Will There Be Sex in Heaven?

Jesus tells them plainly that they are “deceived,” in error.6 Jesus accuses the theological elite of His day of error in their area of expertise! What they claim to know best, the Torah, they actually know least. And because they misunderstand the Bible, they also misunderstand God! Misinterpreting the Scriptures inevitably leads to a distorted view of God. It always leads to your god being too small and impotent to be the God of the Bible!

Jesus begins correcting them in verse 25. The world of resurrection is different from the world we live in. There is continuity, to be sure. I will be me, and you will be you, but we will live for all of eternity in an entirely new reality. In Revelation 21:1, it is called a “new heaven and a new earth.” Why? Because “the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.”

Jesus addresses the Sadducees’ question. (1) There will be a resurrection. (2) There will be no marriage relationship as we know it in this life. (3) We will become “like angels,” probably in the sense that we will no longer procreate and we will never die. Therefore marriage will not be necessary, at least for that purpose.

This leads to the key question, “Will there be sex in heaven?” While the Bible does not pose this question in exactly this way, I think we can safely shed light on the answer. We will exist as glorified bodies in heaven but will maintain our unique identities. There will be, in one sense, sex in heaven because sex identifies us in terms of gender. But whatever physical, sensual, and sexual pleasure we enjoy in this life will be transcended beyond our imagination in the life to come.

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) says it so well: “[In heaven] the glorified spiritual bodies of the saints shall be filled with pleasures of the most exquisite kind that such refined bodies are capable of.... The sweetness and pleasure that shall be in the mind, shall put the spirits of the body into such a motion as shall cause a sweet sensation throughout the body, infinitely excelling any sensual pleasure here” (Works, 13:351).

No one will be disappointed in any way when they get to heaven! No one will be deprived of one thing that is necessary for maximum joy, optimal283 happiness, and complete satisfaction. Our relationship with Jesus and with all of our brothers and sisters will be so intense and so filled with love and affection that all earthly marital bliss will seem shallow and small in comparison. Heaven is indeed God’s perfect plan for His children who have come to Him through His Son Jesus.

Mark 12:26-27

Jesus defeats the Sadducees on their own turf, the books of Moses. The doctrine of resurrection finds Old Testament support in places like Job 19:25-27; Psalm 16:9-11; and Daniel 12:2. Jesus in grace meets the Sadducees where they are and takes them to the “burning bush” story found in Exodus 3:6. There God speaks to Moses in the present tense: “I am ... the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Though they died physically, they are alive spiritually right now! It is not “I was their God” but “I am their God.” Further, being their God implies covenant, and it is inconceivable that the eternal God does not maintain an eternal covenant with His people, which is exactly what we find in the covenant God made first with Abraham (Gen 12) and later with David (2 Sam 7).

Tim Keller explains,

Thus the matter ends. God is not God of the dead but of the living. The Sadducees are wrong. Jesus has silenced His critics once again.

We would expect a great God to prepare a great heaven! The Bible does not tell us everything we want to know, but it tells us more than enough to make us long for that glorious destiny.

Now you know why we can sing with Eliza Hewitt (1851-1920) that wonderful refrain,

The issue is really not, “Will there be sex in heaven?” The real issue is, “Will you be in heaven?” It will be wonderful beyond words. Won’t you join us?