"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:3-11).
The above Scripture answers one of the most cliche objections to the Deity of Christ: "How can God die?" On the face of it, this seems to be a valid question. We know that God is immortal. He is "...from everlasting to everlasting..." (Psalm 90:2). He precedes all things, He exceeds all things, nothing can kill God. So how can Christians say God died?
As plausible as this reasoning sounds to the untrained mind, God warns us "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." (Colossians 2:8-10). In other words, just because it sounds reasonable doesn't mean it is. Indeed, the greatest of lies are those that so strongly present themselves as the truth. "How can God die?" By humbling Himself, and becoming obedient to death.
See, Jesus, in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, is equal with God. It's literally right there, in the Scriptures I have shown above. This means when He came, He could have come in any form He wanted. Had He wished, He could have been born within the walls of a palace, heir to a human throne. Or He could have been born a warrior, destined to overthrow the rulers of this world, even with a legion of angels at His command. Perhaps a prominent politician, or an entrepreneur. With God, all things are possible, and so had Christ chosen, He could have come to Earth in great Earthly glory.
However, as Philippians tells us, He did not see His equality with God as robbery. Other translations render this as "a thing to be grasped" (ESV), or even that He "...did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage." (HCSB). In other words, yes, He could have come with any Earthly glory He chose, or even with some of the glory of Heaven, such as no man had ever possessed, nor ever would again. However... He "made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men."
Now, who made Him like that? With any other human being, the answer is simple: God. If you're born into a rich family, God put you in that rich family. If you're born to a poor family, God put you there. Royal, common, prestigious, invisible, God put you where you are. But Christ made Himself of no reputation. Why? Because unlike everyone who is not God, He is equal with God. Unlike we, in whom the fullness of ourselves dwell bodily, in Christ, the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily.
And that is where we get to the complexities of the Incarnation. See, we tend to think of death as just the total destruction of the one who dies. Your body ceases to function, your consciousness ceases, you can't do anything of your own free will, it's over. Now, first of all, that's not even the case with us. When we die, our spirit survives. As Jesus says, "...He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." (John 11:25). This is why, though Scripture quite explicitly records the death of Abraham (Genesis 25:8), Isaac (Genesis 35:29), and Jacob (Genesis 49:33), Jesus can say God is the God of the living (Matthew 22:32). So, how can the living be dead? Because their bodies died. Their flesh incarnation perished. As James says, "...the body without the spirit is dead..." (James 2:26).
Now, when Jesus breathed His last, declaring "it is finished", what happened? "So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." (John 19:30, emphasis added). James tells us what? The body, without the spirit, is dead. Jesus did what? Gave up His spirit. After a brutal torture (to which He, Himself, willingly submitted), the fullness of the Godhead temporarily ceased to dwell within this human body. Jesus, who is God, was dead.
But He wasn't unconscious. Note what He said to the penitent thief beforehand: "“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”" (Luke 23:43). When? After 3 days, when I rise from the dead? (e.g. Mark 9:31). After 43 days, when I ascend to my Father (Acts 1:3)? At the end of time, when I will judge the dead, great and small, according to their deeds (Revelation 20:12)? No, "“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”"
So, was God dead? Yes and no. Yes, the physical body of Jesus, in whom the fullness of Godhead dwelt bodily, was hanging lifeless on the cross, until it was taken down and laid lifeless in a tomb, until He raised it (John 2:19) in His capacity as God (Romans 10:9). But no, God did not cease to exist.
So, how can God die? By humbling Himself, becoming a man, and becoming, by His own will (John 10:18), obedient to death. Is this impossible for God? "It is impossible for God" is not something we should claim lightly. There are things about which we may legitimately say it. We can say it is impossible for God to lie because Scripture plainly tells us "...it is impossible for God to lie..." (Hebrews 6:18). But is it impossible for God to enter His creation as a man and willingly give up His own life? The Bible clearly tells us this is exactly what He did! My friends, it is impossible to be saved if you reject this basic doctrine! In order to be saved, you must "...confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead..." (Romans 10:9).
Who must we believe raised Jesus from the dead? God. But who raised Jesus from the dead? "So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said." (John 2:18-22, emphasis added). I ask again, who raised Jesus to life again? "“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”" (John 10:17-18, emphasis added).
Who must we believe raised Jesus to life in order to be saved? God. Who raised Jesus to life again? Jesus. Conclusion? Jesus is God, and we must confess this, and not reject it, lest we forfeit our salvation by failing to honor the Son as we honor the Father (John 5:23). Rather than being an obvious objection to the Deity of Christ that God cannot die, we are saved by the very fact that God did die, and by confessing that fact. Do not be cheated by empty, man-made philosophy. Rather, confess Christ, the Living God.