Beyond 'Going to Heaven': Finding Paradise in God's Presence
N.T. Wright Session 2 from the Holy Spirit Conference
"How do we think wisely and speak clearly about what our life will be between bodily death and bodily resurrection?"
"Where are they now?"
N.T. Wright opened up the second day of the Holy Spirit conference with these deceptively simple questions. They're the kind that might come up at a Thanksgiving dinner after all the political discussions have died down (pun intended). But as pastors and people of faith, these are also the questions we face in our most sacred moments - when sitting with the dying, comforting the grieving, or wrestling with our own mortality.
In typical Wright fashion, he completely reframed how we approach these questions. Instead of asking "How do we get to heaven?", he challenged us to consider "How is God coming home to us?" This shift in perspective opened up a whole new way of understanding the Spirit's role in our lives, death, and future resurrection.
A New Way of Seeing
The traditional Western Christian narrative about death usually goes something like this: our immortal soul leaves our body and goes to heaven. It's a nice, neat package that fits on a sympathy card, or in a modern church sermon. But Wright was direct in his critique: this common view simply isn't biblical. As a biblical scholar, he emphasized that the New Testament never uses the word "heaven" to describe the place of the righteous dead, nor does it use "soul" to describe our ultimate state.
This idea of an immortal, disembodied soul comes not from Scripture but from Greek philosophy. Wright points specifically to Plutarch, a first-century pagan priest and biographer, who taught: "We humans have an immortal soul which came from heaven and has taken up temporary residence here and is looking forward to going back home at the appropriate time." Wright notes the irony that this pagan philosophical view has become what many Christians believe about death. When the Bible uses the word "soul," it typically means "life" - the whole, breathing, embodied existence of a person.
The biblical story is far richer and more profound. It's not about us escaping to some distant realm, but about God coming home to dwell with His creation:
First through Jesus in the incarnation
Now through the Spirit at Pentecost and in believers
Finally when Christ appears and creation is renewed
The Spirit as Life-Bearer
Here's what struck me deeply: The Holy Spirit isn't just preparing our "souls" for a distant heaven - He's actively holding our whole selves in life, even through death, until resurrection. Paul puts it beautifully in Romans.
"If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." - Romans 8:11
This means the Spirit who shapes us now is the same Spirit who will hold us after death and ultimately raise us to new life. It's all one continuous work of God coming home to His creation.
Beyond "Going to Heaven"
Wright specifically warns against our casual use of the phrase "going to heaven" to describe what happens after death. When Jesus told the thief on the cross "Today you will be with me in paradise," He wasn't describing our final destination. As Tim Mackie has explained as well, the word paradise (Greek: paradesos) specifically means "garden" - the Garden of Eden. This raises a fascinating puzzle: When exactly is paradise? We see it in the past (Genesis), the immediate future (Jesus and the thief), the cosmic future (Revelation), and even the present (Paul's experience of being caught up to paradise).
The key to understanding this puzzle, both Wright and Mackie suggest, is that paradise isn't primarily about a place or time - it's about presence with Jesus. As Mackie puts it, it's about encountering the One who is the "Eternal Now," the Person who makes every moment and molecule possible. This isn't just theoretical - it's deeply practical. Paradise becomes accessible whenever we move beyond our surface-level consciousness into a deeper awareness of God's presence, whether that's through prayer, worship, or the Spirit's unexpected interventions in our daily lives.
This understanding transforms how we think about both death and life. Paradise isn't primarily about escaping to a distant realm - it's about being with Jesus, who through His Spirit makes every moment potentially sacred ground. After all, Jesus Himself didn't remain in paradise - He was raised bodily on the third day. The same will be true for us. The biblical story isn't about escaping earth for heaven; it's about heaven coming to earth through Spirit-filled people who are learning to live in consistent awareness of God's presence.
Living in the Now and Not Yet
As I process this through my own journey of spiritual formation (and as an Enneagram 8 who loves clarity and direction), I'm struck by how this reshapes not just our view of death, but how we live now. According to Wright, the Spirit's work isn't just about preparing us for some future state - it's about transforming us in the present and making us participants in God's ongoing work of renewal.
The Spirit that will one day give life to our mortal bodies is the same Spirit working in us now. This means we're not just waiting for some future paradise - we're called to be what Wright describes as "small working models of new creation." Through the Spirit's presence, we become living previews of God's renewed world in action.
This shows up in three key ways:
How we face suffering - The Spirit is just as present in our pain as in our victories, transforming rather than bypassing our struggles
How we view our bodies - Our physical existence isn't something to escape but something to be transformed through the Spirit's work
How we engage in mission - We're not just saving souls for heaven but participating in God's work of bringing heaven's life to earth
Wright suggested this happens as we:
Stand humbly in the Divine Council through prayer - bringing the world's needs before God
Stand boldly in human councils through witness - carrying God's presence into every sphere of life
This "now and not yet" perspective changes everything. It means every moment holds the potential for divine encounter, every space can become sacred ground, and every action can participate in God's work of renewal. We're not just waiting for God's future - we're becoming part of it now through the Spirit's transforming presence.
A Prayer for Us All
Lord, expand our vision to see what Your Spirit is doing. Shape us into people who can stand both humbly in Your presence and boldly in the world's need. May we be carriers of Your homecoming, vessels through which Your kingdom comes "on earth as it is in heaven."
Until next time,
Holy Spirit Conference Writings:
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"You must arrange your days so that you are experiencing total contentment, joy, and confidence in your everyday life with God — that and that alone is what makes a soul healthy." - Dallas Willard