Much ink has been spilled, time spent, and relationships lost over the past several years within our Church of Christ fellowship over questions about the nature of heaven. In one way, debates about the nature of heaven are unimportant. Our salvation and unity are built upon faith in Jesus Christ rooted in a Gospel that confesses the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus as the ultimate revelatory and salvific act of God (see 1 Cor 15:3–11; Phil 2:6–11). Therefore, everything else plays a secondary and supervenient role to this core Gospel conviction. 

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However, this does not mean that other beliefs are unimportant or do not need to be developed and discussed. Though it does mean that we should not use them to judge a person’s salvation or fellowship standing. All our beliefs about God are important, even if not of equal importance (e.g., Matt 23:23). Our goal as followers of Christ is to pursue the perfect human life God created us to live. The life we see emulated in Jesus (Matt 5:48; Phil 2:5; Col 3:10). Therefore, the better we know and understand God, the better we can attune ourselves to God’s Spirit, which is already at work within us, allowing the Spirit to transform our lives. 

Additionally, the way we live and think is determined by the story we believe ourselves to be part of. For example, your family’s story gives meaning to your holiday traditions. If you were born into another family (i.e., another story), those traditions would have no meaning. When you decided to follow Jesus, you made yourself a character in God’s story. God’s story now determines the way you live and think. The better you know and understand God’s story, the better you can live as a character in his story. So, while these other beliefs may not be determining factors for salvation, they are most definitely critical to our spiritual transformation. 

The topic of heaven is no different. What we believe about heaven will not determine whether we get in or not, but it will dramatically impact the way we live now as we await heaven’s advent. Three areas, in particular, are impacted by what we believe about the nature of heaven. 

Bringing Heaven to Earth

If God’s story ends with heaven (i.e., God’s dwelling place) coming down to earth, then our job, as the characters in God’s story, is to take part in God’s story by bringing as much heaven to earth as possible. Our job as Christians is not to grit our teeth and hold on as long as we can until we get to escape this world and go to heaven, but it is to take part in the work God is already doing to transform this world into the place he created and designed it to be. 

As a result, we no longer see the world as an inherently evil place that we must escape but as a field ripe for harvest and redemption. The world is inherently “good,” as God declared when he created it in Genesis 1. The problem is not the world but the sin in the world. Such a view completely transforms the eyes through which we see the world. We view people as inherently good, as image-bearers of God, who have been infected by sin and, therefore, are worthy of love, dignity, care, and justice. We are able to see God in all kinds of places outside of the church (e.g., creation, art, film, music). We see the things of this life as gifts God has given us to enjoy (e.g., food, drink, entertainment, friendships, work). 

If God desires to transform this world into the place he designed it to be, then the church has a mission now to take part in what God is already doing in the world to transform it through the Gospel. The church no longer has the option to push current issues aside and into eternity, claiming that there is no need to address them now because God will solve the problems in heaven. Instead, our job is to try to bring heaven to earth by solving our world’s problems, caused by sin, through the Gospel. This means the church has the job to deal with our real-world issues relating to justice, war, discrimination, racism, sexism, abuse, greed, and exploitation. 

We Care About Physical Bodies

If heaven is going to be on a “new earth,” and our bodies raised, then God cares about and desires to redeem our physical bodies. If God cares about physical bodies, then we should care about physical bodies. Physical and mental health become just as important as spiritual health, because, to God, there is no distinction. God’s redemption is the redemption of the entire human person, solving the spiritual, physical, and mental problems caused by sin. 

Therefore, the church has a mission to not only care for the spiritual needs of people but also their physical and mental needs. We do not give the poor food so that we can “save” them. We give them food to give them food and provide for their physical needs. We also desire to teach them the Gospel and provide for their spiritual needs. However, we do not do one only to do the other, making spiritual more important than physical. We do both because both are of equal importance to God. New creation theology helps the church balance Jesus’ words in Mark 10:42–50 that it is better to enter life without a hand or foot then have both and be thrown into hell with James’ words in James 2:14–17 that it is not enough to say to a person, “Be filled,” but not provide them with physical food. 

This means the church must be about providing food, shelter, and finances to people in need. The church must provide adequate avenues to help people through mental challenges such as depression and anxiety through trained professionals and counselors. As Jesus says in Matthew 25:31–46, those who will get to take part in the kingdom to come are those who give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit the prisoner. 

Steward God’s Creation

If God desires to restore his creation (Rom 8:18–21), then God cares about the creation. If God cares about the creation, so should the church. The way we treat the created world matters to God. We cannot abuse the earthly resources God has given us. We should care about preserving God’s creation (e.g., forests, sea, the Amazon). We should stand against not only the abuse of people but also the abuse of animals. Interestingly, in the Old Testament Law, God not only called for a weekly sabbath from work and a 70-year jubilee that freed people from debt and servitude but also a 7-year sabbath from working the land. God has always cared about the ways people respect, work, and care for his physical creation. 

by: Spencer Shaw

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Looking for further study on the topic of heaven? Listen to the first podcast in our series on New Creation here.