribute (as energy, activity, radiance) suggesting life; incapable of being stirred emotionally or intellectually
Dead - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Dead - Matthew 8:22 = Here those who are spiritually dead are requested to bury those who are physically dead. The undertaker may be dead to GOD, having no Saviour, no eternal life, and has never been born again. He is described as dead to GOD. The friend whom he is to take care of in death is physically dead. That one lies helpless in the casket. So he, the undertaker, pays no attention to GOD. Romans 6:11 = This word is used to describe the attitude of a true believer toward sin, wickedness and evil. (See also Colossians 3:3,1Pe 2:24). Colossians 2:13 = Again as in Matthew 8:22, the Holy Spirit describes the condition of the unsaved soul in the sight of GOD. GOD speaks to the sinner, but there is no response. He calls him, but there is no reply. He commands him, but there is no obedience. He loves him, but receives no affection in return. The soul is dead toward GOD. Hebrews 6:1 = These works are those which have no value in GOD's sight, and do not produce GOD's life in the experience of others. They are nearly always religious works, which are observed by those in false religions. They have no spiritual value whatever. (See also Hebrews 9:14). Revelation 20:14 = When the soul is forever cast out of GOD's presence after the final judgment of the Great White Throne, this is characterized as "the second death." The first death is the physical death when the soul is separated from the body, and can no longer go to church services, nor hear songs, nor see the flowers, nor mingle among Christians. The second death takes place when that disembodied soul which has been in hell since its first death, is taken out of hell, is reunited with his body in the second resurrection, is judged at the Great White Throne in his body, and then both body and soul are cast into the lake of fire, to be punished forever in conscious torment. Never again can that person see or have any relationship whatever with the GOD and the Saviour who would have saved him had he trusted Him. In this passage the figure used by the Holy Spirit is "the container for the thing contained." The "grave," called in this passage death, gives up the body and hell gives up the soul. Just as the believer in the first resurrection goes to the Judgment Seat of CHRIST in his body to be judged, so the sinner in the second resurrection and in his body is judged at the Great White Throne and forever cast out of GOD's presence. (Dead - Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types)
Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary - Nekros in Classical Greek - From the time of Homer and following nekros was a common word used to describe persons and animals that had died. It was probably used first as a noun, “dead body,” and then later as an adjective, “dead.” Its early occurrences as an adjective appear from 500 B.C. (cf. Liddell-Scott). A body without life (psuche [5425]) was just a “corpse, inanimate, mere matter.” However, nekros could also refer to the spirit or “shade” of the dead individual as a “dweller in the netherworld” (Homer Odyssey 10.526; cf. Liddell-Scott). The word’s meaning also extended to include lifeless and inanimate “things” (nekra), such as stone and wood. Figurative uses of nekros also appear in the classical period. Evil men were occasionally described as “dead”; Stoic philosophers picked up the term to describe false teachers as well as their words. Evidently “dead” meant “dying,” or “leading to death,” or perhaps “not life-giving.” Similarly, wealth was said to be dead. Even the body, while still alive, came to be called “dead” in this same sense of “destined to die,” and the soul (psuche) was referred to as “death-bearing,” because it was considered to be still carrying the body. (Complete Biblical Library - Greek-English Dictionary - Ralph W.; Gilbrant, Thoralf Harris)
Stoic writers used nekros figuratively based on three criteria "(a) What is nekros is what is not controlled by the psyche, soul, or the nous, the mind, or spirit, i.e. the world of the senses. (b) Also nekros is the physical part of man, i.e. his soma, body, which the nous has to drag around with itself, the part of man which he has in common with the zoa, the animal world, and which separates him from what is divine. (c) Finally nekros is also used to describe that which does not accord with one’s own standards of judgment, determined by nous, e.g. false teachers or philosophers. All three definitions are based on the assumption that nothing but the consciousness of the highest and most sublime in us (nous) is worthy of being described as alive. Hence, all that does not come under its control is dead. (NIDNTT)
Nekros - 128x in 120v in NAS - Translated: corpse(1), dead(122), dead man(3), dead men(1), dead men's(1).Usage: corpse(1), dead(122), dead man(3), dead men(1), dead men's(1).
Matthew 8:22 But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and allow the dead (spiritually) to bury their own (physical) dead."
Matthew 10:8 "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.
Matthew 11:5 the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.
Matthew 14:2 and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him."
Matthew 17:9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead."
Matthew 22:31 "But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB '? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."
Matthew 23:27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
Matthew 27:64 "Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last deception will be worse than the first."
Matthew 28:4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
7 "Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you."
Mark 6:14 And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, "John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him."
Mark 9:9 As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead. 10 They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant.
26 After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, "He is dead!"
A T Robertson - As if dead from the violence of the spasm. The demon did him all possible harm in leaving him.
Mark 12:25 "For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 "But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, and the God of Jacob '? 27 "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken."
Luke 7:15 The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
22 And He answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.
Luke 9:7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,
60 But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God."
Luke 15:24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate.
32 'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'"
Luke 16:30 "But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' (Wrong! Jesus rose from the dead but men still refuse to repent!) 31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"
Gary Hill - from the dead (ek nekron) – "Dives had said from the dead, but used a different preposition (apo). It is well-nigh impossible to give the English reader this nice play of prepositions. The general distinction is apo, 'from the outside'; ek, 'from within.' . . . Abraham's preposition (ek, 'out of') implies a more complete identification with the dead than Dives' apo, 'from'" (WS, 202)(See their excellent resource The Discovery Bible to enable deeper Word Studies = http://www.helpsbible.org - see reviews of "The Discovery Bible")
Luke 20:35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;
37 "But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB. 38 "Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him."
Luke 24:5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead?
46 and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,
John 2:22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
John 5:21 "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
John 12:1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
9 The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.
17 So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.
John 20:9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
John 21:14 This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.
Acts 3:15 but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.
Acts 4:2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead-- by this name this man stands here before you in good health.
Acts 5:10 And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
Acts 10:41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 "And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.
Acts 13:30 "But God raised Him from the dead;
34 "As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: 'I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and SURE blessings OF DAVID.'
Acts 17:3 explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."
31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." 32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this."
Acts 20:9 And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead.
Acts 23:6 But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, "Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!"
Acts 24:21 other than for this one statement which I shouted out while standing among them, 'For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today.'"
Acts 26:8 "Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?
23 that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles."
Acts 28:6 But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.
Romans 1:4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Romans 4:17 (as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
Romans 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
Romans 6:11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead (dead to the power of) to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
W E Vine - The word nekros, “dead,” describes a permanent state and here signifies the spiritual condition of believers in relation to sin. The condition is not merely that of freedom from the penalty, it constitutes the believer’s whole attitude toward sin. Whenever the old master claims our service, we are to reckon ourselves corpses. (Collected Writings)
William Newell - Lay to heart the very words of the eleventh verse: Reckon yourselves dead indeed to sin, but living to God, in Christ Jesus. There are two words signifying death in this passage. The word for dead (nekros) here does not refer to the act or process of dying, but to the state or effect produced by death. The other word (thnesko) signifies the act, and occurs in Ro 6:3-5,7-10; and is used when Christ's dying, or our dying with or in Him, is set forth. It is, therefore, with the already accomplished death unto sin of our great Substitute and Representative, Christ, that believers--those now in Christ--find themselves connected; and as we said above, the believer is to reckon himself dead (nekros) unto sin, but alive unto God, --because he is in Christ Jesus, who died unto sin once for all; but now, in resurrection life, is living unto God. You will realize anew the meanings of these two words for death, when you notice, in Ro 6:4 and Ro 6:9, that Christ, having died (thnesko) was raised "from among dead" (nekroi). Christ's body lay in Joseph's tomb. He was not now dying: that was over. He was dead. And so we are not told to die to sin: because we are in Christ who did die to it; and therefore we also are dead to it, in His death; and reckon it so.
Romans 6:13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
Comment: Because they are spiritually alive in Christ, they are separated from the spiritually dead, who in turn are separated from God. Remember that death speaks of separation.
John Stott - Paul presents "the ground on which these exhortations are based is that we have been brought from death to life (Ro 6:13b). The logic is clear. Since we have died to sin, it is inconceivable that we should let sin reign in us or offer ourselves to it. Since we are alive to God, it is only appropriate that we should offer ourselves and our faculties to him. This theme of life and death, or rather death and life, runs right through this section. Christ died and rose. We have died and risen with him. We must therefore regard ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God. And, as those who are alive from death, we must offer ourselves to his service. (Romans- God's Good News for the World -Bible Speaks Today)
Romans 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
Romans 7:8 But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.
MacArthur - Not lifeless or nonexistent, but dormant. When the law comes, sin becomes fully active and overwhelms the sinner. (MacArthur Study Bible)
Romans 8:10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Wuest - The believer’s human body is dead in the sense that it has death in it because of sin, Adam’s sin which brought both spiritual and physical death to each member of the race. The believer’s spirit is alive (zoe) in that the Holy Spirit energizes it with divine life which is righteous in its quality. Eternal life is not only unending in its nature, but also ethical and spiritual in its content. (Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament)
Romans 10:7 or 'WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)."
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Romans 11:15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
Romans 14:9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised;
15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;
20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.
21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.
29 Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?
32 If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, LET US EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE.
35 But someone will say, "How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?"
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
2 Corinthians 1:9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;
Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),
Ephesians 1:20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
Ephesians 2:1 And you were (spiritually) dead in your trespasses and sins, 5 even when we were (spiritually) dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), (See also Col 2:13).
MacArthur - A sobering reminder of the total sinfulness and lostness from which believers have been redeemed. “In” indicates the realm or sphere in which unregenerate sinners exist. They are not dead because of sinful acts that have been committed but because of their sinful nature (cf. Matt. 12:35; 15:18, 19). (The MacArthur Study Bible)
Wuest - The word “dead” is nekros, “spiritually dead, that is, destitute of a life that recognizes and is devoted to God, because given up to trespasses and sins, inactive as respects doing right.” It should be kept clearly in mind that death is not extinction of being or inactivity. Spiritual death is the state of separation from God and His life. Death itself is a separation, whether physical, the separation of the person from his body, or spiritual, the separation of the person from God. The state of death spoken of here is “in trespasses and sins.” It is the dative of reference, “dead with reference to trespasses and sins.” That is, this state of death had to do with trespasses and sins. It was not physical death, although that is caused in the last analysis by sin. (Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament)
Ephesians 5:14 For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you."
Philippians 3:11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Colossians 1:18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
Colossians 2:12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
1 Thessalonians 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Comment: A reference to the rapture. (See 1Thessalonians 4-17-18 Commentary)
2 Timothy 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel,
2 Timothy 4:1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
MacArthur - Christ will ultimately judge all men in 3 distinct settings: 1) the judgment of believers after the Rapture (1 Cor. 3:12–15; 2 Cor. 5:10); 2) the sheep and goats judgment of the nations, in which believers will be separated from unbelievers (Matt. 25:31–33, for entrance into the millennial kingdom); and 3) the Great White Throne judgment of unbelievers only (Rev. 20:11–15). Here, the apostle is referring to judgment in a general sense, encompassing all those elements. (Ibid)
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.
MacArthur on dead works - This OT form of repentance is the turning away from evil deeds that bring death (cf. Ezek. 18:4; Rom. 6:23) and turning to God. Too often the Jew only turned to God in a superficial fashion—fulfilling the letter of the law as evidence of his repentance. The inner man was still dead (Mt. 23:25–28; Ro 2:28,29). Such repentance was not the kind which brought salvation (Heb 6:6; 12:17; cf. Acts 11:18; 2Cor. 7:10). Under the New Covenant, however, “repentance toward God” is coupled with “faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Christ’s atoning sacrifice saves from “dead works” (Heb 9:14; cf. John 14:6). (Ibid)
Hebrews 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works (see note on Hebrews 6:1) to serve the living God?
Hebrews 9:17 For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.
Hebrews 11:19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.
35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;
Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
MacArthur - Just as professed compassion without action is phony, the kind of faith that is without works is mere empty profession, not genuine saving faith. (Ibid)
Douglas Moo - Faith that lacks works, James concludes, is likewise, through its own inherent defect, useless, inactive, inert (the meaning of nekros in a context like this; cf. Rom. 7:8; Heb. 6:1; 9:14). (The letter of James: Pillar New Testament Commentary)
James 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 Peter 1:21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
1 Peter 4:5 but they (unbelievers - those alive and those who have already died) will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
1 Peter 4:6 For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.
Wuest: The words “them that are dead,” refer to Christian believers who had died. The gospel had been preached to them and they had become Christians. As a result of this they had been judged according to men while they were on earth. This judgment was in the form of persecution because of their Christian testimony. (Ibid)
MacArthur - Peter had in mind believers who had heard and accepted the gospel of Christ when they were still alive, but who had died by the time Peter wrote this letter. Some of them, perhaps, had been martyred for their faith. Though these were dead physically, they were triumphantly alive in their spirits (cf. Heb. 12:23). All their judgment had been fully accomplished while they were alive in this world (“in the flesh”), so they will live forever in God’s presence. (Ibid)
Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood--
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
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