No Marriage in Heaven?

Luke 20:33-34: "(The Sadducees who say there is no resurrection asked) 'At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?' (To this question) Jesus replied, 'The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.'"



This passage above has been quite disturbing for many married adults who dread the thought of entering eternity without being married to the love of their earthly life; this passage has been equally disturbing to many single adults who are anxious that they may never have the blessing of being married at all. Some would conclude that heaven will not be as glorious as it's marketed to be, for we'll be denied the opportunity of experiencing heaven as "married." They see heaven as an eternal stag party where everyone wants to be paired up with that special person, but are denied such a privilege. As the heavenly dance music is being played, everyone is standing around without a partner, wondering when the fun will begin.



It must be remembered that the institution of earthly marriage was designed primarily to encourage us and teach us of God's eternal marital relationship with all believers. What an ingenious Lord that we have . . . He knew that we would better understand His unfailing love for us by experiencing a parallel (albeit inferior) covenant relationship with a spouse. Because we are not physically present with our True Husband (the Lord) in heaven, God determined that we would better appreciate what is to come by experiencing earthly marriage. Thus, our experience of marriage here should be quickening our hearts in anticipation of the glorious wedding banquet, when we are finally joined with the Ultimate Spouse . . . Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul speaks of this analogy between earthly marriage and THE heavenly marriage in Ephesians 5, where husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loves the Church and the Church is to submit to Christ as a wife "submits to her husband in everything" (Eph. 5:24). What is especially beautiful in the Ephesians 5 passage is the proclamation that Christ has offered His very life for us (His bride), thus giving us the opportunity to be purified of our sin and granting us the ability to shine as a radiant bride before Him (our bridegroom). Now that is true love!



All of our needs for intimacy and love that exist in this life will be completely fulfilled in the blessedness of heaven as we experience the ultimate love relationship with our Lord. No longer will we long for unconditional love, for God will satisfy that foundational longing in our hearts.

And for those of us who have had the earthly blessing of a spouse surrendered to the Lord, we will share with them the blessedness of God's eternal, unfathomable, radiant love. And in our perfected condition, we will be able to love our former spouses MORE than we ever were able to express in this earthly experience. Yes, let me re-emphasize this truth. One will never be able to experience the depths of heavenly love in this life, no matter what one's relational status is here. Although we will not be formally married to another person in heaven, we will love and be loved at levels we could never fathom nor experience here. Our love experience will be heightened exponentially, and we will not be standing around wondering why things can not be like they were on earth relationally.


I think that we must also remember that we WILL in fact be married. God is drawing us as His bride into His glorious abode; and He will transform us as we cross the Heavenly threshhold, so that we are perfected in "holiness . . . without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless" (Ephesians 5:26-27).