Are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob Alive or Dead?

Question: "How can you say the dead are not really alive? Jesus says that God is not the God of the dead but of the living."

Answer: The Sadducees, who were opposed to a resurrection, asked Jesus a question. (See Luke 20:27-33)

Jesus went on to answer:

And answering, Jesus said to them, The sons of this world marry and are given in marriage. But those counted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage. For they are not able to die any more; they are equal to angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses pointed out at the Bush, when he calls the Lord "the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. But He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to Him. (Luke 20:34-38)

Look at it this way. God is not the God of the dead, but "of the resurrected.” Look at the context. Even though "living" is present participle, it does not necessarily indicate present time. The participle is used as a noun. It’s not saying they are living now or living in the future, or lived in the past. "The living" simply names a class of people. We have to determine from the context to know when they are living. The context is “in the resurrection.”

"...and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage."

The context does take us to a time in the future… Jesus is talking about "in the resurrection."

Also note: “for all live to him,” is explaining what Jesus means by the previous statement. “He is not the God of the dead but of the living," that is, to God, "for all live to him." Jesus is essentially saying to God all are alive. Is Jesus saying that all who are dead are really alive now? No. Jesus is talking about God’s perspective. From God’s perspective, all are alive. Why would Jesus say that? It’s not that all the dead are LITERALLY alive in a disembodied state somewhere, it’s that God is the one who holds life in His hands, our very existence. 

There will come a day when the dead are resurrected; the wicked and the just.   Jesus says,

“Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming in which all those in the tombs will hear His voice. And they will come out, the ones having done good into a resurrection of life; and the ones having practiced evil into a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28-29)

From God's perspective all the saints are alive because of the fact of the resurrection; to those who have "done good to the resurrection of life."   Jesus is attesting or proving to them about the resurrection. If Jesus is saying that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are alive now, then he really didn’t answer their question. Their question had to do with a future resurrection, "whose wife will she be?" If Jesus is saying that the dead are alive now, how does that prove a resurrection, a question posed to Jesus by those who denied a resurrection?