Friends in Heaven

By Rev. David Petersen

The Third Article:

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.

People in heaven have faces. They are still themselves. Mary remains the mother of Jesus, Abraham the father of Israel. The apostles are still the apostles. There are positions of honor on our Lord’s right and left hands. Those places will be filled. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful piece of irony if it turned out that our Father had reserved those places for James and John or for Salome? The works of the saints follow them. All shine according to their works and life on earth, the fruits of the faith God has given.

They are not all the same. They retain their nation, tribe, people, and tongue. They retain, in some fashion, their positions and their good works from earth. In St. John’s vision of heaven, the angels, the multitude, the elders, the patriarchs, the martyrs, and the four living creatures are distinguished one from another.

Who you are now is who you will be in heaven, only more so. You will finally become most fully yourself, as you were meant to be. All that you aren’t because of sin will be restored. Your gifts and talents, personality and intellect, will be free of all envy, malice, and greed. You will be the person that God has always loved, the one redeemed and forgiven by Him, still with your humor and interests, joys, and praise. God Himself has crafted and designed you. And thus you will honor and praise Him as only you can. You will shine according to the unique grace that He has given you.

You will be unique yet united, distinct but not separate. This is the life of the saints in heaven. They are united one to the other, in perfect accord and harmony, fully rejoicing in the gifts and talents of others, even as they excel at their own. They are washed in the blood of the Lamb. They are as pure as the holy angels. They are perfect in the grace of Jesus Christ who is risen from the dead. He forgives sins. That forgiveness sanctifies sinners. He removes all jealousy and strife. So while the saints in heaven have their individuality, they also have Him. In Him, they are united, fully in love with all their brothers and sisters as wonderful and distinct gifts of God.

God’s grace in Jesus Christ forgives sins. It does not end personality. You are not your sins. The forgiveness won for you by Calvary’s sacrifice removes both guilt and punishment. To be forgiven is to be innocent of all sins in heaven, as though you had the righteousness of Christ himself. Of course, you are not completely in heaven just yet. You are innocent there, but temptation still afflicts you here. So do guilt and regret. To be sanctified, to grow in the grace of Jesus Christ, you keep on being forgiven. Forgiveness begins and leads to sanctification. It delivers and leads you to holiness. So God brings you to Holy Absolution, to the Holy Supper, to hear the Word of God, to pray, and so forth, so that you remain and abide in His Word and serve him in innocence. In these ways, He continues to wash and cleanse you of your sins, to unite you to the saints in heaven, and to lead you to holiness. Your sanctification is not yet complete, so you still struggle with sins. You still need what God gives.

But the good work begun in you will be complete. Your sanctification will be full. You will be perfect, which means “complete,” completely who you should be in Christ. In the day of Jesus Christ, you will be raised from the dead and free of all temptation, all second thoughts, all guilt, shame, and regret. You will be free from selfishness. You will be as good as your Father declares you to be, good in ways and degrees unique to you. You will still need your Father’s gifts, but then not for forgiveness but just for joy. You will leave behind your fallen flesh and sinful desires. You will receive new flesh, a perfect, completely human and eternal, holy body. You will be you. Only sin will be left behind. In this grace, you will retain your intellect, personality, humor, gifts, talents, experiences, and interests. You will be more fully you than you’ve ever been before, remaining unique and special to God, but finally, and at last, without sin.

This is also true of your fellow believers. If you love your believing grandmother now, you will love her then and for the same reasons. You get to keep your believing family and friends in heaven. But then you will be free to love them purely and wholly, without envy, malice, or greed. By the blood of Jesus Christ, you will love as you should.They will by worthy of it and return it without fail. You will be you. They will be themselves. And it will be good.

Rev. David Petersen is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is also on the Higher Things editorial board. His e-mail address is David.H.Petersen@att.net.