Philippians 3:20-23

HEAVEN

‘For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.’

Php_3:20

What is heaven? That is a question to which the Church can give a partial, though as yet necessarily an incomplete, answer.

I. We turn, then, to the words of Jesus Christ.—And here it is important to remark that, when He spoke of heaven, He was careful to use such language as is figurative or analogical. But while it is true that our Lord’s words respecting heaven must be regarded as adumbrations of an inexpressible and inconceivable reality, it is not impossible to draw certain inferences from His teaching and from His life.

(a) Thus He taught, beyond doubt, the existence of heaven. He did not prove it; He took it for granted.

(b) Jesus Christ then taught the reality of heaven; and in His teaching He spoke of it with complete knowledge, with complete certainty. He professed and claimed to know all about heaven.

(c) Whether it was His will or not to reveal the character of heaven, He declared explicitly that it was within His power to reveal it.

(d) There is, however, a manifest intention not to exaggerate the awfulness of the invisible world. It may be said of Jesus Christ that, while He laid a powerful emphasis on the reality and significance of that world, He intended it to be a hope, a solace, a motive to holiness, and not to exercise a paralysing influence upon human action.

II. Among the lessons of Christ’s teaching upon heaven there are two which seem to stand out in relief. He taught—

(a) That the enjoyment of the heavenly life depended upon character and conduct in this life; and also

(b) That the access to the heavenly life lay in the method and revelation of His hid gospel. It is not in man to merit heaven.

III. Heaven is not a place or a period, but a state.—Is it possible to understand that existence? The soul of man is the seat of personality or identity; and it is the soul which is immortal and enters heaven. But, if we know what it is that is immortal, we may hope to know what it is that the immortal being is capable of being or doing. The intellectual, moral, and spiritual faculties of man continue eternally.

IV. It is asked by many an anxious, yearning heart if they who have known and loved on earth will regain such mutual knowledge in eternity. Can it be doubted that this knowledge will be theirs? We shall know them, and they us. We shall live with them in full and free communion; we shall participate in their joy, their gratitude, their adoration; the saddest of all earthly fears, the fear of separation, will be wanting. There will be no more parting for ever.

—Bishop Welldon.

Illustration

‘No merely negative conception of heaven can be just. To regard it simply as a state of immunity from sin and sorrow and suffering is to mistake its character altogether. That in heaven “the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest” is true enough; but heaven is none the less a state of constant activity. The reward of fidelity in few things is the opportunity of showing fidelity in many things. The intellectual, moral, and spiritual faculties will operate in heaven as on earth, only more vividly and intensely, without the drawbacks incidental to human life—e.g. infirmity, error, defeat, or weariness. There will be an end of doubt, of difficulty, of denial. Then shall the secret of God be known, His power and love fully recognised.’