Heaven

“Will we know each other in heaven?”—Jimmy

A question often asked when a loved one dies, this topic has given rise to endless debate and discussion. The Bible does not answer the question directly, but does give some important insight.

Scripture speaks often of “eternal life.” The gift of God through faith in Christ, this transformed existence begins in our earthly experience and continues after death (John 3:16; 11:25-26; II Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:8-9). Eternal life involves both spirit and body. The Bible teaches that the Christian will experience a bodily resurrection. At Christ’s second coming, the dead will be raised “immortal” and “imperishable” (I Cor. 42-54). This “resurrection body”, spiritual in nature, will be similar to the natural, physical body. It will be like the post-resurrection body of Jesus (I John 3:2).

Jesus’ resurrection body provides the best picture—He is the “first one” of this new kind of existence (I Cor. 15:20; Col. 1:18). He spoke and listened, touched and was touched, and ate with friends. He knew people and they knew Him and the sound of His voice (John 20:1-21:25; Luke 24:13-32).

The logical conclusion is that we will be at home in our resurrection body and that we will recognize each other as the new people we have become. This is a comforting thought. We do well to remember, however, that our sense of what is most important may get a major adjustment when we see the Lord Himself face to face (I Cor. 13:12)!