Scripture Reading: John 12:23-24, 27-28; 13:31-32; 15:1, 15:8; 17:1; 14:2; 16:21
In the foregoing chapters we have pointed out that the main subject of the section of the Gospel of John from the middle of chapter 12 to the end of chapter 17 is the divine glorification. We have also seen that in chapters 14, 15, and 16 three main things are covered: the Father’s house, the vine, and the new man. Actually, these all refer to the same thing, and they are all related to the divine glorification.
According to 12:23 and 24, the Lord’s glorification is a matter of His multiplication: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” If, as is commonly supposed, the Father’s house in 14:2 denotes a heavenly mansion, what relationship would there be between this mansion and the multiplication of Jesus for His glorification? The answer is that there would be no relationship between a heavenly mansion and the multiplication and glorification of the Son of Man. To be sure, the Father’s house does not refer to a heavenly mansion. This section of the Word is on the glorification of Jesus through His multiplication in resurrection. A so-called heavenly mansion has no relationship whatever to the multiplication of the Lord Jesus.
The vine in chapter 15, however, is certainly related to the Lord’s multiplication. In 15:5 the Lord said, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” The branches of the vine are for the multiplication of the vine.
The new man in chapter 16 also is a matter of multiplication. First, there was an individual man — Christ. Then in resurrection He with the believers was born to be a corporate man. This new man, therefore, is also the multiplication of Christ.
Although the vine and the new man are related to Christ’s multiplication, a heavenly mansion is not. In keeping with the fact that this section of the Gospel of John is concerned with the Lord’s glorification through His multiplication, the Father’s house in 14:2, as the multiplication of the Lord Jesus, must be the church. In the New Testament the church is called the house of God (1 Tim. 3:15). As the house of God, the church is the multiplication of Christ.
Anyone who is clear concerning the basic subject of this portion of the Gospel of John will not oppose us for saying that the Father’s house in 14:2 is not a heavenly mansion. However, some may argue strongly if we present only 14:2 and 3 to them and then try to tell them that the house here is not a mansion in the heavens but is the church as God’s house on earth today. We may find it very difficult to convince them. But if we ask them to read the five and a half chapters of John from the middle of chapter 12 to the end of chapter 17 and pay special attention to the matter of glorification, they may be convinced to drop their concept and accept the revelation of the pure Word.
When we have the opportunity, we should help others see that the word glorified is first used in this section in 12:23 and that it is used a number of times throughout this section, in particular in chapter 17. Then we should point out that this section is on the glorification of the Lord Jesus, a glorification that involves His multiplication. If the Father’s house in 14:2 were a mansion in the heavens, then it would have nothing to do with the Lord’s multiplication and glorification.
We all need to know the truth, experience the truth, and learn to present the truth to others. The best way to present the truth concerning the Father’s house to someone is to read together with him these five and a half chapters concerning the Lord’s glorification. If we read these chapters properly and accurately, it will be clear that there is no way that the Father’s house in 14:2 can refer to a heavenly mansion. Once again I would point out that a heavenly mansion would have nothing to do with the multiplication of the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s multiplication cannot be in the heavens; it must be on earth. Furthermore, His multiplication must be the spread of Himself. The church as the house of God is the genuine spread of the Lord Himself. But a so-called mansion in the heavens, as a physical entity, could never be the Lord’s spread. Therefore, the interpretation saying that the Father’s house is a heavenly mansion is altogether contrary to the context.
If certain ones still are not convinced that the Father’s house does not denote a heavenly mansion, after considering the subject of glorification in these chapters in relation to the Father’s house, you may try to present the truth another way. You may say, “Brother, you believe that the Father’s house in chapter 14 is a heavenly mansion and that you will go to this mansion when you die. What will be the ultimate consummation of this heavenly mansion?” He may tell you that eventually the heavenly mansion will become the New Jerusalem. If he answers in this way, you should go on to say, “How wonderful that your heavenly mansion eventually will be the New Jerusalem. Let us read Revelation 21:10, where the apostle John tells us that he saw the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. This verse indicates that your heavenly mansion, if it becomes the New Jerusalem, will not remain in the heavens. Instead, it will come down to earth. Furthermore, the foundations of this mansion, which has now become the New Jerusalem, bear the names of the apostles. This indicates that your heavenly mansion, the New Jerusalem, is the consummation of the church, of which the twelve apostles are the foundations. Eventually, you will go to the New Jerusalem by way of a mansion in the heavens, but we will go to the New Jerusalem by another way. This means that, ultimately, you will lose your heavenly mansion, but we all will be together in the New Jerusalem.”
Suppose someone says to you, “You claim that the Father’s house in John 14:2 is not a heavenly mansion. Since you don’t believe in a heavenly mansion, where do you think you will go when you die?” You may reply, “If I should die before the Lord comes, I would go to Paradise. The New Testament reveals that when a believer dies, his spirit and soul go to Paradise. Therefore, if I should die, I would go to Paradise and wait there for the resurrection. When the Lord Jesus comes back, all the dead in Christ will be resurrected. Then we will be brought together with the living saints to meet the Lord Jesus. Then after the millennium the New Jerusalem will descend from heaven to earth.”
What we have been presenting here is the pure truth of the Word, the truth without any leaven. Actually, the concept that the Father’s house in 14:2 is a heavenly mansion is a Gnostic concept. The thought of going to heaven when we die comes from a pagan source. The Greek word for house in 14:2, oikia, was used by the Gnostics to mean a heavenly mansion. This usage, being Gnostic, is pagan and heretical.
Some expositors of the Bible even think that John was influenced by Gnosticism. These expositors make a serious mistake in saying this. They understand the word oikia in a way that is similar to the understanding of the Gnostics. John certainly was not a Gnostic or influenced by Gnosticism, and oikia in 14:2 does not refer to a heavenly mansion. Instead, here oikia refers to the Body of Christ, the church. We have seen that to Christ the church is the Body, whereas to the Father the church is a house.
Some who know Greek and who also hold to the concept that the Father’s house in 14:2 is a heavenly mansion may point out that in 2:16 and 14:2 different Greek words are used for house: oikos in 2:16 and oikia in 14:2. They may go on to say that originally oikos had a wider range of meaning than oikia. They may also say that, as used in the Gospel of John, oikos in 2:16 refers to the temple, but they may claim that oikia in 14:2 refers to a particular kind of dwelling in the heavens.
How should we deal with this objection to our statement, which is based on the Scriptures, that the house in 14:2 definitely does not refer to a mansion in the heavens? Perhaps the best way is to point out that in the New Testament oikos and oikia are used interchangeably. For example, in 1 Corinthians 1:16a Paul says, “I did baptize the household of Stephanas.” Here Paul uses the word oikos for household. In 1 Corinthians 16:15 Paul says, “You know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia.” In this verse Paul uses oikia. Therefore, Paul twice mentions the household of Stephanas, in the first instance using the word oikos and in the second, the word oikia. This is a strong proof that, by the time the New Testament was written, oikos and oikia were synonyms and were used interchangeably.
If Paul used these two words interchangeably in 1 Corinthians, we may also say that they are used interchangeably in the Gospel of John. Anyone who cares to study this matter will learn that elsewhere in the New Testament oikos and oikia are used interchangeably. The point we are making here concerning the Gospel of John is that oikos in 2:16 and oikia in 14:2 do not refer to different things; rather, they have the same basic meaning.
Some believe that even in the New Testament some trace of the distinction between oikos and oikia still exists. They would say, and in this way they may be correct, that oikos in John 2:16 has a somewhat broader meaning than oikia in 14:2. As used in 14:2, oikia may have a more narrow, purified sense than oikos.
We should remember that before the Lord spoke about the Father’s house, Judas, the false one, had left. This indicates that the house in 14:2 is something pure, for it is related to the divine glorification. Therefore, the house, the church, is pure and does not include any false disciples. It is purely the multiplication of the Lord Jesus Himself. Certainly the many grains of wheat produced by the unique grain do not include any tares. Judas was a tare, and this tare was eliminated before the Lord spoke the message recorded in chapters 14, 15, and 16. Hence, the Lord was multiplied in a pure way to become many grains, and among these grains there are no tares. Now all these grains are being blended together to become one loaf, and this loaf is Christ’s Body. In the Body of Christ, there cannot be any foreign elements. If Judas had remained, he would have been a foreign element in this organic Body. But such a mixture could not be permitted. The Father’s house is pure, and the grains produced by Christ as the unique grain constitute a pure multiplication of Him.
The important point we are making here regarding oikos and oikia is that by the time the New Testament was written, these words were used as synonyms. Actually, it is very difficult to find any distinction between them. Therefore, those who insist on holding to the concept that the Father’s house in 14:2 denotes a heavenly mansion cannot rightly claim that the fact that different Greek words are used for house in 2:16 and 14:2 proves that oikia in 14:2 refers to some kind of dwelling place in the heavens, whereas oikos in chapter 2 refers to God’s house, the temple. No, both oikos in 2:16 and oikia in 14:2 refer to the dwelling place of God on earth.
We have seen that as the multiplication of Christ, we are His glorification. According to John 15:8, the Father is glorified when the branches of the vine bear fruit: “In this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit.” Why is it that God the Father is glorified when we bear much fruit? The reason the Father is glorified through our bearing of fruit is that in fruit-bearing there is the manifestation of God as life from within us, and this manifestation is the Father’s glorification.
The divine glorification is also related to the birth of the new man in chapter 16. The bringing forth of this new man covers a long span of time. This delivery, which is in resurrection, is the multiplication and glorification of the Lord Jesus. The full definition of this glorification is covered in the five and a half chapters from the middle of chapter 12 to the end of chapter 17.
After the Lord prayed in chapter 17, He presented Himself to be arrested, judged, sentenced, and crucified. According to the Gospel of John, the Lord’s death was His going away, and His resurrection was His coming to the disciples. Through His going and His coming, He produced the many grains of wheat, and these grains are His glorification. In this glorification the Body is produced. This Body is the Father’s house, the Father’s house is the vine, and the vine is the new man to express God for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose.
After the Lord was resurrected, He appeared to the disciples and breathed into them (20:22). In this way the disciples received Him as the pneuma. As the pneuma the Lord entered into the disciples and remained with them. According to chapter 21, the Lord was even with some of the disciples when they were fishing.
In the Gospel of John there is no record of Christ’s ascension. But Acts, which was written from another angle, speaks clearly of the Lord’s ascension. In John’s Gospel we see that the resurrected Christ remains within us essentially to be our life so that we may live by Him to bear fruit. Through this fruit-bearing we continue the Lord’s multiplication and glorification. This is the continuation of the glorification of Christ in the church life.
