What will we do in heaven?
Question 10062
Many people imagine heaven as an endless church service or as floating on clouds playing harps, and frankly, that sounds rather boring. But Scripture presents a much richer picture of our eternal existence. Far from idle passivity, heaven involves active, joyful service, worship, fellowship, governance, and creativity. We will not be less engaged than we are now but more so, freed from sin, limitation, and frustration to become fully the people God created us to be.
Worship Without End
The most frequently mentioned activity in heaven is worship. Revelation repeatedly shows us scenes of heavenly worship. Chapter 4 describes the four living creatures who “day and night… never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!'” (Revelation 4:8). The twenty-four elders fall down and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power” (Revelation 4:11).
Revelation 5 presents another worship scene, with the Lamb receiving praise from every creature: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12). This worship is not boring repetition but endless discovery of God’s infinite perfections.
The word translated “worship” in Revelation 22:3 is the Greek latreuō (λατρεύω), which can mean worship but also service. We will serve God, not as slaves performing drudgery, but as beloved children joyfully working in the family business. Our worship will not be passive but active, engaged, and creative.
What will make heavenly worship different from earthly worship is that it will be perfect. No distractions, no wandering minds, no sin to hinder our enjoyment of God. We will worship with our whole beings, body and soul, without any competing desires or divided loyalties. And we will never tire of it because God is infinite; there will always be more of His glory to discover and praise.
Reigning with Christ
Scripture repeatedly speaks of believers reigning with Christ. Revelation 22:5 says, “and they will reign forever and ever.” This is not symbolic; it indicates real authority and governance. Jesus promised His disciples, “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:28-30).
In the parable of the talents, Jesus said to the faithful servant, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23). The parable of the ten minas similarly promises, “you shall have authority over ten cities” (Luke 19:17). These statements indicate that faithful service in this life results in greater responsibilities in the life to come.
Paul writes, “If we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:12). Revelation 5:10 says Christ “has made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” This reigning appears to involve administration, governance, and perhaps creative rule over various aspects of the new creation.
What exactly this ruling involves, we can only speculate. Perhaps we will have responsibility for different regions of the new earth, for various cultural projects, for caring for aspects of creation. The important point is that we will have meaningful work, significant responsibilities, and the joy of exercising dominion as God originally intended for humanity (Genesis 1:28).
Serving God
Revelation 7:15 says of those before God’s throne, “they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.” Revelation 22:3 says, “his servants will worship him.” We will be active servants, not idle beneficiaries.
This should not surprise us. God created Adam and Eve with work to do in the garden, to “work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Work is not part of the curse; it is part of the blessing. What the curse brought was toil, frustration, and futility (Genesis 3:17-19). In the new creation, work will be restored to its original design: joyful, productive, fulfilling, without the thorns and thistles.
We will serve God without fatigue, without frustration, without failure. Whatever tasks we undertake will be done perfectly, with joy, and with visible results that last. No more unfinished projects, no more futile labour, no more work undone by decay or destroyed by others. Everything we do will have eternal significance and permanent results.
Learning and Growing
Some wonder whether we will continue to learn in heaven or whether we will suddenly know everything. Scripture suggests we will indeed continue to learn. Ephesians 2:7 speaks of “the coming ages” (plural), implying an indefinite future where God will show “the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” If there are ages to come, there must be progression and new experiences through them.
We will never be omniscient; only God knows all things. As finite creatures, we will always be learning more about God’s infinite perfections. Eternity will not be long enough to exhaust the knowledge of God because He is infinite. Far from being boring, this means eternal fascination, endless discovery, perpetual wonder.
We will also learn from one another. Think of the conversations we will have with Abraham, David, Paul, and Christians from every age and culture. We will share our experiences of God’s faithfulness, learn from one another’s insights, and grow in our understanding together. The diversity of the body of Christ means we each have unique perspectives to contribute.
Fellowship with Others
Heaven will include perfect fellowship with all believers. Jesus spoke of many coming from east and west to “recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11). This imagery of feasting together suggests celebration, enjoyment, and fellowship.
In Revelation 19:6-9, heaven celebrates with a great feast, the “marriage supper of the Lamb.” This is not a quick meal but an extended celebration. In Middle Eastern culture, wedding feasts could last for days. The imagery suggests joy, abundance, celebration, and community.
We will have perfect relationships with all believers, free from the misunderstandings, conflicts, and selfishness that mar earthly relationships. We will love one another perfectly because we will love God perfectly, and our love for one another will flow from our love for Him. Think of the friendships we will form with believers we never met on earth, people from every nation, tribe, and language (Revelation 7:9).
Creativity and Culture
The new Jerusalem is described with stunning architecture, precious stones, streets of gold, gates of pearl (Revelation 21:18-21). This suggests that beauty, art, and culture will exist in the new creation. God is creative, and we are made in His image; therefore, we are creative beings. In the new creation, our creativity will flourish without the limitations of sin, lack of resources, or lack of time.
Isaiah’s vision of the new creation includes building houses and planting vineyards (Isaiah 65:21). This suggests productive work, craftsmanship, and agriculture. People will “plant vineyards and eat their fruit” (Isaiah 65:21), implying cultivation, harvest, and enjoyment of the results. These activities won’t be drudgery but delight.
Some biblical scholars suggest that the cultural mandate given to Adam in Genesis 1:28 to “fill the earth and subdue it” will be fulfilled in the new creation. We will explore, develop, and cultivate the new earth, creating culture for God’s glory. Music, art, literature, technology, discovery, all these will continue, but perfected and directed toward the worship of God.
Rest and Enjoyment
Whilst heaven involves activity, it also involves rest. Hebrews 4:9 says, “there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” This is not the rest of inactivity but the rest of completed work, of satisfaction, of peace. It’s the rest Adam and Eve enjoyed in Eden before the fall, the rest of doing what you were created to do without stress or strain.
We will enjoy the new creation. Revelation 22:2 mentions the tree of life bearing fruit every month, suggesting we will eat and enjoy food. Jesus ate after His resurrection (Luke 24:42-43), and He spoke of drinking wine in His Father’s kingdom (Matthew 26:29). This is not because we will need sustenance to survive but because we will enjoy it. Eating and drinking are pleasures God created, and they will be part of the new creation.
Isaiah 65:21-23 presents a picture of satisfaction: “They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat… They shall not labour in vain or bear children for calamity.” This is work that satisfies, productivity that lasts, enjoyment without the frustration of futility.
Seeing God
The greatest activity, the supreme joy of heaven, will be seeing God face to face. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). Revelation 22:4 says, “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”
Throughout history, no one has seen God the Father directly. Moses asked to see God’s glory, but God told him, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). But in the new creation, we will see Him. John writes, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
This vision of God will be so glorious, so satisfying, so overwhelming that it will be the source of all our other joys. Everything else we do will flow from this central experience of beholding God’s glory and being transformed by it. We will see Him, know Him, love Him, and be loved by Him, and this relationship will be the foundation of everything else.
Conclusion
Heaven is not boring passivity but active, joyful engagement with God and His creation. We will worship perfectly, serve gladly, reign wisely, learn endlessly, fellowship deeply, create beautifully, and rest completely. All of this will happen in the presence of God, seeing His face, knowing Him fully, and being fully known by Him. Far from the caricature of clouds and harps, Scripture presents heaven as the fulfilment of everything we were created for: knowing God, loving others, creating culture, and exercising dominion over creation, all in perfect harmony with God’s will. This is the life we were made for, and it will be so glorious, so satisfying, so wonderful that eternity will not be long enough to exhaust its joys.
“No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” Revelation 22:3-4