God of the Living

I wondered about this for a long time, that our God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he is the God of the living, not the dead. The Lord spoke this to the some Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection and came to test Him. What does it mean, God of the living, and why use the three fathers as the example?

In the past, when I thought about this, it seemed that Jesus was referring to the promise, that they all saw by faith the fruit and growth that God would bring, and that it would be an everlasting family He established. But I was never quite satisfied with that, for the most part because it is in reference to a question about the resurrection.

Lets think about it again, all three passed away. They died naturally, and were buried in the grave. So is God their God now? It seems on the surface to be a conundrum. But we know that they saw by faith the promise. More specifically Paul reveals to us that Abraham looked forward to the Messiah, even tithing to Melchizedek who was not 'in the family' so to speak.

How do we now leap into the realm of faith for a nugget of wisdom? Well, I believe that each of the three fathers has a beautiful principal for us, bringing this spiritual picture into focus, the Living God who is the God of the living.

Abraham was not always Abraham. He was born a natural man, a sinner, a fallen creation. But by faith he believed in God and the promise of God. And by the speaking of the eternal, in Gen 17:5, he was no longer called Abram (his given name), but Abraham. Abraham, name of the new creation, of the father of many who God caused to come about. God of the living, God of Abraham, not Abram.

Then we have Isaac, who was a picture of the promised son from the beginning. He was born of the promise, by miraculous birth. Chosen by God. And he served God, even believing the promise of God to his father. Digging wells in the land to find the supply, and worshipping God, thanking God who made a place for him. God of the living, God of Isaac, not Ishmael. The son of faith vs. the son of the flesh.

Finally is Jacob, who was born second after his twin Esau. Yet the blessing did not fall on the first man, the natural man, but on the man after God's own heart, the second man. Jacob believed in the God of his fathers, and passed on the blessing to his sons. Jacob even proclaimed that the blessing God had blessed him with exceeded that of his fathers in Gen 49:26, an incredible testimony of his faith in God. God of the living, God of Jacob, not Esau. The one who God named Israel, the name of His people.

I am sure there is much more that can be expounded upon here, but the key principle is apparent. The resurrection is about those who believe by faith in the promise of God and are drawn into that promise by a walk of faith. It is about those who have a heart after God's own, who see the Lord, the right hand of the Creator. The God of the living is the God of Jesus, the God of life, and life through Him. The fathers saw ahead to a eternity with God, and believed in that promise. We see Christ as the true Priest before God, with the benefit of history, and can enter into the Kingdom through that reality.

Our Father is the God of the living, of all those who become alive in Christ. The living exist in Christ, by the life He has. Our Father sums up all things in Christ, the fullness of all life. That is the resurrection, the eternal realization of the life we walk in now by faith. Abraham is there, along with Isaac and Jacob. What a loving God we have!