Matthew 12:46-50 “While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. (47) Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You." (48) But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" (49) And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! (50) For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
In the above passage of scripture our Lord Jesus once again confirmed the truth to us that family relationships in this life are not applicable in the kingdom of God, for He clearly referred to His disciples as His family, rather than the family members of this life that He had grown up with. This is not to say that we are to completely disown our earthly family members when we become born-again however, for the scripture does instruct us to honour our parents in this life, and so we still acknowledge our earthly family members, even those who choose the kingdom of darkness rather than the kingdom of light. Nevertheless in this section we are discussing what transpires after this life, and it is that truth which we need to understand, which is that it is only believers that make up the family of God.
Matthew 23:8-9 “But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. (9) Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.”
So if the family relationships in this life are no longer recognised in heaven, what relationships do the saints partake of? Again our Lord Jesus answered that question for us in the above quoted passage of scripture; for He clearly taught us that the saints experience only two types of family relationships in heaven, i.e. all the saints are brethren in Christ and all have one Father who is God. And so all the saints in heaven recognise each other as being both brethren in Christ and fellow sons of God, and these are the only family relationships that they acknowledge. One of the reasons that the saints recognise each other as brethren in heaven is because all saints know each other in the spirit. An example that demonstrates this truth to us is the incident that occurred on the mount of transfiguration, for you will recall that when Peter, James and John saw Moses and Elijah speaking to the Lord Jesus that they recognised them immediately, even though they had obviously never met them before (Matthew 17:4). And so we see that spouses in this life, no longer recognize each other as such in heaven. In the same manner parents in this life also no longer recognize those who were their children as such in heaven, and visa versa. Siblings in this life also do not recognise each other in that manner in heaven. And so very clearly scripture teaches us that the family relationships that exist in this life do not continue in heaven.
Michael E.B. Maher
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