The night before His death, Jesus told His disciples that He was going to prepare rooms for them (John 14:1–31). The King James Version says, "In my Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:2). Do Christians receive mansions in heaven? The type of dwelling believers will have in heaven is unclear in this passage. It could range from a simple home to an extravagant mansion or even heaven as "home." Middle Eastern families understood the practice of adding rooms onto the house for a growing family, so it follows that God will have all of the rooms added for each of Jesus’ followers. To Paul, being with the Lord was being "home" rather than a focus on a particular type of house or dwelling (2 Corinthians 5:8).
The Greek word translated as mansion or house is monai, a word referring to a dwelling place. The Father's "house" is from the Greek word oikia, which is the basic word for house in the Greek language. There is every indication that the believer's home will be good and even perfect, but there is nothing to indicate the exact nature of where believers will dwell.
In Middle Eastern culture, a father's house often included many built-on additions where extended family members lived. The idea of the Father's house with plenty of room being prepared for His children would have been easily understood and would have resonated well with Jesus' hearers.
Another positive benefit of this understanding that we have dwelling places or rooms in the Father's house is that we will not live in separate locations; we will each dwell with the Father in heaven for eternity.
It may be that rather than individual homes, believers will all be "home" in the sense of being together with the Lord. In 2 Corinthians 5:8–9, Paul writes, "Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him."
We can trust God has a perfect place prepared for each believer to dwell together with Him. The focus is not on whether there will be individual homes or the greatness of those homes but on the presence of the Lord and in living together with other believers in perfect glory for eternity.
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