Mansion
“Abiding place or dwelling”
Summary
In Scripture, 'mansion' refers to an abiding place or dwelling, used by Jesus to describe the many permanent dwelling places in His Father's heavenly house.
☩Meaning and Usage
The Greek word mone means 'an abiding' or 'a staying,' conveying the ideas of permanence and rest. When Jesus said 'In my Father's house are many mansions,' He spoke of the abundance of room and the permanence of habitation in the heavenly world. The word does not primarily suggest grandeur (as in modern English) but rather the security and permanence of a dwelling place prepared for believers.
☩Theological Significance
The mansion of the believer in the Father's house corresponds to God's mansion or abiding in the believer: 'If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.' This reciprocal dwelling—the Christian in God and God in the Christian—realizes the ideal expressed in 'Abide in me, and I in you.' The promise refers not merely to the afterlife but to the present fellowship with the Divine as well.
Related Verses1 mention
John· 1 verse
References
- 1.James Hastings (ed.), "Mansion," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. II (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Mansion," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).