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Showing posts from October 6, 2026

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Browse at Your Own Pace

Begin wherever your curiosity leads. The studies will be here when you’re ready. When I shared my first Matthew study on Facebook today, I mentioned that I planned to post daily, though I might not share every post on Facebook. As I continue setting up this blog, I’ve realized that what matters most to me is making my past studies available for anyone who wants to explore them. For now, I’ll be adding posts to my heart’s content as I work through those studies. Some days that may mean one post; other days it may mean several. I’ll continue reading through and preparing each one before sharing it. There is no need to keep up with everything as it appears. This blog is becoming a place you can browse at your own pace—begin with a book, a question, or a study that interests you, and follow from there. The Bible Books page gathers studies by book, while Study Threads helps connect topics that travel through more than one book. The labels on individual posts also bring related material to...
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10. God of the Living: Bringing the Study Together

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God’s Image Study • God of the Living—Christ as Lord of the Dead and the Living We began this study with two statements: God is the God of the living, and Jesus is Lord of both the dead and the living. Following the passages has required us to examine what life means, how it is received, and the distinct roles of the Father and the Son, with the Spirit central to being made alive. God is the God of the living When answering the Sadducees about resurrection, Jesus points to God’s identification with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He explains: “Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him.” — Luke 20:38, LSB The resurrection setting matters. Their physical deaths do not overturn God’s relationship with them or His power to raise the dead. Jesus directs his hearers beyond what bodily death appears to settle. Read Luke 20:34–38. Jesus is Lord of both Paul connects Christ’s death and return to life with his lordship over both the dead and the living. Those who belong...
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9. God of the Living: Until Death Is Defeated

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God’s Image Study • God of the Living—Christ as Lord of the Dead and the Living Our study began with a distinction: God is described as the God of the living, while Jesus is Lord of both the dead and the living. To understand Christ’s lordship, we must follow its purpose and outcome. What authority has he received, what does he accomplish, and to whom does he bring the kingdom? He died and lived again Romans 14:9 connects Christ’s death and return to life with his lordship over both the dead and the living. The surrounding verses concern belonging to him, whether living or dying. Paul uses that relationship to challenge contempt and judgment among believers: each will give an account to God. Read Romans 14:7–12. Christ’s lordship carries responsibility for those who belong to him. Our treatment of one another must reflect that belonging. Authority to give life and judge In John 5, Jesus explains the Father–Son relationship through their work. The Father raises the dead and gives life; ...
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8. God of the Living: How Does Life Become Evident?

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God’s Image Study • God of the Living—Christ as Lord of the Dead and the Living We have examined receiving life from God and believing without requiring sight. Now we must ask how that life becomes evident in our conduct. John connects passing from death into life with something we can examine: our love for one another. From death into life John writes: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.” — 1 John 3:14, LSB, excerpt He immediately describes the person who does not love as remaining in death . Physical activity and a profession of belief do not settle the question he raises. John places Cain’s hatred of his brother alongside Christ’s willingness to lay down his life. These contrasting actions help us examine what governs our own treatment of others. Read 1 John 3:11–16. Love responds to another’s need John makes the examination practical. If someone has material resources, sees a brother in need, and closes their heart, how does God’s love...
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7. God of the Living: Believing Before Seeing

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God’s Image Study • God of the Living—Christ as Lord of the Dead and the Living Our previous post examined receiving eternal life while the body remains mortal. Now we turn to faith, recognition, and the sequence in which these unfold. Do we trust what God has revealed, or do we require something visible before we will believe? Thomas heard before he saw When Jesus appeared to the disciples, Thomas was absent. They later told him they had seen the Lord, but Thomas made seeing the wounds and touching Jesus a condition of his belief. John then specifies that after eight days , Jesus appeared again, with Thomas present. Jesus invited him to examine his hands and side. The account records the invitation and Thomas’s response without explicitly stating that he touched Jesus. Jesus then says: “Blessed are those who did not see, and yet believed.” — John 20:29, LSB, excerpt The distinction matters. Thomas required sight before belief. Jesus blessed those whose belief did not depend upon seein...
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6. God of the Living: Life Within a Mortal Body

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God’s Image Study • God of the Living—Christ as Lord of the Dead and the Living Can someone remain mortal and already have eternal life? This question helps us connect what we have examined concerning being born again, the indwelling Spirit, and the resurrection. We must pay attention to what Scripture describes as already received and what it describes as still awaited. Has passed from death into life In John 5:24, Jesus describes someone who hears his word and believes the One who sent him. That person has eternal life and: “has passed out of death into life.” — John 5:24, LSB, excerpt Notice the wording. Jesus describes a passage from death into life that has already taken place. Verse 25 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 speak of a coming hour when those in the tombs come out. We must preserve these details. Receiving life now and being raised from the tomb are both part of the passage. Read J...
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5. God of the Living: The Last Adam and the Heavenly Image

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God’s Image Study • God of the Living—Christ as Lord of the Dead and the Living Our examination of being made alive brings us to Paul’s comparison between Adam and Christ. This connects directly with our God’s Image Study . We must examine the life and transformation associated with the heavenly image rather than assume physical existence already establishes that condition. A living soul and a life-giving spirit Paul writes: “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” “The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” — 1 Corinthians 15:45, LSB, excerpts Notice the distinction between living and life-giving . Paul’s description of the Last Adam directs our attention to life imparted to others. The surrounding passage concerns resurrection. A natural body is sown; a spiritual body is raised. Paul also preserves an order: the natural first, then the spiritual. Read 1 Corinthians 15:42–46. Bearing the heavenly image Verses 47–49 continue the comparison between the earthly and the heavenly. Pa...
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4. God of the Living: Made Alive—To Bring Us to God

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God’s Image Study • God of the Living—Christ as Lord of the Dead and the Living We have examined the Father drawing people to the Son, the Son giving life and revealing the Father, and the Spirit giving life. First Peter 3 brings another part of this relationship into focus: the purpose of Christ’s suffering and what follows his death. The purpose is stated Peter describes Christ suffering for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, with this purpose: “so that He might bring you to God” — 1 Peter 3:18, LSB, excerpt Keep the direction before us. Christ acts on behalf of others to bring them to God. Put to death—made alive The same verse continues: “having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit” — 1 Peter 3:18, LSB, excerpt Peter then describes proclamation to spirits in prison, identifying their former disobedience with Noah’s days. He follows with the ark, eight persons brought safely through water, and baptism in relation to Christ’s resurrection. The details be...
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3. God of the Living: The Father Draws—The Son Reveals

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God’s Image Study • God of the Living—Christ as Lord of the Dead and the Living Our previous post examined people described as dead while physically living, and the change Scripture calls being made alive. Now we follow the relationship through which that life is received. Jesus repeatedly directs attention to the Father who sent him. His words also explain his own role and the Spirit’s work. Each part matters. The Father draws people to the Son John 6:44 makes the Father’s drawing necessary for coming to Jesus. Verse 45 connects that coming with hearing and learning from the Father. The Father actively teaches and draws; the Son receives those coming to him. Jesus also promises not to cast out the person who comes. Read John 6:37–45. This asks us to examine our approach. Have I given careful attention to the Father’s instruction? Am I willing to learn from Him, including when that challenges what I already believe? The Son gives life In John 5:21, Jesus says that, as the Father raises...
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2. God of the Living: Dead While Living—What Life Must We Receive?

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God’s Image Study • God of the Living—Christ as Lord of the Dead and the Living Our opening post placed two statements alongside one another: God is the God of the living, and Christ is Lord of both the dead and the living. To examine that relationship, we must pay attention to how Scripture uses the words dead and living . Can a person walk, speak, make decisions, and still be described as dead? Dead, yet walking Ephesians 2 begins: “And you were dead in your transgressions and sins” — Ephesians 2:1, LSB The following verses describe how those people formerly walked and conducted themselves. They had desires and acted upon them. Their physical activity did not prevent Paul from describing their condition as death. Verse 2 also identifies a spirit working in the sons of disobedience. This matters: spiritual influence and activity do not, by themselves, establish that someone has received life from God. We must examine the source and what it produces. Read Ephesians 2:1–3. God makes al...
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1. God of the Living: Why Is Christ Lord of Both the Dead and the Living?

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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...
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