mansion

25 Monday Jun 2012

Tags

Abraham, Body of Christ, Church, Hades, Heaven, John 14, King David, King James Version, Paradise, Recovery Version

The King James Version of the Bible (which was translated in 1611) renders John 14:2 as follows: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” Today, many pastors use this verse to help describe to their congregations what heaven will be like when they die. Well, what if you discovered that, according to the revelation in the Bible, the believers do not go to heaven when they die? What if that one word “mansion” should not be translated as mansion after all (at least in the way we think of mansion)? Indeed, one word could change everything!

Firstly, the Bible reveals that there is only one Man in heaven right now, and that is Jesus (Acts 1:11; 7:56)! Peter tells us in Acts 2:34 that not even King David, who was a man according to God’s heart, has ascended into heaven, but that he still remains in Hades, which is somewhere in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40; Acts 2:31). And consider the parable in Luke 16:19-31 which indicates that Abraham is there in Hades right now, and two others who died in Luke 16 also ended up in Hades—one in torment and the other in Paradise with Abraham (c.f. Luke 23:43 with Acts 2:31).

Secondly, the term “My Father’s house” has already been used by the Lord in the Gospel of John to refer to the temple of His body (v. 2:14-22), which was raised from the dead after three days as the mystical Body of Christ—the church—having all the believers as members of this Body (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 2:6).

Thirdly, a more accurate translation of John 14:2 renders the KJV word “mansions” as “abodes”: “In My Father’s house are many abodes; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you” (Recovery Version). This translation is consistent with the rest of the revelation in John 14 and 15—that through His death and resurrection Jesus would prepare a place for us to abide in God. In John 14 Jesus said that He was going to the Father (v.12) as He was about to be crucified. And in verse 20 He said, “In that day [(the day of His resurrection)] you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” In 15:4 the Lord said, “Abide in Me and I in you….” If the believers are in Christ, and Christ is in God the Father, then surely the believers are in God!

The abiding place (not mansion in the sky) that Christ prepared for us through His death and resurrection is in God. God, of course, is a heavenly Being, and through regeneration (divine birth) the believers now abide in God and have a citizenship in the heavens from which they eagerly await the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20), though they are physically on the earth. But what a huge difference one word can make in our understanding—talk about paradigm shift! To say the least, the destiny of the believers in Christ is far more profound than the stereotypical view of going to heaven!

gift

04 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by Paul Joseph in Bible study

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Tags

Calling upon the Name of the Lord, Cup of Salvation, Eternal Life, Jehovah the Savior, King David, University of Texas at Austin

When my kids were younger and I returned home from my many travels abroad, they would always run to the door to greet me, and their first question was, “Did you bring home anything for us?” They were looking for a gift from their daddy. Gifts are very important in a host of circumstances, as you all are well aware. It is big business to sell gifts, and wrap gifts, and deliver gifts. One gift can change a whole atmosphere or relationship by 180 degrees. There’s a proverb that says, “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men” (Proverbs 18:16). Speaking of being brought before great men, when you tour the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin, something you’ll see there are all the interesting and costly gifts given to President Johnson by foreign dignitaries. No doubt, their gifts made the way pleasant for them to come before the President of the United States.

Well, the God of the universe who wants to have a relationship with us humans is also well acquainted with giving gifts to the creatures who were made in His image and likeness. He wants to gain our hearts and fill us with Himself. By becoming a man in His incarnation and shedding His own blood to pay the price for our sins, God “gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life” (John 3:16). In His resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45) as a drink for us (John 7:37-39; 1 Corinthians 12:13)—the very cup of salvation that King David made reference to in the Psalms. As King David considered all that the Lord had given to him, he asked, “What shall I return to Jehovah for all His benefits toward me?” (Psalms 116:12). He recognized that the most profitable thing he could do for God was to continue to receive what the Lord would give to him: “I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of Jehovah” (Psalms 116:13).

Today, Jesus Christ is this very Jehovah God. The name Jesus literally means Jehovah the Savior, or, the salvation of Jehovah. May we all take God’s gift to us by calling upon His name, because the Lord is rich to all who call upon Him, and, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:12-13). “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). And don’t forget Romans 11:29—“For the gracious gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”