The God of the Living

[Mr. M]

The Father and the Son are One Spirit from before the foundation of the world. 

2 Corinthians 5:16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh.

Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, 

yet now we know Him thus no longer. 

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; 

old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 

Why is the flesh no longer relevant?

Acts 4:33 And with great power the apostles

gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

And great grace was upon them all.

It is by the Resurrection that we know Jesus Christ to be The Son of God

Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power,

according to the spirit of holiness,

by the resurrection from the dead.

Matthew 22:

31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead,

have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 

32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Edited February 19, 2023 by Mr. M
removed text

[JohnD]

On 2/9/2023 at 4:53 PM, Mr. M said:

The Father and the Son are One Spirit from before the foundation of the world. 

Let there be no more talk of flesh and the incarnation.

 

The Father and the Son (and the Holy Spirit) are one God. But you will find no text of scripture stating they are one and only one in number of Spirit. 

John 4:24 (KJV)
God is a Spirit...

is a mistranslation that should highlight the added word "a"

John 4:24
God is Spirit

Which refers to God's entire nature is spirit / not physical.

This brings me to the second problem I have with your post...

The incarnation is very important to Jesus who went to the trouble of taking upon himself the additional nature of physical man. He spoke more of his being

the Son of man than he did being the Son of God.

The rest of your quotes were rather aimed by the Apostle to the reader to focus on the spiritual rather than the physical in the lives of the readers (not Christ).

[JohnD]

Furthermore, Jesus' comment about God being the God of the living is in reference to the afterlife.

That the Sadducees who did not believe in an afterlife were wrong. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc. were all living

(as disembodied spirits**) at the time Jesus spoke. 

** in Abraham's bosom in Sheol (Luke 16:19-31) until Jesus took them to heaven (Ephesians 4:8-10 / Isaiah 61:2)

until the general resurrection (Revelation 20:10-15 / 1 Thessalonians 14:13-18)

[Mr. M]

31 minutes ago, JohnD said:

Which refers to God's entire nature is spirit / not physical.

Where did I contradict this?

33 minutes ago, JohnD said:

The incarnation is very important to Jesus who went to the trouble of taking upon himself the additional nature of physical man. He spoke more of his being

the Son of man than he did being the Son of God.

I made no attempt to diminish the incarnation. To be spiritually-minded as Paul is teaching,

is to focus on the resurrection.

Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power,

according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

Romans 8:

6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject

to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 

8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 

10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin,

but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 

11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, 

He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies

through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Acts 4:33 And with great power the apostles gave witness

to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

And great grace was upon them all.

[Mr. M]

39 minutes ago, JohnD said:

The Father and the Son (and the Holy Spirit) are one God. But you will find no text of scripture stating they are one and only one in number of Spirit. 

John 4:24 (KJV)
God is a Spirit...

is a mistranslation that should highlight the added word "a"

John 4:24
God is Spirit

Which refers to God's entire nature is spirit / not physical.

This brings me to the second problem I have with your post...

The incarnation is very important to Jesus who went to the trouble of taking upon himself the additional nature of physical man. He spoke more of his being

the Son of man than he did being the Son of God.

The rest of your quotes were rather aimed by the Apostle to the reader to focus on the spiritual rather than the physical in the lives of the readers (not Christ).

I removed the comment that could be construed as offensive to the incarnation. Apologies.

[Mr. M]

55 minutes ago, JohnD said:

Furthermore, Jesus' comment about God being the God of the living is in reference to the afterlife.

I don't see "the living God" as pertaining to the afterlife only.

The topic is the resurrection to come. Because Christ is risen,

we all can walk in newness of life!

1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, 

The first man Adam became a living being. 

The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Mark 12:26 But concerning the dead, that they rise,

have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, 

how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,

and the God of Jacob’? 

27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.

You are therefore greatly mistaken.

Luke 20:

37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised,

when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 

38 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.”

39 Then some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 

40 But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

Psalm 88:

10 Will You work wonders for the dead?
Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah
11 Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave?
Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
12 Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

[Neighbor]

1 hour ago, Mr. M said:

I removed the comment that could be construed as offensive to the incarnation. Apologies.

Good 'nuff.

I read it as being Pentecostal Oneness dogma, a denial of the trinity.

[Mr. M]

1 hour ago, Neighbor said:

Good 'nuff.

I read it as being Pentecostal Oneness dogma, a denial of the trinity.

Whatever that is, I don't like it. 

[kwikphilly]

On 2/19/2023 at 2:05 PM, Mr. M said:

Whatever that is, I don't like it. 

Lol🤔.....Me neither,I attended Pentecostal Gatherings for many many years- the only thing I did not agree with is that if anyone does not speak in tongues they have not been Born Again- they see "Gifts" as evidence of Holy Spirit..... Pentacostal most certainly Believe in the "Trinity"

Our Redeemer Lives!!!Thanks for another delightful read 👍It's always Great to HEAR the Word,all such beautiful Scriptures- so Uplifting❤️

[farouk]

3 minutes ago, kwikphilly said:

Lol🤔.....Me neither,I attended Pentecostal Gatherings for many many years- the only thing I did not agree with is that if anyone does not speak in tongues they have not been Born Again- they see "Gifts" as evidence of Holy Spirit..... Pentacostal most certainly Believe in the "Trinity"

Our Redeemer Lives!!!Thanks for another delightful read 👍It's always Great to HEAR the Word,all such beautiful Scriptures- so Uplifting❤️

@kwikphilly Indeed, the 'tongues as initial evidence' doctrine does a lot of damage..........