Did God die? If Jesus was God, and Jesus died on the cross, does that mean God died?

Did God die when Jesus died on the cross? The answer depends on how we understand the meaning of the word "die." To die does not mean an end of existence. Death is separation. Death is when the soul-spirit separates from the physical body. So, in that sense, yes, God died, because Jesus was God in human form, and Jesus' soul-spirit separated from His body. However, if by “die” we mean a cessation of existence, then no, God did not die. For God to die would mean that He ceased to exist, and neither the Father, nor the Son, nor the Holy Spirit will ever cease to exist. The essence of Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity, left the body He temporarily inhabited on Earth, but His essence did not die, nor could it.


Jesus is truly God and truly man. His physical body did die because it was entirely human. Just as our physical bodies die, so did His. But in the same way that Jesus died physically, but remained alive spiritually, so our physical bodies will experience death, but our soul and spirit will remain because they are eternal. The same is true with regard to Jesus Christ. His physical body died, but His inner being is eternal and could not die.

The question for all people to ask is “what will happen to my soul/spirit when it leaves my physical body?” This is the most crucial question in life. As we saw with Jesus, our spirits will leave our bodies and travel on to somewhere else. Jesus returned to heaven to be with the Father. We will either follow Him there to spend eternity in heaven with Him, or we will go to hell to spend eternity in “outer darkness” where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12). There is no other option. Jesus’ physical death on the cross paid the way for all who would ever believe in Him so that we can know for sure where our spirits will reside for eternity. His physical death provided to us spiritual life, both here and in heaven. “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you” (Romans 8:11).