Latest / Reformed Thinking / Heaven, a World of Love (1 Corinthians 13:8-10) | Jonathan Edwards

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Heaven, a World of Love (1 Corinthians 13:8-10) | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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I want you to imagine a reality where love is not an occasional
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emotion. Think about how we experience
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love right now. I mean in this current life,
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right? It is super fragile, it really
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is. Yeah, it is a fleeting moment
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you happen to catch on a remarkably good day.
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Or, you know, a rare feeling you stumble into when circumstances
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line up perfectly. We treat love like a scarce
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resource. Like something we have to hoard
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and carefully dole out to a very select group of people.
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Precisely. But I want you to picture a
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place where love is not an emotion you feel.
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Instead, it operates like the very physics of the environment.
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Oh wow, like gravity? Well, I mean pictured as the
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literal atmosphere you breathe into your lungs, you do not
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generate it, you simply exist within it.
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That is a massive, overwhelming premise to start with.
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It is, and that is what we are looking at today.
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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. Today we are undertaking a deep
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dive into one of the most sweeping, systematic visions of
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the afterlife ever put onto paper.
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Yeah, we are looking at our source material for today, which
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is Jonathan Edwards's classic sermon, Heaven, a World of Love.
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Right, which he drew directly from the Apostle Paul's words in
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First Corinthians chapter 13, verses 8 through 10.
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And the mission of this deep dive is to unpack Edwards's
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massive view of eternity. We want to lay out precisely
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what that future reality requires of you right now, you
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know, in the daily friction of your life.
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To set up the scale of what we're dealing with today, you
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can think of the current earthly Christian Church as a rough,
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marked up manuscript. Oh, I like that visual.
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Yeah, if you have ever seen an author's early draft, it is
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chaotic. It is full of editorial red ink,
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crossed out lines, misspelled words and incomplete thoughts.
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There are brilliant flashes of a story, but it is buried under a
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mess of Corrections, right? Heaven, on the other hand, is
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the Florida State published final masterpiece.
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It is bound in leather with every single typo eradicated,
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sitting perfectly on the shelf. That visual captures the
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transition perfectly because, well, the messiness of the
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current church is actually an essential part of the design.
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How so? Well, to grasp the vision
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Edwards is laying out for your future, we first have to
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establish his definition of where you stand right now.
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I mean where you are in the timeline of redemptive history.
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Right, the setup, yeah. Edwards begins his whole thesis
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by looking at the Apostle Paul's words to the church in Corinth.
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Now, the Corinthian church was notoriously messy.
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Oh, highly messy. They were obsessed with status,
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suing each other, all of that. Right.
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And fiercely competitive about spiritual gifts.
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So Paul writes First Corinthians 13, the famous chapter on love,
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to correct this chaotic behavior.
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And he points to a future time when prophecies will fail, when
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tongues will cease, and when knowledge will vanish away.
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Yes, Paul contrasts an imperfect temporary state with perfect
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permanent state. Edwards takes this text and
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breaks it down into a 2 fold reality for the Christian
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Church. OK, So what is the first part of
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that reality? He describes the early Church
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like the era of the Apostles in the 1st century, as being in a
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state of childhood. This was an imperfect state,
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heavily reliant on temporary, miraculous gifts.
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So we are talking about literal prophecy, speaking in tongues,
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physical healings, things like that.
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Exactly. Then he contrasts that childhood
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with the state of manhood or full maturity.
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In that mature state, those temporary miraculous gifts
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completely vanish, but charity remains permanently.
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And charity, in that context is the old English translation for
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Divine Agape Love. Right, you got it through our
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reformed theological framework. We understand this progression
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by looking at the closing of the scriptural Canon.
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Right, because the Westminster Confession teaches that these
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miraculous gifts were temporary. Yes, they functioned as
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structural scaffolding for the infant church.
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God utilized those highly visible miraculous signs to
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establish the absolute authority of the apostles.
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Which was necessary to build the early foundation of the church
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before the New Testament was completed.
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Absolutely. But once the structure was
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finished, once the written Word of God was complete and
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distributed, the scaffolding was taken down.
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So God removed the temporary external structure to reveal the
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true building underneath. Yeah, and that true building is
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a community operating on divine love.
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Let us pause right there, because human nature violently
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resists that idea. Oh for sure, it feels
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counterintuitive. Right.
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If you read the accounts in the book of Acts, those miraculous
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gifts were spectacular. They were visible, undeniable,
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physics defying interventions of God in the natural world.
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People being healed of lifelong paralysis.
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Prison doors swinging open. Speaking in unlearned languages.
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It was raw, visible majesty. So my question is this if those
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miraculous events were so incredible to witness, why in
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the world does Edwards view their disappearance as a sign of
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maturity rather than a terrible, tragic loss for the church?
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It does seem strange, doesn't it?
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Yeah, if we had those miracles today, our churches would be
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packed. Losing something so spectacular
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feels like a downgrade, not like growing up.
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But when you look at how human psychology interacts with the
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spectacular, you start to see his logic.
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Right. You can compare the early
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church's miraculous gifts to training wheels on a child's
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bicycle. When you're first learning to
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ride, those training wheels are absolutely vital.
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They keep you from falling over onto the pavement.
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Exactly. They keep you moving forward
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when you do not yet have your own internal sense of balance.
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But you would never look at a grown adult riding a racing
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bicycle and feel sorry for them because they lost their training
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wheels. No, you would never consider
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that a downgrade at all. Shedding the training wheels
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proves that you actually know how to ride the bike on your
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own. Balance leaning into the curves
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with skill. That makes perfect sense.
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Edwards is arguing that the church shedding its need for
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visible, flashy miracles proves it has matured.
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It has matured enough to operate on the vastly superior principle
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of divine love. Right.
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Relying on the written word and the internal witness of the Holy
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Spirit requires a much higher degree of spiritual maturity.
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It is better than demanding A fiery sign from the sky every
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time you doubt. Yeah, and because the church has
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shed those training wheels, we can focus on the actual
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mechanism that drives the bicycle forward.
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The source of the love. Yes, if love is the final,
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perfect state of existence, the mature reality that remains
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after all the scaffolding is gone, we have to ask where this
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infinite, exhaustless supply originates.
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Well, Edwards makes it abundantly clear that this kind
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of love cannot originate from the finite creatures.
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Right. Human beings simply do not
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possess the capacity to generate an infinite supply of anything,
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let alone perfect unconditional affection.
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Our love is conditional, it runs out of energy, and it is easily
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derailed by minor offenses. Therefore, Edwards declares that
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God himself is the actual fountain of love.
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He traces a specific geographical progression of
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God's presence throughout biblical history to illustrate
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this. Oh, the progression of the
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Presence Chamber. That part is fascinating.
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It really is. In the Old Testament, God's
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presence dwelt in the land of Israel above all other nations
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on earth. Within Israel, He dwelt in the
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city of Jerusalem above all other cities.
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And within Jerusalem he dwelt in the Temple above all other
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buildings. Right within the Temple he dwelt
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in the Holy of Holies and specifically on the Mercy seat
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over the Ark of the Covenant. So Edwards paints this picture
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of God's presence becoming more and more concentrated as you
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move inward. Yeah, but then he states that
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heaven itself is God's ultimate presence chamber.
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It is the absolute apex of all dwelling places.
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Heaven is the specific location where the fountain of love.
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It's wide open, completely unshielded.
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And through Reformed lens, we have to recognize the massive
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Trinitarian dynamic at work here.
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Edwards points out that before time began, before the clock of
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the universe even started ticking, God the Father, God the
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Son, and God the Holy Spirit shared an infinite mutual
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affection. So the fountain was already
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flowing in full force before a single Angel, star, or human was
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ever spoken into existence? Yes.
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The Father infinitely loves the Son, the Son infinitely loves
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the Father, and Edwards describes the Holy Spirit as the
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very essence of God breathed forth in love.
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The Holy Spirit is the active, moving, personal affection
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between the Father and the Son. Conceptualizing that pre
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creation reality is staggering. It really forces you to stretch
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your mind backward way before Genesis chapter one, verse one,
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yeah. How do you even begin to
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conceptualize a love that exists prior to any created beings?
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We're entirely conditioned to think of love as something that
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requires 2 separate humans to exist first.
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Right, like someone feels lonely so they seek out a partner to
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fill that void. But God did not create humans
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because he was lonely. He did not create the universe
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because he needed an audience to validate him or because he
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needed someone to love in order to feel complete.
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He was already entirely satisfied within the fellowship
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of the Trinity that. Theological concept is called a
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seity, God's complete self-sufficiency.
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To wrap your mind around this, you can compare the Trinity to a
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self-sustaining perpetual nuclear reactor of affection.
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And nuclear reactor, I like that.
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Inside that reactor, the sheer energy of love is bouncing
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between the Father of the Son and the Holy Spirit in a
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flawless, infinite loop of joy and absolute satisfaction.
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It needs no fuel from the outside to keep running.
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Right. It requires absolutely no human
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input to keep burning bright, but eventually the sheer volume
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and heat of that affection overflows its containment.
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The creation of the universe, the spinning of the galaxies,
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the breathing of life into Adam, and the entire plan and
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salvation for humanity is just the overflow of that eternal
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nuclear reactor. Spilling out to share its light
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and heat with created beings. God did not create us to fill a
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lack. He created us to share an
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abundance. Exactly.
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And investigating that overflow leads us to a highly specific
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question. Since this divine fountain is
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overflowing with such intensity, what specific objects get caught
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in its stream? Who is doing the loving and what
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is being loved in this heavenly environment?
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Well, Edwards details the objects and the subjects of
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heavenly affection with surgical precision.
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First he looks at the objects, meaning what is loved.
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And what does he say about the objects?
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He says that in heaven there is absolutely nothing deformed,
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nothing polluted and nothing hypocritical.
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Every single person and every single thing is perfectly
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lovely. Think about how rare that is on
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Earth. Even the most beautiful things
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have flaws that cause us to pull back our affection.
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Yeah, a beautiful relationship is marred by a sharp argument.
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A breathtaking landscape is ruined by litter.
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But in heaven, the environment itself actively draws out your
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affection because there is not a single flaw to cause hesitation,
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suspicion, or disgust. Right then, Edwards details the
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subjects, meaning who is doing the loving?
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The Father loves the Son. The Son loves the redeemed
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Church. And the Saints and angels
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reflect this mass of light back to God and to each other.
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They are all subjects of this love, actively participating in
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the exchange. Edwards makes a highly
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comforting claim here for the listener.
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He says that the Saints will find everything they truly
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valued on earth waiting for them in heaven.
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So the Christian family members you buried, the patriarchs of
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the faith, the prophets, the friends who encouraged you in
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the gospel. Yes, everyone who possesses true
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faith will be there. The sweet fellowship that Death
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rudely interrupted here on on earth will be resumed, purified
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and perfected in the presence of God.
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While that is a beautiful promise, it also contains a very
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sharp edge that we need to acknowledge.
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You mean the boundaries he sets up?
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Yeah. Edwards establishes A strict,
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impenetrable boundary around this city.
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He states clearly that there are no false professors in heaven.
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There are no hypocrites. There is no one pretending to be
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a St. on Sunday while secretly harboring a hateful, unrepentant
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spirit the rest of the week. Right, which raises a highly
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difficult emotional question for the listener.
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Doesn't this strict boundary imply that we might notice the
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absence of people we assumed would be there?
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That is a tough thought. If the visible church on earth
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is a mixture of true believers and false professors, getting to
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heaven means some of the people who sat next to you in the Pew
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might not be present. Or maybe even people who sat
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across from you at the dinner table.
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The thought of that absence brings up a massive sense of
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dread for many Christians. It does, but Edwards argues that
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the sheer perfection of heaven prevents any sorrow or grief
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over this. To visualize how this works, you
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can compare the subjects of heaven to a massive, intricate
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mirror maze. OK, tell me more about that.
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In an earthly mirror maze, the glass is often smudged, cracked,
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or warped like the mirrors in a carnival funhouse.
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Earthly relationships throw off distorted reflections because of
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our own sin and selfishness. That makes sense.
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But in heaven, every single mirror is Florida State Clean,
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Every St. and every Angel is a perfectly polished mirror
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reflecting the one true Light of Christ without a single
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distortion, scratch or shadow. So you will not mourn the
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absence of warped mirrors, because your entire field of
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vision will be completely filled with flawless reflections of
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Christ's glory. Exactly.
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Your entire capacity for joy will be made maxed out.
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There will be no empty space in your heart for grief to occupy.
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And because everyone is perfectly reflecting that light,
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you start to see differing degrees of brightness, which
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brings up a fascinating problem. The hierarchy of glory.
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Yes. If every person in heaven is
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reflecting God's glory, what happens when some individuals
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shine significantly brighter than others?
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Does a hierarchy of glory create jealousy?
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You would think so based on our earthly experience.
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Right. Edwards introduces a concept
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that completely defies our fallen human logic.
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He teaches that there are absolutely differing degrees of
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glory in heaven, but there is 0 Envy.
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Zero envy. In our current earthly
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experience, any kind of hierarchy instantly breeds
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resentment, jealousy, or crushing pride.
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Yeah, if your Co worker gets a promotion over you or if your
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friend moves into a bigger house, your natural instinct is
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to feel a sting of inadequacy or bitterness.
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But Edwards breaks down the theological genius of how
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heavenly degrees actually function.
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And here's the logic you have to follow.
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Those who are higher in glory in heaven are higher for one
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specific reason. They possess a higher degree of
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holiness. OK, so more glory equals more
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holiness. Yes.
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Now, because they possess higher holiness, they inherently
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possess superior humility. Let that sink in for a second.
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Oh wow, so the Saints who are the absolute highest in heaven,
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shining with the most blinding glory, are simultaneously the
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most humble, lowly beings in the entire realm.
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Exactly because of their massive humility, they love the Saints
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in the lower positions with a fierce downward reaching
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affection. They do not look down their
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noses at anyone. And conversely, the Saints in
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the lower positions feel zero envy toward those shining above
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them. Why?
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Because their own hearts are also perfectly holy.
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Right. Meaning they rejoice purely
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whenever God is magnified. When a lower St. looks at a St.
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with much higher glory, they do not see a rival, they simply see
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more of God to praise. The success of their neighbor is
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their own joy. That concept takes the earthly
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idea of status and completely turns it on its head.
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We climb ladders on earth to look down on people, but in
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heaven, the higher you go, the more you stoop to wash feet.
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To help you visualize this total lack of envy amidst A strict
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hierarchy, think of a massive Symphony Orchestra.
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OK in orchestra. In an orchestra, you have a very
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clear hierarchy of instruments. You have the first chair
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violinist who plays incredibly complex, sweeping solos that
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demand the audience's full, rapt attention.
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The spotlight is entirely on them.
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Right, the star of the show. And then standing way in the
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back row you have the triangle player who might only strike
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their instrument 3 or 4 times during a massive 2 hour piece.
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On Earth, human pride and ambition might make the triangle
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player bitterly jealous of the violinist spotlight.
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Yeah, they might stand in the back, grumbling, feeling useless
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and overlooked, but in heaven, the Triangle player feels no
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jealousy whatsoever. Because the triangle player is
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entirely consumed by the breathtaking beauty of the
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Symphony itself. Exactly.
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They are not thinking about their own ego.
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They are entirely satisfied and thrilled by the music they are
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generating together as a body. The triangle player realizes
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that the violinist's brilliant solo makes the overall song
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better, which brings more glory to the composer.
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Both the violinist and the triangle player are perfectly
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full of joy, functioning Florida State in this specific tailored
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role the composer designed for them.
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A pint glass and a gallon jug can both be completely full to
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the brim, even though they hold different amounts.
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That is a great way to put it. Well, if we trace that logic out
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and establish those flawless mechanics of love and the total
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absence of envy, we have to look at the actual circumstances of
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this affection. Right.
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Edwards wants you to understand what this day-to-day experience
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looks like in practice. Or rather, eternity to eternity
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experience. In the first part of these
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circumstances, he focuses highly on intimacy and expression.
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He notes that heavenly love is always mutual.
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You will never, ever experience unrequited affection.
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Think about the heartbreak of Earth.
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We often pour our hearts, our time, and our energy into people
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who do not return the feeling. Or return it with half the
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intensity, leaving us feeling hollow and rejected.
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In heaven, every single ounce of love you give is met with an
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equal and perfectly corresponding return of love.
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Furthermore, there's zero suspicion of hypocrisy.
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You will never have to analyze someone's tone of voice to
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figure out if their smile is genuine.
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Or if they're secretly harboring a grudge behind your back.
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Edwards also points out that there is perfect decency and
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wisdom in how love is expressed. There are no awkward
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interactions, no poorly timed jokes that hurt someone's
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feelings, and no inappropriate emotional outbursts.
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Everything is governed by perfect, flawless discretion.
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And from a Reformed perspective on the resurrection, Edwards
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discusses the removal of what he calls the heavy molded body.
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Yes, on earth our physical flesh actually hinders our spiritual
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expression. You might feel a massive swell
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of gratitude toward God during worship, but your body is
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exhausted from a long workweek, your knees ache, or your
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vocabulary simply fails you. Resulting in what the apostle
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Paul calls groanings that cannot be uttered.
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The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is incredibly weak.
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In heaven, the physical form perfectly obeys the spiritual
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desire without a single ounce of fatigue.
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Hold on, we need to clarify something there because Edwards
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refers to the earthly body as a clot of earth, right?
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How does that phrasing square with a historically reformed
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view of the resurrected body? We know that historical
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Christianity is not a gnostic religion that hates the
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physical. World.
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Oh, absolutely not. God created physical matter.
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He called it good, and Christ himself was resurrected in a
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physical, touchable body. We will be too.
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So God is not rescuing us from the physical world so we can
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float around as disembodied ghosts.
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No, Edwards is not saying the physical body itself is
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inherently evil, but rather that our current fallen physical
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state is incredibly inefficient at handling the sheer volume of
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spiritual reality we are meant to experience.
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You can liken the current earthly body to a dial up
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Internet connection from the late 1990s trying to process
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massive high definition data files.
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Oh, that is a perfect analogy. The data of God's love is trying
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to get through, but the hardware of your fallen body is simply
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too old, too slow, and too restricted to handle the
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download. So you spend your earthly life
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buffering, lagging and dropping the connection.
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You get sick, you get tired, your brain gets foggy.
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The glorified resurrected body is not a rejection of the
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physical realm, it is a massive upgrade to the musical realm.
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It is like a state-of-the-art fiber optic network where the
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massive data of Divine Love flows instantly, continuously,
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without a single moment of buffering or delay.
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Yes, the physical hardware finally matches the spiritual
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software perfectly. That physical upgrade
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fundamentally changes how we relate to each other.
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With those individual bodily hindrances completely removed,
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Edwards moves to the second part of these circumstances.
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Which is how this perfect society organizes itself on a
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communal level. Exactly.
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He details that in heaven there are no external walls or
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distances separating believers. You are never separated from the
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people you love by oceans, national borders, or conflicting
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work schedules. All believers share near
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relations. They're quite literally brought
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into one family. Furthermore, there is a mutual
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ownership of one another. The beautiful phrase from the
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Song of Solomon, My beloved is mine and I am his, applies not
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just to Christ and the individual believer, but to the
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entire Society of Saints. They belong to each other in
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total unity. Edwards also highlights that
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this society exists in uninterrupted prosperity.
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Yes, everything in the environment conspires to promote
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love, and this state is eternal. He calls it a perpetual spring.
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It is highly revealing to examine this through the lens of
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earthly friendships. Go on.
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On earth. Our strongest, most resilient
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bonds are frequently forged in the fires of shared suffering.
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We bond tightly with people because we went through a
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financial crisis together. Or survived a physical illness
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together. Or endured a tragedy.
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Together, but in heaven. Friendships do not require
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trauma to grow deep. Heavenly friendships thrive in
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unblemished, perfect prosperity. The Saints share infinite riches
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without any survivor's guilt, without any artificial scarcity,
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and without any lingering fear of poverty.
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That reality shifts the entire paradigm of how we build
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community. Think about earthly communities.
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Even in the absolute best scenarios, living with other
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humans on Earth is like renting a house with roommates in your
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20s. Well, that is stressful just
21:52
thinking about it. Right.
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No matter how much you genuinely like your roommates, there is
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always a low level anxiety operating in the background.
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You are constantly guarding your own groceries on your specific
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assigned shelf in the fridge. You're constantly negotiating
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shared space, setting strict boundaries and figuring out who
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is responsible for the electric bill.
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There is always a creeping anxiety about resources running
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out or someone crossing a boundary and taking advantage of
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your generosity. But heaven is entirely really
22:21
different. Heaven is like discovering that
22:23
you and your closest friends all Co own a boundless infinite
22:27
estate. There's no need to write your
22:29
name on your groceries, because the resources actually multiply
22:33
when they are shared. Your neighbors enjoyment of the
22:35
estate does not subtract from your enjoyment, it actively adds
22:39
to it. The anxiety of scarcity, which
22:41
drives almost all human conflict, is completely
22:44
annihilated. And that annihilation of anxiety
22:46
produces very specific, highly visible fruits in the lives of
22:49
the Saints. Edwards moves from the
22:51
circumstances of heaven to the practical behavioral results of
22:55
billions of souls existing in this perfect ecosystem.
22:59
So what are the practical fruits he mentions?
23:01
He outlines 2 main fruits that blossom from this environment.
23:05
The first fruit is perfect behavior toward God and toward
23:09
each other. Meaning there are no sinful
23:10
failures. Right.
23:11
There are no accidental missteps or faux pas.
23:14
Every single action, every spoken word, and every hidden
23:18
thought is Florida State, aligned with the will of God and
23:21
the benefit of your neighbor. There is no subtle thing is
23:23
hurting someone's feelings by accident.
23:25
Exactly the second fruit is perfect tranquility and joy.
23:29
Edwards contrasts this heavenly only rests with the current
23:32
earthly state. He describes the world we live
23:35
in now as a tempestuous sea, driven by selfishness, revenge
23:39
and constant tumult. Think about the Daily News
23:42
cycle, the political rage, the interpersonal drama at your
23:45
workplace. Every single day on Earth is an
23:48
exhausting battle. An exhausting battle against the
23:50
crashing waves of other people's pride, and, frankly, the
23:53
crashing waves of our own pride. But heaven is the ultimate safe
23:56
harbor. It is an environment where the
23:58
water is entirely smooth and the violent storms of malice, vice
24:02
and competition have permanently broken against the shore.
24:05
Whenever we bring up words like rest or tranquility, I can hear
24:09
someone playing devil's advocate right now.
24:11
Oh, I know where you're going with us.
24:13
Yeah, some people hear the word tranquility, and they
24:15
immediately picture agonizing boredom.
24:18
They imagine sitting on a puffy white cloud, strumming a golden
24:21
harp and staring blankly into the distance for 10 trillion
24:25
years. That does not sound like
24:27
paradise. That sounds like a waiting room.
24:31
How does Edwards make it clear that this tranquility is
24:33
actually highly active and engaging?
24:35
Well, because peace does not have to mean paralysis.
24:38
Right, you can compare this heavenly tranquility to the hum
24:41
of a Florida State calibrated high performance engine moving
24:44
at incredible speed. Oh, an engine.
24:46
OK. When a cheap engine is running
24:48
fast, it shakes, it rattles, it overheats, and it violently
24:52
backfires. But when an engine is built
24:54
perfectly, lubricated perfectly, and running on the exact high
24:58
octane fuel it was designed for, it does not shake at all.
25:02
It runs perfectly smooth even while operating at maximum
25:05
capacity. The tranquility Edwards is
25:07
talking about is not the stagnant, lifeless tranquility
25:10
of a motionless pawn covered in algae.
25:13
It is the tranquility of immense, staggering force
25:17
operating without a single ounce of internal friction.
25:20
You will be highly active, you will be learning, you will be
25:23
worshipping, you will be interacting.
25:24
But there will be absolutely 0 friction wearing down your soul.
25:28
The contrast between that frictionless reality and our
25:31
current friction provides a seamless bridge into the sharp
25:34
pivot Edwards makes in the latter half of his sermon.
25:38
Yeah, up until this point he has been painting this soaring,
25:41
majestic, almost overwhelming picture of the heavenly realm.
25:45
But then, like any good practical Puritan preacher, he
25:48
brings the application crashing violently down.
25:51
Right down on to the listeners immediate earthly reality.
25:53
He looks at his congregation and asks how does looking at heaven
25:57
change how we handle a conflict with our neighbor today?
25:59
And what is his answer? Edwards issues a very practical,
26:02
severe warning. He states that earthly
26:05
contention, malice and family strife actively darken a
26:08
person's evidence of fitness for heaven.
26:10
If you are constantly bickering with your spouse, holding
26:13
grudges against your Co workers, and living in a state of
26:15
perpetual discord, you are actively killing your own
26:19
spiritual comfort. He explicitly notes that discord
26:22
in the home directly hinders prayer.
26:24
Through our Reformed theological lens, we understand this dynamic
26:28
through the doctrine of the use of means.
26:30
The Westminster Confession teaches that the assurance of
26:33
salvation is not a static, unmoving feeling that you get
26:37
once and never lose. While your actual objective
26:41
justification is entirely secure in the finished work of Christ,
26:44
your subjective emotional assurance of that justification
26:47
fluctuates wildly. It fluctuates based on your
26:49
pursuit of sanctification. When a Christian acts in a way
26:52
that is totally contrary to the atmosphere of heaven, they
26:56
logically lose the internal assurance that they actually
26:58
belong to that heavenly Kingdom. The psychological reality of
27:01
that is a harsh reality check. Why does snapping at a neighbor
27:05
or holding a grudge against a family member make a Christian
27:08
suddenly doubt their own justification?
27:10
It is because heaven is fundamentally defined by love,
27:13
and if your daily life is defined by hostility, the math
27:16
simply does not add up in your own conscience.
27:19
The Holy Spirit will not grant you peace while you are actively
27:23
waging war against someone else. You can compare this to trying
27:27
to tune into a crystal clear radio station while sitting
27:29
right next to a loud, violently vibrating diesel generator.
27:34
That is a brilliant way to picture it.
27:36
The radio signal itself is broadcasting perfectly.
27:39
God's promises are objective, true, and constantly
27:42
broadcasting. But the static, the exhaust, and
27:46
the sheer noise of your own bitterness actively block the
27:49
signal. You cannot hear the sweet music
27:51
of God's assurance in your soul because the massive machinery of
27:55
your own anger is drowning it out.
27:57
Edward is telling you that if you want to hear the music of
27:59
heaven clearly, you have to walk over and turn off the generator
28:02
of earthly contention. You have to forgive.
28:04
If contention ruins our assurance, the logical next
28:07
question is what are the positive verifiable marks that
28:11
you actually have a valid title to this heavenliest note?
28:14
How do you know, practically speaking, that you are heaven
28:17
bound? Edwards lays out three specific
28:19
marks. The first mark is that the
28:21
principle of love must be implanted in your heart via the
28:24
new birth. So this is not a natural
28:26
affection you were born with. It must be imported from heaven
28:29
by the action of the Holy Spirit.
28:31
Right. The second mark is a free choice
28:33
of heavenly joy over earthly wealth.
28:36
You must actually prefer the holiness of God over the
28:38
fleeting sensual pleasures of this world.
28:41
And the third mark. The third mark is a visible
28:44
active struggle after Holiness. Edwards does not demand absolute
28:48
perfection on Earth. He knows that is impossible, but
28:51
he demands an active, continuous struggle.
28:53
From a reformed theological standpoint, we must carefully
28:56
observe the order of operations. Here, yes, the order is crucial.
29:00
The doctrine of total depravity asserts that humanity by nature
29:04
is dead in sin and entirely incapable of choosing God on
29:07
their own. Therefore, regeneration, the new
29:09
birth, must logically and chronologically precede the free
29:13
choice. The Holy Spirit must first
29:15
unilaterally implant the seed of love into the dead heart.
29:18
Only after that seed is planted and the heart is made alive does
29:22
the believers will freely and joyfully choose God.
29:24
The choice is entirely real, but it is the direct result of God's
29:28
prior action. I want to focus intensely on
29:31
that word struggle because that third mark is incredibly
29:35
comforting for anyone listening right now who feels like they
29:37
are constantly failing in their daily walk.
29:40
Edwards does not say the mark of a Christian is flawless,
29:43
unbroken victory. He says it is a struggle.
29:46
You can compare a believer to a captive bird that has just been
29:50
released from a cage trying to fly upward against Gale force
29:54
winds. The bird is getting battered, it
29:56
is getting blown backward, is losing feathers and it is
29:59
exhausting itself. But it is continuously fighting
30:01
to move higher into the sky. A non believer in the scenario
30:05
is like a rock. When you drop a rock from the
30:07
cage into the wind, it does not struggle at all.
30:10
It simply falls straight to the ground because gravity is its
30:13
only master. The rock feels absolutely no
30:15
tension. The very fact that you feel
30:17
tension, the very fact that you hate your own sin and are
30:20
fighting against it every single day, is the definitive proof
30:23
that you possess wings. The exhausting struggle against
30:27
the wind, your own flesh is the evidence that the Holy Spirit
30:30
has implanted a new heaven bound nature inside of you.
30:33
That is a vital distinction to make for the struggling St. to
30:36
keep them from despair. It really is.
30:38
Now Edwards is a preacher of stark contrasts.
30:42
Having shown the absolute heights of love and having
30:44
provided the marks of those who are heading there, he fulfills
30:47
his pastoral duty to reveal the alternative destination.
30:51
He presents a terrifying, sobering contrast.
30:54
He describes hell not just as a place of physical torment, but
30:58
as a vast receptacle of wrath, completely void of love.
31:02
He defines it as a world of pure, unmixed hatred.
31:05
In this realm, the inhabitants perfectly hate God, they
31:08
perfectly hate each other, and they are continually tormented
31:11
by devil. Edwards offers a chilling
31:13
psychological insight here regarding the total removal of
31:16
common grace on earth. God grants common grace even to
31:19
the wicked, allowing for natural affection, humor, and teamwork.
31:23
But in hell, all common grace is stripped away.
31:27
Edwards points out that earthly companions who encouraged each
31:30
other and sin will absolutely not be friends in hell.
31:33
There is no camaraderie in rebellion.
31:36
The people who partied together, gossip together, and mocked God
31:40
together on earth will become eager, vicious instruments of
31:44
each other's eternal punishment. The polite veneer of earthly
31:48
friendship is entirely stripped away, revealing the raw,
31:51
self-serving hatred that underlies all sin.
31:54
That completely shatters the popular flippant cultural joke
31:58
where people say I would rather go to hell because all my
32:01
friends will be there and we will have a great time.
32:03
The reality is vastly more brutal.
32:05
Why does shared rebellion on Earth translate into mutual
32:09
violent hatred in the afterlife? It is because the sin at its
32:13
core is inherently selfish. When people sin together on
32:16
Earth, they are just using each other for mutual dopamine hits.
32:19
You can compare this dynamic to Co conspirators in a bank
32:22
robbery. While they are plotting the
32:24
heist, successfully stealing the money and spending the stolen
32:27
cash the local bar, They act like the absolute best of
32:30
friends. They buy each other drinks, they
32:32
laugh, and they celebrate their cleverness.
32:35
But the absolute instant the police kick the door down, slap
32:38
the cuffs on them, and the cell door locks behind them, the
32:41
friendship evaporates into thin air.
32:42
They viciously turn on each other in the interrogation.
32:45
Room they prank fingers, they testify against one another, and
32:48
they try to deflect all the blame to save their own skin in.
32:51
Hell, the eternal cell door locks, the stolen cash is gone,
32:55
and the shared rebellion instantly curdles into mutual,
32:59
unending hostility. Every single person becomes an
33:02
active tormentor to the very people they used to call their
33:05
best friends. It is a terrifying isolation.
33:08
With those two eternal destinations laid bare, the
33:11
world of perfect frictionless love and the world of perfect
33:14
consuming hatred, Edwards brings his entire message to a point of
33:18
crisis for the listener. What specific actions must you
33:21
take right now, today to ensure you are on the upward path?
33:25
He provides distinct, actionable directives.
33:28
First, you must aggressively take your affections off
33:31
earthly, sensual pursuits. You cannot treat this current
33:34
world as your final resting place or your ultimate source of
33:37
comfort. Second, you must meditate
33:39
continuously on heavenly objects.
33:42
You have to train your mind to look past the visible
33:44
frustrations of today into the eternal reality of tomorrow. 3rd
33:49
You must be willing to endure the uphill climb, accepting the
33:52
difficulties, the mockery and the trials of the Christian life
33:56
without grumbling. 4th You must fix your eyes exclusively on
34:00
Jesus Christ as the Forerunner and Mediator, trusting entirely
34:04
in his finished work on the cross, not your own performance.
34:07
Finally, you must live a life of love right now.
34:10
As a tangible foretaste of the future reality, Edwards frames,
34:13
the current earth has a waste and howling wilderness.
34:16
Is a dangerous, unpredictable, deeply broken environment.
34:19
It is a temporary transit zone, a waiting room, not your final
34:23
home. Therefore, your loyalties, your
34:24
energy and your investments must be placed in the city that is to
34:28
come. That raises one final, highly
34:30
practical concern for anyone listening.
34:32
We live in the real world. We might hear these directors
34:35
and ask, how do we avoid becoming so heavily minded that
34:37
we are of absolutely no earthly good?
34:40
We still have full time jobs to do, mortgages to pay, lawns to
34:43
mow and children to raise. The answer lies in how you view
34:47
your citizenship. You can compare the Christian
34:49
life to an expatriate living and working in a foreign nation.
34:53
Oh, an expatriate. That is a solid comparison.
34:56
If you are an expatriate working overseas, you obey the local
35:00
laws. You do excellent, honest work
35:03
for your employer, you are a kind neighbor, and you actively
35:06
contribute to the peace and prosperity of the city where you
35:10
reside. You do not burn the city down
35:12
just because it is not your permanent home.
35:14
But at the end of the day, your passport, your true savings
35:17
account, and your absolute final loyalty belong exclusively to
35:21
your homeland. You're representing your king in
35:24
a foreign land. So you work hard on earth, but
35:26
your heart is anchored in heaven.
35:29
You love your neighbors on earth specifically because you are
35:31
practicing the customs of your heavenly homeland.
35:34
You are importing the love of heaven into the howling
35:37
wilderness of earth. To quickly recap the immense
35:39
scale of what we have covered today, we started by looking at
35:42
the closing of the scriptural Canon and the maturation of the
35:44
Church beyond spectacular signs. We traced the source of love all
35:49
the way back to the eternal Trinitarian fellowship of God.
35:53
We examine the flawless mirror maze of the Saints, the
35:56
eradication of envy through superior humility, and the
36:00
massive upgrade of the resurrected body.
36:02
We contrasted the frictionless, high speed tranquility of heaven
36:06
with the howling wilderness of earth and the terrifying,
36:09
hateful reality of hell. We looked at how your earthly
36:12
contention actively kills your assurance, and how the
36:15
exhausting struggle against sin actually proves your
36:18
regeneration. We have covered a massive amount
36:21
of theological ground today and it changes how you view
36:24
everything from a church service to an argument with a Co worker.
36:27
I want to leave you with one final striking thought that
36:30
builds directly on the foundation of Edwards's text.
36:33
Let us hear it. If heaven is a place where the
36:35
human capacity for love is finally perfectly and
36:38
exhaustively matched by an infinite object, God himself,
36:41
consider your current life. Consider how your deepest
36:43
earthly frustrations, your chronic boredoms, and your most
36:46
agonizing heart breaks might simply be misdirected heavenly
36:49
appetites. What if your current painful
36:52
dissatisfaction with this world is not a sign that something is
36:55
broken in you, but rather the very compass God is using to
36:59
point you toward the New Jerusalem?
37:02
Your hunger for a perfect love that never fails is the proof
37:06
that you were made for another world that changes the way you
37:10
look at every single disappointment.
37:12
The pain is just an arrow pointing home.
37:14
It truly is. Thank you for joining us for
37:16
this deep dive on reformed thinking.
37:18
Take that thought with you. Walk away from the generator of
37:21
contention and keep your eyes fixed on the horizon.
37:24
See you next time.