The word death in all of its biblical applications signifies the loss of vitality. Physical death occurs when the spirit separates from the body. Spiritual death refers to the condition of being spiritually or personally alienated from the living God, the source of all life. Finally, the second death is the condition (outwardly as well as inwardly) of existence separated from the experience of God's life, the natural condition for which man was created. As such it is the condition of final judgment for those who have no relationship with God. Since the human being is holistic, the death of the body is intrinsically related to the more personally significant inner spiritual death. Thus many statements concerning death (and life) are comprehensive, including both physical and spiritual death (e.g., Romans 6:23; Acts 3:17) (See also LIFE).

This topic is from the Lockman Foundation.