At Home in Papa (part 2)

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (Jn 14:2,3)

We have so often reduced these verses, and the whole gospel, to mean that when we die Jesus is going to take us to a mansion in heaven that He has built us. Often this is taken further to say something like depending on how hard you work here that mansion may be big or small so serve hard so you earn a big mansion in which to spend eternity.

Quick sidenote for all my evangelical bro's I still believe in heaven and hell but check out what is really going on in these verses.

The Gk for house is oikia which means abode or by implication "family". The Gk for rooms is monē which is a noun that means residence. The only other place this word is used in the New Testament is in John 14:23

"If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home(mone) with him."

This is a very present reality.

Also this word "mone" is the noun form of the verb "meno" which means abide or dwell that I talked about in part 1. Jesus isn't talking about a physical place, that's what the disciples were thinking and they were confused, but something far better...a relationship that he brings us in to. He uses this intimate relationship language throughout this final conversation he is having with his disciples in the upper room.

Finally, take a look at the present tense of verse 3, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Not sometime out there somewhere but here, now.

You can see this kind of language going on in the old testament as well particularly in the psalms.