God’s Image Study • God of the Living—Christ as Lord of the Dead and the Living
During our Ten Commandments study, two passages brought an important distinction before us.
Jesus describes God as the God of the living. Paul describes Christ as Lord of both the dead and the living.
Why are these statements worded differently? What does each reveal about life, resurrection, and the relationship between the Father and the Son?
We begin by preserving what each passage says.
God of the living
In Luke 20, the Sadducees question Jesus about resurrection. Their question concerns a woman who had successively married seven brothers: whose wife would she be in the resurrection?
Jesus answers by describing those who attain the resurrection, then brings them back to Moses and the burning bush. God is identified as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Jesus concludes:
“Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him.”
— Luke 20:38, LSB
The final words matter: all live to Him. We must keep them alongside the statement about God of the living.
Jesus is answering a challenge to resurrection. His reference to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob forms part of that answer. Read Luke 20:27–38.
Christ as Lord of both
Paul writes:
“Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”
— Romans 14:9, LSB, excerpt
Notice the action and purpose: Christ died and lived again, and Paul connects this with his lordship over both.
The surrounding verses explain that believers belong to the Lord whether living or dying. Paul uses that belonging to challenge their judgment and contempt toward one another. Each will give an account to God. Read Romans 14:7–12.
We therefore have two statements to examine together:
God of the living.
Christ as Lord of the dead and the living.
The differing wording deserves attention, as do the circumstances in which each statement appears.
The Father gives life, and the Son gives life
John 5 helps us examine the relationship.
Jesus says the Father raises the dead and gives them life, and the Son also gives life. He then explains that the Father has entrusted judgment to the Son.
Later, Jesus identifies the Father as having life in Himself and says the Father gave the Son also to have life in himself. The giving and receiving remain part of Jesus’ explanation. Read John 5:19–27.
This keeps us attentive to both the life being given and the authority through which the Son acts.
Passing from death into life
In John 5:24, Jesus describes the person who hears his word and believes the One who sent him as having eternal life and having passed from death into life.
The next verse speaks of an hour coming and already present, when the dead hear the Son’s voice and those who hear live. Verses 28–29 then describe those in the tombs hearing his voice and coming forth.
The timing and descriptions deserve careful examination. We should notice when Jesus speaks of life already received and when he speaks of an event still coming. Read John 5:24–29.
This brings us back to our Born Again Study. In John 3, Jesus distinguishes birth of flesh from birth of Spirit and explains the necessity of birth from above. Read John 3:3–8.
What does it mean, then, to be physically present and yet need to receive life? What changes when someone is born of the Spirit?
These are questions we will follow through Scripture, keeping the Father, the Son, the giving of life, and the sequence of events before us.
Threads to Follow
Dead while physically living: Examine Ephesians 2:1–5 alongside John 5:24.
Birth and life: Return to John 3 and the distinction between flesh and Spirit.
Resurrection and lordship: Follow the connection between Christ’s death, resurrection, and authority without losing the Father’s role.
The books were opened…
🌿 By Maria Emilia
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