Great Sayings of Jesus

"In My Father's House Are Many Mansions"

Hopewell Church of Christ

December 26, 1999

Introduction

"Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. It go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for your, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know and the way you know." (John 14:1-4.)

These words of Jesus have been repeated numerous times to give comfort to families in the hour of death. Jesus first said these words to his apostles when he was about to leave them. He wanted them to know where he was going, and that they also could be with him there.

Because of a decreased appreciation for the Bible, many today do not believe in heaven. For others, it holds little attraction for them to desire to go there. We must find our reasons for looking forward to heaven. I will give some in this presentation.

Heaven or the church ?

Occasionally, you will hear someone present another view of "the Father's house with its many dwelling places." The only other view that I have ever heard, other than heaven, is that Jesus is referring to the dwelling places in the church that he will soon establish. I do not believe that this is the correct view, but it is worth considering. The first time that I heard this alternative view I was shocked. The preacher was T. Pierce Brown during a preachers' meeting in Tupelo, MS. He is a frequent writer in the Gospel Advocate. He believed that Jesus' words refer to the church.

Here are his arguments for the church:

1) Why would Jesus have to prepare anything in heaven? Nothing needs to be created there, we could assume. Heaven is already a wonderful spiritual place where God and the angels dwell. There is no sin for Him to remove; no evil one like Satan. He does not need to build houses for man to dwell there. On the other hand, Jesus did need to build his church. He said to Peter, Upon this rock I will build my church. (Matt. 16:18.) The Holy Spirit had to come upon the apostles and empower them. Jesus had to go away before the church could be established.

2) It seems that after the preparation is over, then He would come again. Normally, when we speak like Jesus' did, we imply that after the work is done, then you may come to our house. We could ask, Why is the preparation not finished by now? He is divine. Could he not have accomplished the task by now?? If it refers to the church, the task was shortly completed after he ascended to heaven. The second Comforter came and guided the apostles into all truth. Within 40 days plus, the church was established.

3) Verses 17 & 23 also refer to dwelling with God. Jesus said, "For He (the Comforter) dwells in you and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you." (14:17-18.) Here Jesus said when He would come to them. Through the Spirit, both Jesus and the Father would dwell with the apostles in their hearts. "If a man love me, he will keep my words. And my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him." Those dwelling places would be in the church when it was established. They would be spiritual places to dwell.

The Greek word for dwelling places, monai, is found only in verses 2 and 23 in the NT. The two verses are connected in meaning. God abides with us through the Spirit. We abide in God as we receive his Spirit and enter into the church.

4) Their hearts would be comforted when the Comforter came. No more would they be separated from the Lord. God would make his abode with them in the church.

Arguments for heaven:

1) No where is the church directly mentioned in this context. The promise of the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth was made to the apostles, not to all of us. The argument seems reasonable because of the proximity of time to the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the establishment of the church.

2) The abiding places of verse 2 and verse 23 are two different places. The first one is where the apostles (and all of us) may abide. That place is the Father's house. The second is the abode of God with them through the Spirit. That place is the hearts of the apostles.

3) "I will come again" refers to the physical second coming of Jesus. It is true that there many comings of the Lord in judgment in Scripture. But there are only two physical appearances of the Lord mentioned in Scripture. This coming to the apostles through the Holy Spirit is not the second coming of Jesus. He said, I will come again. He came the first time down from the Father. (John 6:38, John 16:28.)

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." (Heb. 9:27-28.)

We must be born again. This is the second time. Jesus will come again; that is, the second time. If His coming was through the Spirit to the apostles on the Day of Pentecost, there is no outstanding promise that he will return. Yet years after the church was established, Paul wrote extensively about the second coming. Every chapter of the 8 chapters of first and second Thessalonians refers to the second coming of Jesus.

". . . how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." (1 Thess. 1:9-10.)

". . . when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thess. 1:7-8.)

4) This preparation could be in heaven. It should not be limited to the church. But what kind of preparation would be needed?

I go to prepare a place for you

Definition of prepare. The Greek word is hetoimazo, which means to prepare, provide, or make ready. (Strong's #2090.) Thayer's definition: to make necessary preparations, of preparing a feast (like the Passover, Luke 22:8), the things provided by the man building a larger barn (Luke 12:20), prepare lodging for Paul (Philemon 22), oriental custom of sending on before the king to level the road, or prepare the minds of men to receive Christ (Matt. 3:3).

Internal & external preparation. Different words are used when the preparation is internal. Noah prepared an ark (kataskevazo). God prepared a body for Jesus. (Heb. 10:5.) In contrast, Jesus referred to internal preparation in John 14:2. The Father's house did not need created, but he is preparing the dwelling places in his Father's house. Something significant is involved in this work. Jesus role of High Priest just began when he returned to heaven. He is making intercessions for us at the right hand of God.

Quotations:

"Whatever the preparation needed---Jesus will do it." (Show Us The Father, W. T. Hamilton, 142.)

"What must a home be when prepared by omnipotence and omniscience, moving at the dictate of infinite love!" (Gospel Advocate: John, C.E. W. Dorris, 220.)

"We are familiar with the thought that the going, or death, of Jesus prepared a way for us by providing a fountain for the cleansing of our sin, and by rending the veil of the temple, 'thus signifying that the way into heaven is now open.' But the thought here is different, Jesus departed to prepare places for his own in the Father's house." (Fourfold Gospel, J. W. McGarvey, 661.)

"It evidently means that he, by the work he was yet to perform in heaven, would secure their admission there, and obtain for them the blessings of eternal life. That work would consist mainly in his intercession." (Barnes' Notes: John, Albert Barnes, 326.)

Two illustrations:

1) Canaan was prepared for Israel.

"And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not; and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not. When thou shalt have eaten and be full, then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage." (Deut. 6:10-11.)

2) The upper was furnished.

"Go ye into the city and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water; follow him. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And he will show you a large upper room furnished and prepared. There make ready for us." (Mark 14:13-15.)

This room was ready, but internal preparations had to be made for the feast of Passover. In a similar manner, heaven already exists but some internal preparations were necessary.

"They did not know the way but had to follow the owner. Arriving, they found everything prepared. It looks as if Jesus here made the disciples' journey of the day before a parable of eternity, in which the upper room foreshadows the home of God with its many habitations." (The Gospel According to John, A. M. Hunter, 141.)

Heaven, a real place.

Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you. Though different from Palestine, the promised land, and the upper room at the Passover, nevertheless, heaven is a real place. It is not some nebulous, undefined place where clouds, mist, or disembodied spirits float about. Man will have a glorious body, like the body of Christ.

"After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands." (Rev. 7:9.)

Jesus as our High Priest

Jesus, our Savior, the Lamb of God---on the cross, has been preached and exalted while his work as our high priest has been neglected and even denied. The idea of Jesus returning to earth to reign as king completely ignores his office and work as priest.

"We have such an high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law." (Heb. 8:1-4.)

Follow this brief survey of Hebrews:

1:3---purged our sins and sat down at the right hand of God

2:9---tasted death for every man

2:14-15---destroyed Satan and the fear of death

2:17---that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest

3:1---consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession

4:14-16---seeing we have a great high priest come boldly

5:7---who in the days of his flesh offered up prayers

5:10-11---we have many things to say, hard to be uttered. Similar to John 16:12-13. Jesus had many other things to say to the apostles. "There is no profounder theme, nor is there any one that is more difficult of interpretation, than the priesthood of Christ." (Hebrews, Robert Milligan, 204.)

6:1---go on unto perfection

7:11---If perfection were by the Levitical priesthood. . . what further need was there that another priest should arise?

8:6---But now he hath obtained a more excellent ministry. . . meditator of a better covenant.

9:8---way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while the first tabernacle was yet standing.

9:28---appear the second time. Similar to John 14:3.

10:22---having an high priest over the house of God

12:2---author and finisher of our faith

Conclusions

Jesus came to earth to prepare us for heaven. Then he left earth to go prepare heaven for us. This work is on-going. We know less about this work of Jesus than we do any other. We can see the world that he created. We can grasp his sacrifice on the cross. But this work of preparing a place cannot be seen with the eye.

e which the Lord pitched and not man. For every high priest