4 Points To Consider

“23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24 ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother.

26 The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27 Finally, the woman died. 28 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?’

29 Jesus replied, ‘You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

31 But about the resurrection of the dead – have you not read what God said to you, 32 “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.’ 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.” (Matthew 22:23-33)

1. People Will NOT Marry

Jesus states that “…people will neither marry nor be given in marriage…” The obvious questions are, “How Come? Why Not?” Paul answers these questions in the Book of Romans:

“14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:14-17)

Marriage relationships are for this life and not the next. For those of us who are Followers of Jesus, we have been become “…children of God.” This is why in throughout the New Testament, authors often refer to Christians as “…brothers and sisters…” (Rom. 8:12)

On earth, my wife Nicole, is the most important woman in my life. But I need to have a heavenly perspective! In heaven, I’ll be perfect, and Nicole will be even more perfect than she is now. And in heaven, I’ll have the ability to love perfectly.

With that perfect love, Nicole, as my sister in Christ, will not be any more important or valuable than any other of my sisters in Christ. Brothers and sisters (siblings) is the best understanding of heavenly relationships.

2. We Will Be LIKE Angels

Jesus then states that we “…will be like the angels in heaven.” Note that Jesus says we will be like angels, and NOT become angels! This is an important difference, which aligns with what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:1-3:

“If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? 2 Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!”

How can we judge angels if we are ourselves, angels? Remember what we just read in Romans; if we heirs of the Heavenly Father and Co-Heirs with Christ, then it completely makes sense that the angels would be apart from us or even below us.

Jesus’ words of being like angels (not becoming angels), conveys an understanding that we will become spiritual beings (like angels are spiritual beings). The earthly flesh will die and decay, but our souls will continue into the afterlife.

3. We BELONG To The God Of Abraham

We read, “…God of Abraham…Isaac, and…Jacob…” Jesus makes a connection to the Old Covenant by mentioning Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, which is important for us who are under the New Covenant. We have the same Heavenly Father of these great men!

In Galatians 3:13 we read:

“13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’ 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

Then, when we skip down to verse 26:

“26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptised (or immersed into) into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

In the Old Testament, we read about God’s covenant to the Jewish people who started with Abraham, moved to Isaac, then to Jacob (whom would become Israel in Genesis 32). Then with Jesus, God brought forward a New Covenant for all of humanity.

Jesus came first to the Jew, then to the gentile (or non-Jewish people).

So this gives us insight into the afterlife, again reiterating the concept of family. Whether under the Old Covenant or the New Covenant, we are “…children of God…one in Christ…” and “…Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.“

4. There Is LIFE After Death (With Christ)

Lastly we read, “…not the God of the dead but of the living.” Jesus affirms that there is definitely life after death with the statement. But once again, let’s look to Paul’s writings to the church, to confirm.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 we read:

“13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever.“

Here’s the key: Dead people don’t sleep because they’re dead!

But we’re not dead, we’re alive in Christ! Paul‘s terminology of Believers being asleep is so critical to our view of the afterlife. We don’t have a God of the dead, but the living!

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How should Jesus’ instruction on heaven impact the life we’re living now?