Ha! Also not what I expected.
If a person is dead-dead what does that mean? No brain function. No organs functioning. No anything functioning. Unable to recover, ever.
Why is spiritually dead different? The spirit in us does not exist. It died so long ago, we can't even remember the death. It's like being born without a hand. People born without a hand, have no muscle memory for that hand, because they never had it. They don't have phantom pain for that hand, because they never had the hand. And, they tend to learn how to function without a hand before anyone bother teachs them how to function without the hand.
No hand, so live without the hand. No spirit, so live without a spirit. Not work either as if it is still alive. It's not alive. It didn't exist.
I grew up Catholic, so I grew up in religion. I felt guilt as only someone raised Irish and Catholic can. I was guilty for my brother breaking his knee a mile away, because I should have done something to stop him from breaking his knee. I was just as guilty for stealing that candy bar from the grocery store, because I should know I shouldn't still.
In both cases, there was no spirit in me to tell me why I should really feel guilty. Or what I should feel guilty about. OR, most important, what to do with the guilt. Nada. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. No connection between me and the Holy Spirit, because my spirit was dead.
And so, according to tradition, I went to a priest every 3-4 weeks to confess my sins and do penance. And I felt guilty. And I thought saying three Our Fathers, six Hail Marys, and three Glory bes, fixed the guilt. Why?
Because NO spirit in me to tell me that wasn't it. Spirit was dead. Did NOT connect the dots!
And then something weird happened. Someone regenerated me. Regenerated my spirit. Well, honestly? That's part of this. I really don't know if he regenerated my dead spirit, or he simply put his Spirit in me and that's what I'm working with. Is it like a Jarvis heart? Not my heart, but it keeps me alive until a heart comes along, so it is my heart.
Is the Holy Spirit our spirit now, and forever, or do we get our own spirit?
Because my old spirit? Never did remember it. It was dead before my memories. And walking in this spirit is different from that good Irish Catholic girl I used to be. Sometimes I feel phantom pains for something I never had. Sometimes I try to use an old spirit that was dead before I can remember.
If we don't get "spiritually dead," then how do we get "alive in Christ?"