The Term: Spiritual Resurrection

Note on the topic/issue/term "spiritual resurrection":

A1 Definitions:

B1 Spiritual

C1 Not physical

C2 Physical would point to the flesh, the body

C3 Spiritual would be speaking of the nonmaterial of a being

B2 Resurrection

C1 Becoming alive again

C2 Implies

D1 Something that is living

D2 Then dies

D3 Then comes alive again

B3 Spiritual Resurrection then would refer to something that is alive, then dies, then is made alive again.

A2 Bible

B1 Not taught

C1 Bible teaches that we are dead because of sin. This would be the sin nature that we are born with (original sin).

C2 Bible teaches that God initiates the salvific process, not any person.

B2 The most common Bible reference (verses) used for this is Ephesians 2:1-6

C1 Verse 1 in many translations has the words "has quickened". These words are not in the Greek.

C2 Literally translated the verse reads "and you being dead in trespasses and sins"

D1 Trespass is going or doing what we must not do

D2 Sin is to violate or break a law

C3 Verse 5: "...even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." (Ephesians 2:5, EMTV)

D1 Parallel passages

E1 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, (Colossians 2:13, EMTV)

E2 For as the Father raises up the dead and gives life, thus also the Son gives life to whom He wills. (John 5:21, EMTV)

D2 The word for resurrection and used in the sense of raising something (sleep, sitting, disease, or death, etc.) is egeiro.

D3 The word for made alive is zoopoieo.

D4 The word used in verse 5 is suzoopoieo, that is make alive together.

D5 Resurrection and made alive are two different concepts.

E1 Resurrection (as mentioned above) is something alive that dies, and then is raised from death.

F1 The Lord Jesus as man was alive, died, and raised to life, that is, made alive again. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

F2 Those who are trusting in God for salvation will be resurrected in the future, that is, were alive, died (physically), then raised again to life. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

E2 Make alive is something dead that is, well, made alive.

F1 The saints, God's people, are made alive, that is, existing as dead then made alive. (Colossians 2:13)

F2 Jesus was made alive in the sense that in the grave He was dead and when raised from death is alive again.

E3 They are similar in that

F1 in resurrection and make alive both have dead to being alive again.

F2 in make alive only being dead to being alive.

B3 So while not in error to use the term, it would be better to avoid especially as Gnostics and others use the term to indicate things as Jesus did not raise physically only spiritually or some other sense.