My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
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| GOD OF THE LIVING |
| Mark 12:27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.” |
| What a coincidence. I hadn’t looked ahead on the topic for this mornings post, and as I was travelling to work this morning, I just so happened to be in the Gospel of Mark. Now as the heretic that I am, I was listening to what many consider a paraphrase of the Word, as it often brings up shades of meaning that I pursue in studies later on. Yes – I was listening to the Message, and have found it to be a refreshing take on truths I think I am familiar with. This time, my familiarity of the passage was way, way off base! Let’s read the short response of the Lord in the Message. Mark 12:24-27 (MSG) Jesus said, “You’re way off base, and here’s why: One, you don’t know what God said; two, you don’t know how God works. After the dead are raised up, we’re past the marriage business. As it is with angels now, all our ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God. And regarding the dead, whether or not they are raised, don’t you ever read the Bible? How God at the bush said to Moses, ‘I am—not was—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? The living God is God of the living, not the dead. You’re way, way off base.” Can you imagine any respected Bible teacher in a debate, using this type of language? Even more so, to think the Lord Jesus may have used this type of non-formal response to the “highly respected” Sadducees only makes Him to be more of a hero to me. He is awesome in His response, and spoke the truth. They were way, way off. 1. They Just Don’t Know Gods Word He told them they don’t know God’s Word. These religious practitioners boasted about their understanding of the Word, and though they disbelieved much of it, they certainly had knowledge of the words in the Book. So how can Jesus make such a claim? It is because of their approach to the Book, looking for “outs”, trying to find a way to fit the Word into their lives and culture, instead of fitting their lives and culture to the Written Word. 2. They Just Don’t Know God’s Works They knew the facts, but they didn’t know the facts. I know it seems confusing and I have tried to explain this difference in a previous blog (Inherit the Kingdom? Who Knew?) It is the difference between experiencing God’s works and simply knowing facts about His works. There is a massive difference, and I am speaking to those who experientially know the work of God in their lives, even on a daily basis as He proves Himself over and over again, for He is the God of the Living. The Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection), coming to the Scriptures with that bias, completely miss the fantastic implication of the burning bush Moses faced. For God spoke of being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Not that He was their God, but that He is their God, even at the time Moses was before the burning bush, hundreds of years after the Patriarchs passed. Don’t they ever read the Bible? Someone with a bias against resurrection truth would be blind to this implication. They would be way way off. So sad. So blind. So unnecessary! Imagine being way, way off base! Thankfully, for those of us who have experienced the work of God in our lives, and seek to follow after Him in a daily walk, we are privileged to find these implications everywhere! It is wonderful to travel the Word and trip over these implications as we seek Him. I would love to hear from some of my readers of their experiences in the Word and how their eyes lit up when they discovered an implication they had not experienced before. For He is the God of the Living, even on this very day, and all who worship Him, either living or having passed from our view, have experienced the wonder of His Word and Works. |
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
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