Did Jesus spiritually die?

[Heybro]

Flowersun, like you I read that Jesus commited His spirit to The Father, therefore He was not separated from Him, our spirit goes on into eternity, it's just where we decide, this side of eternity where we will spend it? Just saying, God bless.

[Jostler]

3 hours ago, Flowersun said:

Jostler,I find what you believe interesting,...I have no knowledge of Jesus dieing spiritually.....can I ask...if he died spiritually....surely that must have meant,God with drew his spirit from him....how else would he have died spiritually?

i ask because I am completely ignorant in that area....but I yearn for knowledge of him....hope that is ok with you.

Thank you Jostler.

 

Man   You asked for a big explanation, and I do believe there is an explanation, i just doubt my ability to explain it coherently.  I am going to try, and pray that somehow the Lord will give me words to share that end up communicating and making sense. 

I believe you are correct in assuming that God withdrew His Spirit from Jesus on the cross.  And had He not done so, Jesus could not have died.  And I think we can prove that from the Word with sufficient certainty to believe in exactly that understanding.  The problem is there is no single verse I can think of that "proves" it in one simple soundbite.  We have to take several parts of the Word in concert with each other to get a full picture.  Much as we do when we try to wrestle with the mysteries of the Trinity.  Not all Scriptural understandings are "milk"......easy to define and easily digestible.  As we grow in Him we are brought to a place where we can benefit from solid foods, even hard to digest "meat".   You don't get meat by surface reading.   It comes by revelation of the Spirit, explaining His Word and it generally requires study, rightly dividing the Word. 

 

We really have to understand the nature of death, in BOTH it's primary forms.  To do that, starting all the way back in the Garden of Eden, understanding what the second death is, and what the first death is according to Biblical definition.   Then we have to take a Biblical understanding of what the two deaths are, and apply those definitions to what happened to Jesus on the cross, and why experiencing BOTH kinds of death was absolutely necessary for Him....for our sake. 

Quote

Mat 27:46

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

 

 

Mar 15:34

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

 

Keep that agonized cry in mind.  I think, if somehow I do manage to navigate the rest of this in an understandable way, you will see that this cry of agony came from His VERY first experience of being totally separated from Father, and Spirit.

All four gospels record Jesus taking His last breath, and all four give slightly different perspectives on that one moment in time, when Jesus yielded up His spirit and died. But this particular quote points us DIRECTLY back to Psalm 22:

Quote

Psa 22:1-3

¶

To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David.

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?

 

O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.

 

But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

That whole Psalm is a very detailed prophetic picture of Jesus' crucifixion, given to David a thousand years before He was born.  Jesus knew that Psalm by heart I am sure.  He understood from the Word exactly what had to happen to Him. 

 

But lets stop there for a second, and go back to the Garden and look at when death first entered human experience.

Quote

Gen 2:8-9

¶

The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.

 

And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 

 

Gen 2:15-17

¶

Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

 

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;

 

“but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

 

Prior to Adam's rebellion there was no death in existence in the garden or on the earth.  Adam was created an eternal being....literally a son of God.  Later in the account of the fall we get our first look at death, in BOTH it's expressions.  Spiritual and physical. 

God's Word is true, and precisely so, so we have to assume that according to God's Word, IN THE DAY that Adam disobeyed and ate what Father had forbidden.....ADAM DIED.  But we need to understand what that means, because we know that the DAY Adam ate, he did not collapse to the ground as a lifeless body, that then began to decay.  He did not lose consciousness.  He still functioned in this three dimensional, physical realm for another 900+ years.  Adam did not die PHYSICALLY until he had lived a total of 930 years. 

But THAT day, the day that he ate the forbidden fruit, he did die spiritually.  He was "cut off" from any ability to sense, discern or interact with the spirit realm or Father, who IS spirit.

Kindof an interesting "aside" that for me, served as yet another occasion to marvel at the precision of God's Word was noticing that God has two primary definitions for the word "day".  One refers to a 24hr time period, beginning with sunset, followed by a sunrise and ending with the next sunset.

 

But we're told by Peter He also has a "prophetic" day that is equal to 1000 earth years. 

Quote

2Pe 3:8

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

 

So either way you look at God's commandment and warning to Adam, His Word was precise.  Adam died SPIRITUALLY in the same 24hr time period as he ate, and died PHYSICALLY within the first 1000yr prophetic day.  Either way He died within the exact same day that he ate.

So, if spiritual death does not mean we lose consciousness, nor does our physical body cease to function....then exactly what is spiritual death?   It is utter separation from God.  Inability to see, handle, discern or interact with spirits or the spirit realm.  It is utter and total separation from God.

Our spirits have a "body" of sorts, it's just not physical.  But it has "senses" analogous to our natural senses of taste, smell, touch, hearing and sight.  A dead spirit is dead, it cannot sense the spirit world or engage and interact with the Spirit of God....it is dead.   When our physical body dies, it can't taste, touch, smell, hear or see this physical realm either. 

 

When Adam rebelled against God's command a number of very serious things happened, but the fact he died spiritually is probably the most significant.  He was then cut off from any ability to "find God" or interact with Him by His own choice and effort.  He could no longer sense His presence at all, nor see or hear Him.  Fellowship between God and His son was broken.

Now Adam was bound up under sentence of death, unable to approach God at all any more.  And i don't pretend to understand the details of how and why, but the fall into spiritual death must have changed Adam's DNA.  Not only was Adam dead now, but all his offspring were 'born dead' from that point.  God's divine nature was replaced by a fallen human nature, and man took on a satanic likeness....a son of satan instead of a son of God.

And every man ever born has been born in that same condition Adam fell to.  Except for ONE....our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Via the virgin birth, the Lord was born a man,  in the same condition Adam was CREATED in.....with a living spirit, alive to God.

The Bible tells us "the wages of sin, is death".  "The soul that sins, MUST die" "Without shedding of blood there IS NO remission of sin..."

We were born in sin, due to the fall, and could not redeem ourselves.  We were born dead spiritually into a body subject to physical death.  We had no way to pay the just sentence Father had spoken against sin.  We could not pay the price of our own redemption.   We had nothing suitable to pay the price with. 

 

So out of His great love for us, Father asked His own PERFECT Son to appear in the flesh likeness of men, to retake the obedience test Adam failed and pass it.  And then give His life, spiritual and physical, as payment for the redemption of Adam and all his seed.  Because we could not pay for it ourselves.

Jesus lived His whole life, without once transgressing the Law.  He proved His LEGAL right to pay the price heaven's justice demanded....death.....for our sake, paying what we owed in our place.  He died spiritually, and physically in a single 24hr day, and then spent the next THREE DAYS enduring the torment of death, spiritual separation from God and physical death, in Hades, the realm of the dead. 

He who knew no sin, BECAME sin for our sake.  Suffered the penalty of death and incarceration in the realm of the dead.  And after three days, the Divine Court ruled that death could not hold Him.  The Spirit returned to Him, and raised Him up....and on the way up and out of that place, He made a public spectacle of satan and his minions.  Stripping out of satan's limp, helpless hands the KEYS of both death and Hades.  He has triumphed over death, by tasting death for us, in our place, paying our price, so we might live again.

At the new birth, that same power that raised Him from the dead, comes into our DEAD spirit and makes it alive once more to the presence of God.  Fellowship with Father is restored.  We are born again, translated out of the kingdom of darkness, no longer "children of satan" but totally transferred by adoption to a whole new family.....sons and daughters of God, members of His household...

 

(hope that began to make some sense.   There is much more rich, astonishing detail we could talk about and understand about this incredible love that refused to lose fellowship with us forever, choosing instead to endure Himself what we deserved, so that He might enjoy...delight in, each precious soul He longed to fellowship with for eternity, as members of His own family...and give us life that we did not, could not deserve.  amen)

He did die, both deaths....and we will marvel, and praise Him for that....for all eternity.

 

Quote

Rom 5:12

¶

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

 

 

Rom 5:17-18

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

 

 

¶

Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

 

Quote

Heb 2:9

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

 

Man, just read Romans 5 carefully    If praise don't get in your feet and make you want to dance by the time you're done....man...drink some coffee or something!  You can't help but praise if you understand what He is telling us in Romans 5   Keep asking til He explains it

@Flowersun  If you have questions I'm happy to give answering a shot...man...i left so much out....

Edited March 3, 2020 by Jostler

[Jostler]

10 minutes ago, Flowersun said:

You explained that so well.....it was like the Holy Spirit,led me through your explanation ...which incidently,made me cry...it was heart to heart....thank you,Jostler......

wow....I am so glad sis    And thank you for sharing that....i was not sure if i'd explained that right or not.  Let me try to put some icing on the cake with one more verse

 

Quote

Col 2:9

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

 

Jesus pre-existed His birth as a man.  He was with Father in the beginning,

Quote

Jhn 1:1-3

¶

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 

He was in the beginning with God.

 

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

 

Jesus is the Word made flesh....He was both with God, and He IS God.  From the beginning.  And nothing that was created after the timeless self existence of Father, Son and Spirit, was created without the Word.  So, Jesus is both God AND Creator.  And so is Father.  And so is the Spirit :).   All three "persons" were present at creation.  All three were active participants IN the creation process (Proverbs 8, where Jesus is personified as Wisdom fills in the Genesis account of Creation and reveals Jesus role in it).

Quote

Jhn 1:14

¶

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

Jesus was fully and completely God when He was born into flesh and became a man.  His favorite term to refer to Himself was "Son of Man" which He used to describe Himself more than any other phrase....
 

He is still God.  Always has been, always will be.

So, did God die on that cross....or not?

Oh the absolute WONDER of what Love was willing to endure for us.....hallelujah!  

 

Edited March 3, 2020 by Jostler

[Daniel Marsh]

Hebrews 2 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

2 So we must be more careful to follow what we were taught. We must be careful so that we will not be pulled away from the true way. 2 The teaching that God spoke through angels was shown to be true. And every time his people did something against that teaching, they were punished for what they did. They were punished when they did not obey that teaching. 3 So surely we also will be punished if we don’t pay attention to the salvation we have that is so great. It was the Lord Jesus who first told people about it. And those who heard him proved to us that it is true. 4 God also proved it by using miraculous signs, wonders, and all kinds of miracles. And he proved it by giving people various gifts through the Holy Spirit in just the way he wanted.

Christ Became Like People to Save Them
5 God did not choose angels to be the rulers over the new world that was coming. That future world is the world we have been talking about. 6 It is written some place in the Scriptures,

“Why are people so important to you?
    Why do you even think about them?
Why do you care about the son of man[a]?
    Is he so important?
7 For a short time you made him lower than the angels.
    You crowned him with glory and honor.
8 You put everything under his control.”

If God put everything under his control, then there was nothing left that he did not rule. But we don’t yet see him ruling over everything. 9 For a short time Jesus was made lower than the angels, but now we see him wearing a crown of glory and honor because he suffered and died. Because of God’s grace, Jesus died for everyone.

10 God—the one who made all things and for whose glory all things exist—wanted many people to be his children and share his glory. So he did what he needed to do. He made perfect the one who leads those people to salvation. He made Jesus a perfect Savior through his suffering.

11 Jesus, the one who makes people holy, and those who are made holy are from the same family. So he is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. 12 He says,

“God, I will tell my brothers and sisters about you.
    Before all your people I will sing your praises.”

13 He also says,

“I will trust in God.”

And he says,

“I am here, and with me are the children God has given me.”

14 These children are people with physical bodies. So Jesus himself became like them and had the same experiences they have. Jesus did this so that, by dying, he could destroy the one who has the power of death—the devil. 15 Jesus became like these people and died so that he could free them. They were like slaves all their lives because of their fear of death. 16 Clearly, it is not angels that Jesus helps. He helps the people who are from Abraham. 17 For this reason, Jesus had to be made like us, his brothers and sisters, in every way. He became like people so that he could be their merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Then he could bring forgiveness for the people’s sins. 18 And now he can help those who are tempted. He is able to help because he himself suffered and was tempted.

 

 

Romans 5 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

5 We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through our faith, Christ has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are very happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory. 3 And we are also happy with the troubles we have. Why are we happy with troubles? Because we know that these troubles make us more patient. 4 And this patience is proof that we are strong. And this proof gives us hope. 5 And this hope will never disappoint us. We know this because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts through the Holy Spirit he gave us.

6 Christ died for us when we were unable to help ourselves. We were living against God, but at just the right time Christ died for us. 7 Very few people will die to save the life of someone else, even if it is for a good person. Someone might be willing to die for an especially good person. 8 But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.

9 We have been made right with God by the blood sacrifice of Christ. So through Christ we will surely be saved from God’s anger. 10 I mean that while we were God’s enemies, he made friends with us through his Son’s death. And the fact that we are now God’s friends makes it even more certain that he will save us through his Son’s life. 11 And not only will we be saved, but we also rejoice right now in what God has done for us through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is because of Jesus that we are now God’s friends.

Adam and Christ
12 Sin came into the world because of what one man did. And with sin came death. So this is why all people must die—because all people have sinned. 13 Sin was in the world before the Law of Moses. But God does not consider people guilty of sin if there is no law. 14 But from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, everyone had to die. Adam died because he sinned by not obeying God’s command. But even those who did not sin that same way had to die.

That one man, Adam, can be compared to Christ, the one who was coming in the future. 15 But God’s free gift is not like Adam’s sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace that people received from God was much greater. Many received God’s gift of life by the grace of this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 After Adam sinned once, he was judged guilty. But the gift of God is different. His free gift came after many sins, and it makes people right with him. 17 One man sinned, and so death ruled all people because of that one man. But now some people accept God’s full grace and his great gift of being made right. Surely they will have true life and rule through the one man, Jesus Christ.

18 So that one sin of Adam brought the punishment of death to all people. But in the same way, Christ did something so good that it makes all people right with God. And that brings them true life. 19 One man disobeyed God and many became sinners. But in the same way, one man obeyed God and many will be made right. 20 The law was brought in so that more people would sin the way Adam did. But where sin increased, there was even more of God’s grace. 21 Sin once used death to rule us. But God gave us more of his grace so that grace could rule by making us right with him. And this brings us eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
 

Psalm 22 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
To the director: To the tune “The Deer of Dawn.”[a] A song of David.
22 My God, my God, why have you left me?
    You seem too far away to save me,
    too far to hear my cries for help!
2 My God, I kept calling by day,
    and I was not silent at night.
But you did not answer me.

3 God, you are the Holy One.
    You sit as King upon the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted you.
    Yes, they trusted you, and you saved them.
5 They called to you for help and escaped their enemies.
    They trusted you and were not disappointed!
6 But I feel like a worm, less than human!
    People insult me and look down on me.
7 Everyone who sees me makes fun of me.
    They shake their heads and stick out their tongues at me.
8 They say, “Call to the Lord for help.
    Maybe he will save you.
    If he likes you so much, surely he will rescue you!”

9 God, the truth is, you are the one who brought me into this world.
    You made me feel safe while I was still at my mother’s breasts.
10 You have been my God since the day I was born.
    I was thrown into your arms as I came from my mother’s womb.

11 So don’t leave me!
    Trouble is near, and there is no one to help me.
12 My enemies surround me like angry bulls.
    They are like the powerful bulls of Bashan, and they are all around me.
13 Their mouths are opened wide,
    like a lion roaring and tearing at its prey.

14 My strength is gone,
    like water poured out on the ground.
My bones have separated.
    My courage is gone.
15 My mouth[c] is as dry as a piece of baked pottery.
    My tongue is sticking to the roof of my mouth.
    You have left me dying in the dust.
16 The “dogs” are all around me—
    a pack[d] of evil people has trapped me.
    They have pierced my hands and feet.[e]
17 I can see each one of my bones.
    My enemies are looking at me;
    they just keep staring.
18 They divide my clothes among themselves,
    and they throw lots for what I am wearing.

19 Lord, don’t leave me!
    You are my strength—hurry and help me!
20 Save me from the sword.
    Save my precious life from these dogs.
21 Rescue me from the lion’s mouth.
    Protect me from the horns of the bulls.[f]

22 I will tell my people about you.
    I will praise you in the great assembly.
23 Praise the Lord, all you who worship him!
    Honor him, you descendants of Jacob!
    Fear and respect him, all you people of Israel!
24 He does not ignore those who need help.
    He does not hate them.
He does not turn away from them.
    He listens when they cry for help.

25 Lord, because of you I offer praise in the great assembly.
    In front of all these worshipers I will do all that I promised.
26 Poor people, come eat and be satisfied.[g]
    You who have come looking for the Lord, praise him!
    May your hearts be happy[h] forever.
27 May those in faraway countries remember the Lord and come back to him.
    May those in distant lands worship him,
28 because the Lord is the King.
    He rules all nations.
29 The people have eaten all they wanted
    and bowed down to worship him.
Yes, everyone will bow down to him—
    all who are on the way to the grave, unable to hold on to life.
30 Our descendants will serve him.
    Those who are not yet born will be told about him.
31 Each generation will tell their children
    about the good things the Lord has done.

[Daniel Marsh]

20 hours ago, Jostler said:

Jesus did spiritually die and His resurrection defeated spiritual death forever.  If He did not die spiritually, we are all lost in our sins with no hope.  Thank God He did submit to both spiritual AND physical death, BOTH kinds of death the Bible speaks of.  And thank God He triumphed over both.  I cannot help but be amazed at how many who know Him have such anemic understanding of the fundamentals of the salvation found ONLY ....IN Him.

Exactly, How can God be separated from himself?

[Daniel Marsh]

James 2:26 King James Version (KJV)
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Scripture clearly defines death as separation of body and spirit.

""Death is separation. A physical death is the separation of the soul from the body. Spiritual death, which is of greater significance, is the separation of the soul from God."   https://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-death.html

 

 

[Jostler]

7 hours ago, Daniel Marsh said:

Exactly, How can God be separated from himself?

I wish i understood the mystery of the Trinity well enough to explain that in detail.  But I don't.  How Jesus could be (is) God and be completely, utterly cut off from the presence of Father and Spirit is not something I can explain either.  But His spirit died.  If His spirit did not die, then we are still lost in our sins.  But we are not.  Thanks to what He was willing to suffer for our sakes, on a horrific cross, and for three hideous days in the heart of the earth.

Once more gotquestions, as well meaning as I'm sure they are, obviously does not know the difference between spirit and soul.  I hope people can learn to tremble at His Word, trembling at gotquestions is of questionable value.   Though that seems to be a thing with some....

Jesus said "I AM, the WAY, the Truth and the Life, and no man comes to the Father but by Me"

The "way" back into the Father's presence was BLOCKED to us by death of our spirits.  Adam's spirit died, and he was cut off from the sweet fellowship with Father he had previously enjoyed.  Because of that we all were born with dead spirits.  What is dead, cannot impart life. 

If Jesus had not conquered spiritual death by TASTING it AND overcoming it, a pure sacrifice made on our behalf, the righteous condemnation of sin and death for all mankind, demanded by Heaven could not have been paid.  He paid that for us, and opened the WAY back to restored relationship with Father.  HE IS the Way....and the ONLY Way.  And that Way, led through spiritual death, paying the price demanded in our place. 

In Him, and only IN Him is the "way" to Father restored.....death is defeated.  We are born again, living spirits able to commune with Father by the Spirit now.  He had to open the way.....and He did. 

 

Quote

Jhn 13:36

¶

Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”

He opened the Way....and IS the Way....and now we can follow.

Edited March 4, 2020 by Jostler

[Justin Adams]

I am also a bit wary of getting into stuff that seems to defy logic. As far as I know, our spirits can be 'dead' and require being 'born from above' in order to live again. In Eden, when God was present, they lived on by His Life. God does not partner with death. The absence of God's presence equates to death.

As far as spirit goes, it appears from what I have read and understand that we can have a dead (separated from God) spirit that requires us to be re-born by His Spirit. What a dead spirit looks like I have no idea, but it seems that it must exist in order to be re-born. We know what a dead body looks like (YUCK) but as far as a dead spirit we have no idea really.

All we know is that Yeshua, being joined eternally with the Father; He would not allow Him to see corruption.

Since God is Spirit and Yeshua is of God, He could suffer and loose His body in terrible ways, but His Spirit was/is always extant. This seems to make more sense since God cannot lie and He cannot die. He is LIFE. His very essence is UN-CREATE, thus He is Eternal.

Edited March 4, 2020 by Justin Adams

[Daniel Marsh]

https://www.tomax7.com/HeyGod/JDS/did_jesus_die_spiritually.htm

This is a link to a book that refutes   JDS

[Daniel Marsh]

11 hours ago, Jostler said:

I wish i understood the mystery of the Trinity well enough to explain that in detail.  But I don't.  How Jesus could be (is) God and be completely, utterly cut off from the presence of Father and Spirit is not something I can explain either.  But His spirit died.  If His spirit did not die, then we are still lost in our sins.  But we are not.  Thanks to what He was willing to suffer for our sakes, on a horrific cross, and for three hideous days in the heart of the earth.

Once more gotquestions, as well meaning as I'm sure they are, obviously does not know the difference between spirit and soul.  I hope people can learn to tremble at His Word, trembling at gotquestions is of questionable value.   Though that seems to be a thing with some....

Jesus said "I AM, the WAY, the Truth and the Life, and no man comes to the Father but by Me"

The "way" back into the Father's presence was BLOCKED to us by death of our spirits.  Adam's spirit died, and he was cut off from the sweet fellowship with Father he had previously enjoyed.  Because of that we all were born with dead spirits.  What is dead, cannot impart life. 

If Jesus had not conquered spiritual death by TASTING it AND overcoming it, a pure sacrifice made on our behalf, the righteous condemnation of sin and death for all mankind, demanded by Heaven could not have been paid.  He paid that for us, and opened the WAY back to restored relationship with Father.  HE IS the Way....and the ONLY Way.  And that Way, led through spiritual death, paying the price demanded in our place. 

In Him, and only IN Him is the "way" to Father restored.....death is defeated.  We are born again, living spirits able to commune with Father by the Spirit now.  He had to open the way.....and He did. 

 

He opened the Way....and IS the Way....and now we can follow.

How can you be separated from yourself?    If God ceased to exist then the whole creation would have been destroyed.

Colossians 1:17 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 God’s Son was before all else,
and by him everything
    is held together.

Jesus being God, can not be separated from himself.

Concerning Psa 22,  when part of a verse was quoted those listening would bring the full passage or in our case chapter to mind.   When you read the full chapter you will learn that God did not desert him on the cross.   That was the point of me posting the full chapter of Psa 22.

Hell, eternal punishment as we know it, does not exist until after Matthew 25:46 which is about the judgment. 

Scripture is plan that Jesus was a sin offering.      Jesus is also the Alpha and Omega.  

Hebrews 13:8 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Jesus Christ never changes! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

James 2:26 defines death as simply a separation of body and spirit.

If Scripture is properly understood, annihilation of the spirit does not exist. 

Romans 5:15But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

1 Timothy 2:5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

 

1 John 2:1

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: