Sin And Death

Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἀποστὰς τῆς τῶν ἀγαθῶν παγκαρπίας ὁ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ φθοροποιοῦ καρποῦ διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς ἐνεπλήσθη, ὄνομα δὲ τοῦ καρποῦ τούτου ἡ θανατοποιὸς ἁμαρτία, εὐθὺς ἐνεκρώθη τῷ κρείττονι βίῳ τὴν ἄλογον καὶ κτηνώδη ζωὴν τῆς θειοτέρας ἀνταλλαξάμενος. Kαὶ καταμιχθέντος ἅπαξ τοῦ θανάτου τῇ φύσει συνδιεξῆλθε ταῖς τῶν τικτομένων διαδοχαῖς ἡ νεκρότης. Ὅθεν νεκρὸς ἡμᾶς διεδέξατο βίος αὐτῆς τρόπον τινὰ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν ἀποθανούσης· νεκρὰ γὰρ ἄντικρύς ἐστιν ἡμῶν ἡ ζωὴ τῆς ἀθανασίας ἐστερημένη. Διὰ τοῦτο ταῖς δύο ταύταις ζωαῖς μεσιτεύει ὁ Ἐν μέσῳ τῶν δύο ζωῶν γινωσκόμενος, ἵνα τῇ ἀναιρέσει τῆς χείρονος δῷ τῇ ἀκηράτῳ τὰ νικητήρια. ὥσπερ τοίνυν τῷ ἀποθανεῖν τῇ ἀληθινῇ ζωῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς τὸν νεκρὸν τοῦτον μετέπεσε βίον, οὕτως ὅταν ἀποθάνῃ τῇ νεκρᾷ ταύτῃ καὶ κτηνώδει ζωῇ, πρὸς τὴν ἀεὶ ζῶσαν ἀντιμεθίσταται, ὡς ἀναμφίβολον εἶναι ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῇ μακαρίᾳ γενέσθαι ζωῇ μὴ νεκρὸν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ γενόμενον. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων Ὁμιλία ΙΒ' Source: Migne PG 44.1021c-1024a

Now Adam, who turned away from the rich assortment of the fruits that are good, because of this disobedience, was filled with the fruit that works corruption, and the name of this fruit is sin the death-dealer, and immediately he died to the better life, exchanging the more Divine life for an irrational and brutish one. And once death had been mixed with human nature, deadness spread through the successions of offspring. Thus there was a reception of a dead form of existence, since, in a certain manner, life itself was dying, for as soon as our life is stripped of immortality it is a dead thing. Because of this, there is one set in the midst of these two kinds of life, he who in the midst of the two is known, 1 so that by the removal of what is worse He may award the spoils of victory to the one who is undefiled. Therefore just as by dying to the true life man fell into this dead form of existence, and that when he dies to this dead and animal life he is directed toward the eternal life, so it is certain that the blessed life is not possible without being dead to sin. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 12 1 Hab 3.2