John 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so,…”
It’s already clear to us that the Father’s House of Jesus that He referred to is the Church of the living God (1 Tim.3:15, Heb.3:1-6)
So then what are the mansions in this house that He was referring to?
THE MANY MANSIONS… A PEOPLE WHERE GOD DWELLS.
Paul says; “..the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned”. 1Co 2:14
What that means is, by secular education or just being religious, man cannot see beyond the letters of the word, as the mere academic exercise of theology and human philosophy cannot make one know God. God can only be known through the son, by revelation. [Math.11:27].
Unfortunately, 80% of Christendom approach God’s language through the natural senses, thereby finding it difficult to understand who God is. As a result they cannot understand His language;
How can they understand the voice of Him whom they do not know (John 10:27)?
This is why people misunderstood the words of Jesus in John 14:2 for a physical building up in the sky. Which to them has been under construction for the past 2,000 years or more? But thanks be to God, for now we know by His divine grace and through the leadership of the Spirit, that the father’s house is a people, the very family of God, the Church of the living God, with Christ as the head. Heb. 3:1–6, 1 Tim. 3:15, Col. 1:8, Eph. 1:22–23 etc.
Now, consider the statement of Jesus:
“In my father’s house are many mansions…”
What could the mansions mean if the house is the family of God?
To start with, let me ask you this simple question that you can always answer, no matter your level of understanding of the English Language. A “mansion” and a “house” which is bigger? .Very simple! A mansion is bigger. So why do you imagine that Jesus is not intelligent enough to know that, since a mansion is bigger, it cannot be found in a house?
It simply shows, we have not understood what He meant, when He made that statement.
Now, if He said ‘in my Father’s are many mansions’, it simply means the mansions are already there and he wasn’t going there to prepare or build some for the disciples. That was a statement of fact.
So what then are the ‘mansions’ in the father’s house?
To do this, let’s quickly compare different translations of the Bible based on this verse of scripture.
1. In my father’s house are many mansions – KJV
2. In my father’s house are many rooms – RSV
3. In my father’s house there are many dwelling places (Homes) – AMP
4. There are many rooms in my father’s house – JB
5. In the house of my father, there are many abodes. Int. Linear Trans.
This again is simple, that the word ‘MANSION’ does not mean a building in itself, but rather rooms or dwelling places within a house.
Therefore the statement of Jesus does not indicate that, He was going up somewhere to build ‘mansions’ for people to stay in when they die or get raptured to heaven. The father’s house simply means the family of God. So what He meant to say to them, was that in the family of God, His own Church, there are many dwelling places, rooms, abode (people, you and I) where God resides by the Spirit..
Look at this.
Eph.2: 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
Look at the verse 22 very well, it says we are being built as a habitation, a dwelling place, a residential place for God to live in. Can you see it?
So what could these mansions, dwelling places – rooms mean?
The dwelling places are simply the individuals that make up the family of God.
This becomes clearer as we look at the meaning of the word mansion in the
Greek –MONE, it means a staying, i.e. residence (the act or the place) abode, mansion, dwelling place. It also means, to stay in a given place, state..
Now compare the statement of Jesus in John 14:23 when Judas asked Him;
“how is it, that thou will manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
(Verse 22)” Jesus answered and said unto him, “if a man loves me, he will keep my words, and my father will love him, and we will come unto him, and MAKE OUR ABODE (mansion) WITH HIM”
“…We will come to him and make our HOME (abode, special dwelling place) with him” AMP.
“…we will come to that man and make our HOME WITHIN HIM” Phillips.”
“…We will come to them and LIVE IN THEM” NCV.
Was that not the same statement made by Paul
“…for ye are the TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD; as God hath said, I
WILL DWELL IN THEM, and WALK IN THEM; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” 2 Cor.6:16 KJV.
Can you see now, that the ‘mansions’, are the individual temples in the father’s house?
Look! You are ‘a mansion’, a dwelling place, an abode, a home etc where God dwells by the Spirit as you abide by the teachings of Christ
(2 John 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son)
Therefore, you do not have to die to own a mansion. Rather, you are to live to manifest what a mansion stands for because God’s HOME IS NOW WITH HIS PEOPLE; He will live with them, and they will be His own, Yes, God will make His home among His people. (Rev.21:3. CEV).
Jesus in His earthly ministry made it abundantly clear that, He was a House of God, when He went into the physical Temple with a cord in hand and drove away all that were buying and selling.
Wherein they demanded of Him to show them a sign, He simply said
“destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). In verse 22, the Bible says “…He spake of the TEMPLE of His BODY”.
Meaning, He was not talking of a literal Temple as the House of God, but of His own Body. “For it has pleased (the father) that all the divine fullness – the sum total of divine perfection, powers and attributes should dwell in Him (Jesus) permanently.” Col. 1:19 AMP.
For “…GOD WAS IN CHRIST reconciling the world unto Himself…” (2 Cor.5:19 KJV).
Even so, we are the temple of God today on the earth, with the same ministry of reconciliation. (2 Cor. 5:19–20).
But above and beyond that, this temple is the Church, the present glorified body of Christ
“He … is the Head of (His) BODY, THE CHURCH; …” Col.1:18 A.MP. And “…we being many are one bread and one body; For as the body is one, and hath MANY MEMBERS, and all the members of that one body, being many are one body; so also is Christ (i.e. Christ body, the Church)
1 Cor. 10:17, 12:22.
Now these “many members” that make up this body of Christ are the “Many Mansions” Amen.
Friends, again we say, this was not a promise of a physical building by Jesus that you will inherit when you get raptured to heaven. It is simply you as the Church.
Inbox me if you need the tape.
Next , “I go and prepare a place for you” what is that ?
To be continued…