The God of the Living

Matthew 22:31-32 (cf. 23-33)

“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, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”

Tom Wright, Matthew for Everyone (Vol. 2)

Israel’s God was and is the creator of the world, who is content to describe himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob even though they died long ago. He is holding them in life still, and one day they will be raised, along with all God’s people, past, present and future, to enjoy the new world that God will make.

The great thing about this belief . . . is that people who believe it become more ready to work for God in the present time, more eager to see God’s promises of justice, peace, and new life begin to take effect in today’s world (92).

A. Orendorff

What difference does the reality of the resurrection make at 9am on a Tuesday?

The simplest answer is often the most profound (and the most difficult to actually believe): the resurrection means that God is a God of life. Perhaps better: God is a God who, as Paul says in Romans 4:17, “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” God has no desire not reign over a graveyard, although the graveyard is where his kingdom work begins.