Unspoken Sermons · Chapter
The God of the Living explained
This chapter explores the nature of God as the God of the living, not the dead, using Jesus' teaching to the Sadducees.
What happens
This chapter explores the nature of God as the God of the living, not the dead, using Jesus' teaching to the Sadducees. It argues that God's relationship with His people is eternal and that death is not an end, but a transition. The resurrection of the body is discussed as a spiritual, glorified form that continues to reveal God, and the chapter emphasizes that all who are in God's mind live unto Him.
Themes in this chapter
God as Loving Father
God is portrayed as the loving Father who remembers and sustains His children beyond death.
Faith and Obedience
Trust in God's eternal care and obedience to His will are central to the hope of resurrection.
Revelation Through Christ
Jesus reveals the truth about God's nature as the God of the living and the promise of resurrection.
Characters to notice
- Jesus Christ
Quoted as teaching that God is the God of the living, not the dead, and using the example of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- God the Father
Described as the Living One who gives life and remembers His people, making them alive unto Him.
- Abraham
Mentioned as one of the patriarchs who lives unto God, even after death.
- Isaac
Mentioned as a patriarch who lives unto God, continuing in God's memory.
- Jacob
Mentioned as a patriarch whose existence is doubted by some Sadducees, but affirmed as alive unto God.
- St. Paul
Referenced for his teaching on the spiritual body and the resurrection.
Key passages
“He is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.”
God is not the God of those who have perished, but of those who are alive, because all who are in relationship with Him live in His sight.
This is the central teaching of the chapter, affirming eternal life in God's presence.
“The Living One cannot name himself after the dead; when the very Godhead lies in the giving of life.”
The Living God cannot identify Himself with the dead, because His divine nature is to give and sustain life.
This emphasizes that God's identity is tied to life, not death.
“He remembers them; that is, he carries them in his mind: he of whom God thinks, lives.”
God's remembrance of a person means He holds them in His consciousness, and that person truly lives.
This explains that existence in God's mind is equivalent to real life.