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"We we all be equal in Heaven?"
| John Hoole | July 27, 2003 |
Today we continue our pursuit of what the Bible tells us of Heaven. But we make this endeavor knowing that 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV) tells us;
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"The next question we are going to discuss doesn't come up a lot. But enough to see what the Bible says about it.
WILL WE ALL BE EQUAL IN HEAVEN?
We, a people who have been made perfect by our Lord Jesus Christ, will be living in a perfect place. Does perfection require total equality? If not, then can inequality exist without conflict?
So, I raise the question again: "Will we all be equal in Heaven?"
The answer is both yes and no. It depends on what part of our existence in Heaven you are talking about. On earth, we all are equally sinners, equally lost, and equally in need of God's grace. In heaven, we will be as we are now: equal in worth and dignity, equal in being loved by God. But will we be equal in the sense of all being the same? God forbid!
This gets into the issue of blessings and rewards for deeds done on earth for Christ. We know, from reading Matthew 18:1, that the disciples were interested in where they would rank in heaven. On another occasion, recorded in Matthew 20:21, the mother of two of the disciples asked if her sons could sit on either side of Jesus in the kingdom. In effect, Christ said that special privileges were unworthy goals for those heaven-bound. Selfish interests and proud ambitions would spoil heaven.
Up to this point, we have looked at how Jesus has stressed equality on earth, and equality of promise in the eternal state. But what about the matter of rewards?
On one occasion, Jesus mentions that the "first will be last, and the last will be first" in the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus also often spoke of those "least" in the heavenly kingdom.
Matthew 5:19 (NIV)
19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.I recently read a Christian author who categorically states that people won't own anything in Heaven. And in that sense, says he, we will all be the same. I hope I am not overreacting when I say I believe that is absolutely foolish thinking.
What about the different dwelling places in heaven? Didn't Jesus say He was making them for us.What about the treasures we were commanded to store up for ourselves in Heaven (Matthew 6:20)?
What about different crowns and rewards God will hand out according to our works (2 Cor. 5:10)?
What about the fact that we have an inheritance that will be given us in heaven (Col. 3:24)? Doesn't the word inheritance imply something tangible that will belong to us? Will your crown be as much mine as yours? Of course not.
What about God's promise to give to overcomers a white stone with our new name written on it. It is a name that no one else will know (Revelation 2:17). Will your stone belong to me, or mine belong to you? No! The one God gives you will be yours, not mine. And the one He gives to me - if I am an overcomer - will be mine, not yours.
Is this ownership wrong or selfish? Of course not. Ownership is never wrong when it is the Lord distributing to us possessions He wants us to own. Heaven is not a socialist utopia in which private ownership is evil. Materialism, greed, envy, and selfishness are sins - ownership is not.
Our different personalities, rewards, positions, and names in heaven speak not only of our individuality, but of how God, who loves us all, finds unique reasons to love us. I love my wife and children, and I love different things about each.
We are like unique instruments, played by an orchestra of individual musicians performing as one. We will play together in perfect unity, but each of us will play our own part in bringing glory to God in perfect harmony. We all bring something different, something singular and vital, to the concert of praise.
And God will take great delight in each uniqueness, for He is not a God of sameness but of diversity. And you can be sure that in our differences and the difference of rewards, we absolutely will not be jealous or envious of one another, because such feelings are from the old nature. Because there is no sinful nature and no devil in heaven, those who are given more will not exude pride, and those who have less will not covet.
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