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Mark 12:18–27
“As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong” (vv. 26–27).
Like all other texts, Scripture must be interpreted. We must read, study, and consider the words of the Bible to know what we are to believe concerning God and what duties He requires of us. That raises the issue of how we are to derive our doctrines and duties from Scripture. In particular, we want to consider whether only what God’s Word says explicitly is binding or whether its implicit teachings must be followed as well.
Westminster Confession of Faith 1.6 provides guidance here, stating that “the whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture.” In other words, the truth of Scripture is found both in what it says directly and in what we rightly deduce from it. Christians have always recognized this, and proof of that lies in the fact that so many of the doctrines that we believe are vital for salvation are not actually explicitly stated in Scripture. For example, no verse in the Bible expressly states that God is one in essence and three in person. Looking at the whole scope of Scripture, however, we must conclude that God is triune if we are to make sense of what the Bible does say explicitly about monotheism and the distinctions between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In stating that what we deduce from Scripture by good and necessary consequence is as binding on us as what the Bible says explicitly, we are following the example of Jesus Himself. As we see in today’s passage, Jesus showed the Sadducees that the books of Genesis–Deuteronomy, which were the only books that the Sadducees turned to for doctrine, actually teach that we live on beyond the grave even though they contain no explicit statement to that effect. God did not say “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” after they died but “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Such a statement is meaningful only if the patriarchs did not cease to exist at their deaths. That the Lord continued to be their God long after they were dead and buried necessarily implies His ongoing relationship with them and thus their continuing existence (Mark 12:18–27).
Christian theology does not merely restate the explicit teaching of Scripture but makes good and necessary logical deductions to help us know God better and to answer new challenges. Putting in the work to do this leads to a firmer grasp of divine truth.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
God has made us as rational creatures, so it makes sense that He would reveal Himself in such a way that we must think seriously and deeply about His revelation. He wants us to engage our intellectual faculties and meditate on His truth to plumb its depths. Not everyone is called to be a professional theologian, but all Christians should put in the effort to think through God’s Word as deeply as they can and as their vocations, schedule, and aptitude permit.
For further study
- Psalm 1:1–2
- Ecclesiastes 7:13
- Matthew 12:9–14
- 1 Corinthians 9:1–14
The bible in a year
- Exodus 19–21
- Matthew 20:1–16