What did Christ mean saying, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

[Hobie]

There is no question Christ said it, as we find it in several places..
Mark 12:27
He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

Luke 20:38
For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.

So lets begin in Matthew..

Matthew 22:23-33
23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:
26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.
27 And last of all the woman died also.
28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.

Look at what Jesus said to the Sadducees in verses 30-32: "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' He is God not of the dead, but of the living" .

The whole passage if you look is a discussion between Jesus and the Sadducees about the resurrection. They denied that there would be a resurrection of the dead and came to see what Christ would say. They posed a hypothetical case of a woman who married seven brothers in turn and asked Jesus which of the brothers would be her husband after the resurrection. Jesus' answer focused on the resurrection: "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven" in verse 30. Then he added: "But as for the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read what was said to you by God, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is God not of the dead, but of the living". What did Christ mean?

 

[The Learner]

That those in the gave are alive and awake see Isa 14

 

[Jack]

That those in the gave are alive and awake see Isa 14

And those who burn in Hell forever and ever will still be alive! They will certainly wish they weren't alive.

 

[quietthinker]

What did Christ mean saying, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.​

Death is not the realm of God.

 

[Gabriel _Arch]

What did Christ mean saying, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.​

Death is not the realm of God.

He's not?
Psalm 139:7-10
If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.

 

[quietthinker]

He's not?
Psalm 139:7-10
If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.

the context (defined by reference to place) of the text itself is, one cannot outrun or hide from God.
It is not implying God dwells or visits the dead any more than we can dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea.

 

[ScottA]

"But as for the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read what was said to you by God, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is God not of the dead, but of the living". What did Christ mean?

He meant that just what God told Adam and Eve in the beginning is true, saying, "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 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”--referring to Adam and Eve and their descendants (born of the flesh), followed by, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— (referring to the Spirit and those born [again] of the spirit of God).

In other words, Jesus meant that those born of the flesh are as dead, but "the Spirit is life" (Romans 8:10).

 

[Jack]

God is EVERYWHERE!

Jeremiah 23
24 Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?" says the LORD; "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" says the LORD.

Proverbs 15
3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.

 

[Gabriel _Arch]

the context (defined by reference to place) of the text itself is, one cannot outrun or hide from God.
It is not implying God dwells or visits the dead any more than we can dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea.

God is Omnipresent. Everything that exists is of God. There is no place God is not found.

 

[The Learner]

cool all

 

[Matthias]

Jesus was speaking to the Sadducees, who didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead. He meant that Abraham, Issac and Jacob - long since dead and buried - will be resurrected from the grave.

Not believing this, the Sadducees were mistaken about God and his plan for man in general, and Jesus, the messiah, in particular.

 

[amadeus]

@Hobie
Anyone without the Life that Jesus brought is dead. The dead do not recognize the One God as their own until and if they look to Him and submit themselves to Him:

Joh 10:10

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Joh 11:25	Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Joh 11:26	And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

 

[Gabriel _Arch]

There is no question Christ said it, as we find it in several places..
Mark 12:27
He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

Luke 20:38
For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.

So lets begin in Matthew..

Matthew 22:23-33
23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:
26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.
27 And last of all the woman died also.
28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.

Look at what Jesus said to the Sadducees in verses 30-32: "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' He is God not of the dead, but of the living" .

The whole passage if you look is a discussion between Jesus and the Sadducees about the resurrection. They denied that there would be a resurrection of the dead and came to see what Christ would say. They posed a hypothetical case of a woman who married seven brothers in turn and asked Jesus which of the brothers would be her husband after the resurrection. Jesus' answer focused on the resurrection: "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven" in verse 30. Then he added: "But as for the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read what was said to you by God, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is God not of the dead, but of the living". What did Christ mean?

It's a warning against false dead god's. The only God of all creation is the living God.

 

[Hobie]

He meant that just what God told Adam and Eve in the beginning is true, saying, "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 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”--referring Adam and Eve and their descendants (born of the flesh), followed by, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— (referring to the Spirit and those born [again] of the spirit of God).

In other words, Jesus meant that those born of the flesh are as dead, but "the Spirit is life" (Romans 8:10).

That is going in the right direction, that those who have died or the faithful or the dead in Christ, do not have to worry about the grave, as Christ is the one who gives life back at the resurrection..

 

[Hobie]

Here is a good explanation I came across.."
Jesus said to the Sadducees: "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' He is God not of the dead, but of the living" (Matt. 22:30-32).

The whole passage of which this verse is a part (Matt. 22:23-32) is a discussion between Jesus and the Sadducees about the resurrection. They denied that there would be a resurrection of the dead (verse 23). They posed a hypothetical case of a woman who married seven brothers in turn and asked Jesus which of the brothers would be her husband after the resurrection. Jesus' answer focused on the resurrection: "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven" (verse 30, italics supplied). Then he added: "But as for the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read what was said to you by God, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is God not of the dead, but of the living" (verses 31, 32, italics supplied). Jesus' point was that God is the God of the living because the dead will be raised in the resurrection, not because the dead are living in spirit form in heaven now. Mark introduces the statement with the phrase: "And as for the dead being raised . . . ." (Mark 12:26). Luke quotes Jesus as saying: "And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive" (Luke 20:37, 38, italics supplied).

The last phrase of Luke 20:38 may be translated: ". . . for to him [God] all are living." God views the things that will be as though they already are. Paul spoke of "God, who quickeneth [makes alive] the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were" (Rom. 4:17, KJV). Paul also wrote: "For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living" (Rom. 14:7-9, KJV). The Lord knows which of the dead belong to Him, and these are the ones whom He will raise at the second advent of Christ (1 Thess. 4:13-18; John 5:28, 29).

The living believer in Christ need have no fear of death because even after his death Christ is still his Lord, who has a complete record of his faithfulness and plans to raise him on the resurrection day."Immortal Soul?

 

[Ritajanice]

HE IS NOT THE GOD OF THE DEAD BUT OF THE LIVING​

From The Heart
Publish date: 05/13/2001
But about the resurrection of the dead-have you not read what God said to you, `I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living. Matthew 22:31-32 NIV
God is the God of the living – not the dead. But whom is He talking about? Who are the living and who are the dead? There are those whose bodies are dead, yet their spirits live on eternally. There are those whose bodies are alive and yet on the inside they are dead.
The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 1 Timothy 5:5-6 NIV
If we are dead to God and alive to sin, then we are dead even while we live. If we put selfish, worldly lusts and desires above and before God, then we are dead on the inside - even though our bodies are alive on this earth. Death is a state of being where a person is cut off from God. However, if we are dead to sin and alive unto Him, then we live – both now and eternally.
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12 NIV
If we have the Son, we have life. We will live eternally - alive unto God - even after our bodies fail us and pass away. The Bible tells us that God will give us a new body one day – a glorified body – free from sin and death. We will eventually return to live in God’s presence on the earth – in the New Jerusalem! However, if we do not have the Son and our body dies – our spirits will continue to exist, but death will reign in us and will hold us captive in hell. At that point we will experience physical, spiritual and eternal death - we are cut off from God for eternity.
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 NIV
If we believe in Jesus, we will live even though our body dies. If we believe in Jesus we will never truly experience death. We will just pass from one life into another. The flame of our existence will never be extinguished.
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. John 3:14-18 NIV
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." John 3:36 NIV
Until you believe in Jesus and accept Him as Lord and Savior, you live in a state of condemnation before God. You are alienated from the presence of God. If you die physically in that state – the Bible says that you go straight to hell. Some people think that God would not send people to hell because He is a God of love. Yes, He is a God of love – that is why He sent Jesus to die in our place. After that, it is our choice to make. We must choose Jesus if we want to live in peace and love and joy eternally. We must choose Jesus if we want to live at all.
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. John 5:24-26 NIV
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31 NIV
But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. Romans 8:10 NIV

 

[Brakelite]

Here is a good explanation I came across.."
Jesus said to the Sadducees: "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' He is God not of the dead, but of the living" (Matt. 22:30-32).

The whole passage of which this verse is a part (Matt. 22:23-32) is a discussion between Jesus and the Sadducees about the resurrection. They denied that there would be a resurrection of the dead (verse 23). They posed a hypothetical case of a woman who married seven brothers in turn and asked Jesus which of the brothers would be her husband after the resurrection. Jesus' answer focused on the resurrection: "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven" (verse 30, italics supplied). Then he added: "But as for the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read what was said to you by God, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is God not of the dead, but of the living" (verses 31, 32, italics supplied). Jesus' point was that God is the God of the living because the dead will be raised in the resurrection, not because the dead are living in spirit form in heaven now. Mark introduces the statement with the phrase: "And as for the dead being raised . . . ." (Mark 12:26). Luke quotes Jesus as saying: "And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive" (Luke 20:37, 38, italics supplied).

The last phrase of Luke 20:38 may be translated: ". . . for to him [God] all are living." God views the things that will be as though they already are. Paul spoke of "God, who quickeneth [makes alive] the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were" (Rom. 4:17, KJV). Paul also wrote: "For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living" (Rom. 14:7-9, KJV). The Lord knows which of the dead belong to Him, and these are the ones whom He will raise at the second advent of Christ (1 Thess. 4:13-18; John 5:28, 29).

The living believer in Christ need have no fear of death because even after his death Christ is still his Lord, who has a complete record of his faithfulness and plans to raise him on the resurrection day."Immortal Soul?

Always good to have an actual biblical answer, as opposed to those that answer according to false traditions. The Bible indeed explains itself.

 

[Brakelite]

The Creator of the universe is God, but wasn't my God until I chose to accept Him as my Lord and Saviour and was born again. Then He became the God of the living. Formerly, He wasn't my God as I was dead in trespasses and sin. Satan was my god. This world was my god. Sport was my god. I was my god. The true God, is God only to those who are raised up with Christ in heavenly places.

 

[ScottA]

That is going in the right direction, that those who have died or the faithful or the dead in Christ, do not have to worry about the grave, as Christ is the one who gives life back at the resurrection..

Yes, "the dead in Christ" are those who are His who died before salvation came, while "the living in Christ" come after. Therefore it is written of Him, "I am the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last", for He was the First of the living and the Last of the dead. Of which He clarified, saying, "But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

 

[The Learner]

cool all