Heaven (Part 26) - Family Relationships and Women's Roles in Heaven

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Heaven (Part 26) - Family Relationships and Women's Roles in Heaven 42. Will there will be family ties in heaven? Husband/wife, brother/sister, parent/child, etc.? (Carissa) Will we be with our natural family or our church family in heaven? (Wayne) Will women still be helpers of anyone in heaven since they were created to be helpers for their husbands, but will not have husbands in heaven? (Judy) A. There will be no husband/wife relationships in heaven (see previous question). B. Of course, some of our family members will be hell, so our relationship with them will not continue in heaven. i. God has His elect in every kindred (Rev 5:9). ii. Kindred n. - 1. a. The being of kin; relationship by blood or descent (occasionally, but incorrectly, by marriage); kinship. iii. But not all the members of every family are elect. a. Abel was (Heb 11:4) and Cain wasn't (1Jo 3:12). b. Isaac was (Gal 4:28) and Ishmael wasn't (Gal 4:29). c. Jacob was (Rom 9:13) and Esau wasn't (Rom 9:13). d. Therefore, Abel, Isaac, and Jacob are not going to have familial ties with their brethren in heaven. C. If our family members are not God's children, it is very likely that other children of God will replace the relationships we had with them just like God has done for us in this life (Mar 10:29-30). i. The children of God are our true and lasting brothers, sisters, parents, etc. (Luk 8:19-21). ii. "Jesus was saying that devotion to God creates a bond transcending biological family ties. Jesus also said that those who follow him will gain "brothers, sisters, mothers, children" (Mar 10:29-30). I think of this when I experience an immediate depth of relationship with a fellow Christian I've just met." (Randy Alcorn, Heaven, p. 349) D. But what about our natural family members who are God's children? Will we continue to have parent/child and sibling/sibling relationships with them? i. There will be generations of people in heaven and on the new earth (grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, etc.) (Eze 37:25). ii. There will be continuity between our lives here on earth and our lives in heaven and the new earth. iii. This is apparent for the following reasons. a. We will be rewarded for how we used the talents God gave us in this life (Mat 25:21; Luk 19:17). b. We will be judged for the evil we did in this life (2Co 5:10). c. The saints in heaven remember their lives on earth (or at least some parts of it) (Rev 6:10). d. Paul comforted the Thessalonian saints by telling them that they will see their loved ones in Christ again (1Th 4:13-14), which means that they will remember them and their relationship they had on earth with them. iv. Therefore, it can be concluded that our relationships with elect family members will continue where they left off on earth. v. The relationships will be so much better though because we will all be free of sin. E. Will our family members look like what we remembered them looking like? Will our parents and grandparents look old and our children and grandchildren look young? i. It is possible that our resurrected bodies will be capable to looking different to different people. ii. Jesus' resurrected body appeared in different forms to different people (Mar 16:12). iii. Our bodies are going to be made like unto His glorious body (Php 3:21), so it's possible that our bodies will be able to change form based on who we interact with. iv. It's possible that we could look old to our grandchildren like they remember us and young to our parents and grandparents like they remember us. F. Will we be with our natural family or our church family in heaven? (Wayne) i. In heaven there will only be one church, the bride of Christ (Eph 5:25), the general assembly and church of the firstborn (Heb 12:22-23). ii. We and our elect family members will all be part of the same (and only) church in heaven. iii. I see no reason why in heaven we couldn’t live in close proximity to both our natural family members (who are God’s children) and to the members of our current local church and previous local churches we were members of in this world. G. Before sin entered the world, woman was created to be an help meet for her husband. I think the level of subservience was increased as a result of the fall, but she was always meant to be a helper, even in a perfect world. So what will be the role of women in heaven? On earth, the woman is a helper to her own husband--not to men in general. There'll be no marrying in heaven. But since there are different stations in heaven, to the point that even the angels are in a hierarchy, will women still be helpers in some form there, as opposed to running things, so to speak? (Judy) i. It appears that at least some aspects of male authority will continue on the new earth. a. The kings (not queens) of the new earth bring their glory into the new Jerusalem (Rev 21:24). b. It’s therefore possible since there is some degree of male authority in heaven that women could still have some type of a helper/subservient role for men in heaven. ii. The helper role of women will change in heaven. a. It is true that heaven (specifically the new earth) will be a restoration and a glorification of the original creation (see Section IX - The nature of the new earth). b. It’s also true that in the original creation the woman was created to be help meet (suitable) for the man (Gen 2:18). (i) This helper role was made specifically for marriage (Gen 2:21-25). (ii) There will be no marriage between the children of God in heaven (Mat 22:30). (iii) However, all the elect will collectively be the bride of Christ in heaven (Eph 5:25-27; Rev 19:7-8). c. Therefore, the elect (both men and women) will be helps meet for Christ their husband in heaven (Rev 7:14-15; Rev 22:3).