Have you ever wondered if we will
continue to grow spiritually in Heaven?
It’s a good question to ponder.
The answer has a great deal to say to us about the depth and the quality
of what our experience in Heaven will entail.
In other words, it answers the question so many have on their minds—will
Heaven be boring?
Many believers believe we won’t
grow spiritually, intellectually, or emotionally once we get to Heaven because
they believe we will have perfect knowledge in Heaven, in the sense that our
knowledge, both spiritual and intellectual, will be full and complete. They believe this is true because of their
understanding of 1 Corinthians 13:12, which states that when the “perfect
comes”, mentioned in verse 10, we will know fully just as we are fully
known. Whereas, some take “the perfect”
to be the completed canon of Scripture, I disagree. I think it is referring to our Heavenly existence,
when we move from earth to our new home in heaven. The struggle those have who argue for the
“perfect” being the completed canon of Scripture is that we, even with the
Scriptures, do not know fully as we have been fully known. None of us are perfect, none of us have a
perfect understanding of God’s Word, and all of us are still affected by the
sin indwelling our flesh—thus none of us know fully. However, once we get to Heaven and we are no
longer inhibited by sin and we are in the presence of Jesus we will know fully. But what does it mean to know fully?
The Greek word for the phrase “know fully” is epi-ginosko. Whereas, it
means to know extensively, it is never used of absolute knowledge when used of
humans—even those in Heaven. This Greek
word is thus, referring to the quality of what we will know not the quantity of
what we can know. The basic idea behind
the verse is that in Heaven we will know in a fuller and more intensive way
without any error or misconceptions in our knowledge. Paul’s point in comparing our knowledge to
God’s knowledge is that like God, what we know will be perfectly accurate, not
that we will know exhaustively all that God knows. Therefore, if to know fully does not mean to
know comprehensively and completely, we will grow in our knowledge and in fact,
we will grow perfectly in an ever-increasing knowledge and understanding of an
infinite God whose depths can never be plumbed, even by those in Heaven. Thus, if we are to grow perfectly and
continually in the knowledge of the most magnificent and majestic of persons
and explore the depths of His works—how can Heaven be boring?
Contrary to popular opinion among
unbelievers, Heaven will never be boring.
Isaac Asimov, the science fiction writer was the one who said: “I
don’t believe in an afterlife, so I don’t have to spend my whole life fearing
hell, or fearing heaven even more. For
whatever the tortures of hell, I think boredom of heaven would be even worse.” In spite of what Asimov said—Heaven will
never become boring because there will always be more to learn, understand, and
enjoy about God, our new home and ourselves.
You might ask, how does one grow spiritually and
intellectually in heaven? Spiritual
growth is dependent upon and proportional to the comprehension and application
of truth (Jn. 17:17). As we learn more
and more about our eternal and infinite God—we never ever begin to limit how
much more there is to know. Plumbing the
depths of God is impossible regardless of how long eternity is. Thus, if there is more truth to know then
there is more growing to do. We do not
reach Heaven as static people who will never ever do any more growing in terms
of knowledge, maturity, and growth. Keep
in mind that 1 John 3:2 teaches that we shall be like Him in terms of a
glorified body like His and sinless moral character like His. It does not mean that we will know everything
Jesus knows and be everything that Jesus is.
Whereas, we will be conformed to His character—it is as conformed to His
character as a finite creature can be or has the capacity to be. Certainly, in a glorified body, completely
redeemed from and removed from sin, in a place with no sin, and in the presence
of Christ Himself, we could not but experience ever-increasing growth thus
ever-increasing responsibility, challenge, and productivity.
Is, then, spiritual growth of any real importance upon earth? Yes.
Here on earth, spiritual growth is not uniform or constant. It is affected by sin to greater or lesser
degrees. Thus, one person’s rate of
spiritual growth is not the same as someone else’s. In Heaven, this is not the case for the
simple reason there is no sin in Heaven.
Thus in Heaven spiritual growth as well as intellectual and emotional
growth is constant and uniform. We will
all grow at the same pace. But we will
not all be at the same level of growth.
Why will this be so? Because we
all enter Heaven at differing levels of growth.
The man or woman who has applied themselves to the spiritual disciplines
of involving themselves in the life of the Body, hearing the Word of God
taught, personal Bible Study, prayer, Scripture memorization, evangelism, etc.
will be more mature and at a higher growth level than the believer who has not
given themselves to spiritual disciplines.
Thus both believers enter Heaven at different levels of growth. Since, in Heaven, growth will be constant and
uniform both will grow at the same pace but the one who entered Heaven more
mature will always be ahead and at a higher level of growth than the believer
who did not apply himself on earth. As
Theologian Paul Helm writes: “The goal and end of a person’s calling does
not terminate in this life, but it makes sense only in the light of the life to
come. . . .The basic fact about the present life is that it is important and
valuable in all its aspects because it leads to the world to come.”
What you and I do as Christians
now really does impact our future in Heaven.
This is why Paul commands us in Colossians 3:1-2 to set our affections
(our passions and desires) on things above—Heaven. It is only as we see what awaits us in Heaven
that we will walk away from the sin that so charms us here. Heaven is a place of greater joy, happiness,
and even learning than we have ever imagined.
And while everyone will experience great joy, happiness, and discovery
in Heaven, we will not all experience the same capacity or level of joy,
happiness, and discovery. What you do on
earth for and with Christ will determine that.
After Columbus ,
discovered the New World in 1492, Spain
“The world to come is what we were made for—it gives shape and meaning
to our present lives. If we think
regularly of the heavenly and the eternal, we aren’t easy prey for Satan’s lies
and distractions. . . If my wedding date is on the calendar, and I’m thinking
of the person I’m going to marry, I shouldn’t be an easy target for
seduction. Likewise, when I’ve meditated
on Heaven, sin is terribly unappealing.
It’s when my mind drifts from Heaven that sin seems attractive. Thinking of Heaven leads inevitably to
holiness. Our high tolerance for sin
testifies of our failure to prepare for Heaven.” (1
John 3:2)
And as I say all this, I realize
that many believers are troubled and
deeply disappointed in how their lives have turned out due to bad decisions,
the consequences of sin, health issues, physical limitations, or even the
sinful actions of others. And what adds
to their disappointment is the fear that their failings and failures on earth
will result in a diminished and dismal future in heaven. They have the mistaken idea that their
earthly existence held more promise, more potential, and more opportunities
than Heaven and thus if they blew it on earth—there really is nothing in terms
of opportunities, responsibilities, challenges, adventure, and even growth to
look forward to in Heaven.
This simply is not true. There will be no unhappy, unproductive,
unfulfilled, unchallenged, and ungrowing
people in Heaven. Everyone there
will experience as much happiness, joy, productivity, fulfillment, challenge,
and growth that they are able and capable of.
The difference among those who reside in Heaven is simply that there
will be differing capacities for opportunity, responsibility, happiness,
challenges, and productivity. And the
differing capacities are proportional to the differing levels of faithfulness
on the part of believers while they lived on earth.
Now, if you are one of those
people who are discouraged and even depressed about how your life has turned
out thus far due to your own sinful choices—don’t despair. Confess your wrongdoing to God and commit
yourself to making moment-by-moment decisions in light of your future
destiny. Ask yourself, each day when you
wake up—what can I do today to write the best ending of this Book about your
life—a story that will continue gloriously into Heaven. By God’s grace, use the time you have left on
earth to store up for yourself treasures in Heaven, to be laid at Christ’s feet
for His glory. Then look forward to
meeting Jesus in Heaven along with all those your new Christ-exalting choices
touched in a positive way.
In Perelandra, C.S. Lewis writes of his character Ransom, who has
recently returned from another planet, “A
man who has been in another world does not come back unchanged.” Likewise,
the believer who sets his affections upon his future home in Heaven where
Christ is cannot remain unchanged. He becomes a new person, who can no
longer spoil his appetite for God’s superior, eternal, and infinite pleasures
by snacking on sin’s trash. So, with this in mind--Live with Heaven in view!
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