How can all people be alive to god in lk 20:38 if some people are dead spiritually?I don't get this.

Hey Zorgblar.

These accounts are Jesus responding to the Sadducees' question on resurrection and so is in the context of resurrection. By saying these words, Jesus confirmed that from God’s viewpoint the long-dead Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob still lived in God’s memory. By the way, the Sadducees as a group did not believe in the resurrection, so you can see why Jesus' response was so pointed.

God does not view death like we do. There is nothing we can do to bring them back so they are "gone". But Jehovah can bring them back so in His perspective they are "sleeping" (John 11:11), and are fulfilling their "compulsory service" (Job 14:14,15), waiting until the "last day" when they will be resurrected. (John 11:24)

So alll faithful ones who have died are living in God's memory. People today talk about dead loved ones as still living as they will always be remembered. It brings them much comfort. But it is more than that to Jehovah.

“Thy dead live, their bodies will rise again. They that sleep in the earth will awake and shout for joy; for thy dew is a dew of sparkling light, and the earth will bring those long dead to birth again.” (Isaiah 26:19 The New English Bible)

To Jehovah one is not truly dead unless they have been pitched into gehenna - the lake of fire, the "second death" from which there is no hope for resurrection.

Agape,
Jason

[QUOTE=Zorgblar;525435]Notice jesus didn't say"and god remembers them even now."He said that they were alive.You can't be alive in someone's mind in the literal sense.If they aren't in some spirit realm why didnt jesus just say that god still remembers them?[/QUOTE]

Someone can be alive in your mind without even ever having existed. For example- you can imagine having a perfect life with the perfect person and perfect offspring whether those people have ever existed. I sometimes imagine that Marlon Brando is alive, young, slim, and trim and madly in love with me and the father of my child. That obviously is NOT true even though it is in my heart's desire and imagination. Do you see what I am saying?

When we die, we are still remembered and thought of by Jehovah as well as by loved ones. We are still alive in someone's mind. However, we are not in existence any longer. We are no longer alive and living. We are in Jehovah's memory, in His book of life though we are asleep in death.  Remembering is like being alive in someone's mind, even in Jehovah's mind.

Unless we are of the 144, 000 annointed, when we die, we are dead. We are not hovering anywhere. We are not haunting our old homes and loved ones. Not even the annointed are doing that. But we are dead. We are not doing anything and we are not conscious or aware of what is going on on this planet or anywhere else. That's it!