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Luke 20 27-40 He is not the God of the dead but of the living 01 Luke 20 27 Understanding of life and death
📖 Luke 20:27-40
20Mar2021 - *Understanding of life and death* - _Luke 20:27-40_ - HE IS NOT THE GOD OF THE DEAD BUT OF THE LIVING 1 – Bible reading: _Genesis 2:16-17_
One group of leaders had tried to trap Jesus but they were amazed at the answer that Jesus gave them. Then the Sadducees approached Jesus. The Sadducees were the ruling class amongst the religious fraternity. We see this in their interaction with Peter and John.
_Acts 4:1-2 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, (2) *being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead*._
_Acts 5:17-18 Then *the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees)*, and they were filled with indignation, (18) and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison._
The Sadducees had a particular theological conviction which was the denial of the resurrection. _Luke 20:27 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him,_
Let us look into this matter more closely.
God created man out of matter but man’s life was the breath of God._ Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being._
Man was, therefore, not just made up of matter but it was the breath of God, in him, that gave man, life. Man was not only physically alive, like the rest of creation, but man was alive because of the life that came from God. The source of life is God.
For man to be alive, man had to be in an intimate, breath to breath relationship with God. _John 1:4 In Him(Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of men._
How was man to remain in an intimate relationship with God?
God gave man ‘free will’. Man was to take his free will and willingly surrender, submit and obey, God’s will. Man was to be under the authority of God.
This seems strange. Why would God give man free will and then expect man to submit to His will? This is a crucial question and the answer to this question is the basis of man’s relationship with God.
Man was to be in a love relationship with God. The intimacy with God that we talked about earlier is a love relationship. However, is love expressed as an emotional response. Yes, emotions follow but loving God is by trusting God.
Here is an illustration. A little girl used to play with her Dad. She would sit on a wall and she would jump and her Dad would catch her. At times, the little girl would be afraid to jump and would hesitate. However much her Dad encouraged and coaxed her, she would refuse to jump. Every time this would happen, her Dad’s heart would break.
Friends, do you see the association between trust and love?
To love God, it is imperative to trust Him. _Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him._
Trust is not a concept but trust requires obedience _(Imagine the little girl sitting on the wall and telling her Dad, in eloquent words, how much she trusts him and yet refusing to jump into the arms of her Dad. Has she demonstrated trust? Absolutely no. To demonstrate trust, she has to obey her Dad and jump off the wall)_
Trust requires obedience. These two are the fundamental basis of our relationship with God, which is trust demonstrated through obedience. This is how we express our love to God. *This is why we take our free will and willingly submit it to God’s will*. This is the only way by which we can be in a love relationship with God.
God loves us and God is giving us the opportunity to love Him in return by taking our free will and willingly, yield to His will. The submission of our will to God’s will is our love offering to God.
In loving God, by submission of our will to God’s will, we will live. The moment we decide not to submit to God’s will but act upon our own will, we will die.
_Genesis 2:16-17 And *the LORD God commanded the man*, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; (17) but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for *in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die*."_
Life was in the submission of our will to God’s will and death is when we refuse God’s will and live by our own will. Man is living in a state of death for man is living his life independent of God’s will.
I trust we are able to comprehend the understanding of life and death?
*Thought to ponder*
```Are you truly alive today or are you living in a state of death?```