As I've worked my way through Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, I've become convinced that the notion of "heaven" should be rejected as falling short of orthodox Christian confession. What do I mean by such a thing? It strikes me that our world largely embraces the notion of "heaven," but that is not the confession of the historic Church. We do not confess belief in "heaven", but in "the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting". It is not faith in the Christian sense that is necessary to believe in heaven (I don't know that I know almost anyone who doesn't believe in heaven), but it is this kind of faith that is essential for belief in the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting. These two beliefs should not be confused.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not abandoning the truth of God's presence and kingdom as now, but not yet. What I'm abandoning is the contemporary embrace of "heaven" as a place of disembodied existence. This fails to account for the very bodily resurrection from the dead of which Christ is the first-fruit. As the Church, we confess, and long for, a bodily existence that is transformed by the life-giving power of the Spirit which is in Christ Jesus. Our bodies will most assuredly be raised at the last day, even as we already are living resurrected lives of obedience...yielding our very lives to the Spirit.
Talk of "heaven" though is a disembodied talk. It is a talk of immaterial "spiritual" existence. It is not the Biblical doctrine of last things. The end is an end where the dead in Christ are raised because they have died and been buried with Christ. This has everything to do with bodily life now. It is not a sloughing off of this body and an immaterial entrance into a better plane of existence. It is the transformation of this body, because this body belongs to Christ as we yield all that we are to the obedience of Him.
So I reject the notion of "heaven" and embrace the resurrection and life everlasting...where death has been swallowed up in victory! Come, Lord Jesus!
Excellent!
ReplyDeleteCheck out Randy Alcorn's book, "Heaven." He stretches this post out to hundreds of pages and shows from Scripture that heaven is very much a place for resurrected Christians with actual, physical bodies.
ReplyDeleteDave P.
Thanks Dave. I've heard some really good stuff in the past about that particular book of Randy's. I'll have to add it to my qeue of books to buy. :-)
ReplyDeleteBravo Rick!
ReplyDeleteI'd just like to add to your wonderful post an image of the "afterlife" - the redemption of all things in a (new, or more likely) renewed creation; an earth whose inhabitants are in harmony with themselves, each other, the rest of the planet, and most especially, with God.
As my Systematic Theology prof in bible college used to say, "We're NOT going to heaven! HEAVEN'S COMING HERE!"
I think I would agree with you here. We will be with God forever, but the location for that does not automatically equate to Heaven. Otherwise, what need for the creation of a new Heaven and a new Earth? (2 Pet. 3:10) Also, having the throne of David occupied forever by Christ seems to make more sense if He is reigning upon the earth. After all, David did not reign in Heaven, so his throne was not there.
ReplyDelete