According to God

1 Peter 4:6 KJV
For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
The passage does not mean that they were dead when the Gospel was preached to them but that many who have died have heard the Gospel.

Barnes Commentary says
In respect to that - to the flesh - they were put to death; in respect to their souls - their higher natures - they were made truly to live.

I want to address the difference of focus "according to men" and "according to God."

According to men, those believers who have gone to the grave are dead.
Their lives are over
Their consciousness is gone
They are but memories
According to men, they have been judged
They have gone the same was as the unbeliever
They were not bettered by their faith

But according to God this is not so.
According to God, they live. It is not that they will live one day, but that they are living right now. Though the flesh has failed, their spirit is as fresh as the new born.
According to God, they are quickened. They are animated. They are active and conscious and full of all that is life.

I am more interested in living according to God than I am according to men.