This past Sunday, I mentioned in my sermon that Jesus often motivates His disciples by pointing them to heavenly rewards. Throughout the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere in the Gospels, Christ repeatedly calls His followers to live with eternity in view (Matthew 6:1–4, 19–24). I also noted that Scripture teaches there will be varying degrees of reward in heaven based on the faithfulness with which believers lived their earthly lives. In other words, some Christians will receive greater rewards than others.
In this post, I want to explore what those heavenly rewards are, examine the biblical evidence for differing degrees of reward among believers, and address some of the common questions and misconceptions surrounding this often-misunderstood doctrine.
No theologian has helped me understand this biblical teaching more than the New England pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards. Many people know Edwards primarily for his famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Yet he wrote far more about the glories of heaven than he ever did about hell or judgment. His vision of eternity was profoundly God-centered and deeply motivating for the Christian life. Two of his most helpful works on this subject are The End for Which God Created the World, a theological treatise, and Heaven Is a World of Love, a sermon that beautifully describes the eternal joy of God’s people. Together, they provide rich biblical insight into the nature of heaven, and the rewards God graciously gives His children.
The question before us is an important one: Does the Bible really teach that there are different degrees of reward in heaven? If so, what are those rewards, and how can some receive greater rewards without diminishing the joy of everyone else? I believe Jonathan Edwards offers one of the clearest and most compelling answers to those questions.
In a sermon on Romans 2:10, “But glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek,” Edwards writes:
“There are different degrees of happiness and glory in heaven. As there are degrees among the angels… so there are degrees among the saints. In heaven are many mansions, and of different degrees of dignity. The glory of the saints above will be in some proportion to their eminency in holiness and good works here. Christ will reward all according to their works… But this could not be true, if a person should have no greater reward for doing many good works than if he did but few. It will be no damp to the happiness of those who have lower degrees of happiness and glory, that there are others advanced in glory above them: for all shall be perfectly happy; everyone shall be perfectly satisfied. Every vessel that is cast into this ocean of happiness is full, though there are some vessels far larger than others; and there shall be no such thing as envy in heaven, but perfect love shall reign through the whole society. Those who are not so high in glory as others will not envy those that are higher, but they will have so great, and strong, and pure love to them that they will rejoice in their superior happiness. Their love to them will be such that they will rejoice that they are happier than themselves. So, instead of diminishing their own happiness, it will actually increase it. They will see that it is fitting that those who have been most eminent in works of righteousness should be most highly exalted in glory, and they will rejoice that what is most fitting has been done.” (The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Sermon 8, p. 628)
Edwards’ illustration is both beautiful and profoundly biblical. Every believer in heaven will experience perfect joy and complete satisfaction. No one will lack anything. Yet, just as vessels of different sizes can all be filled to the brim, every saint will be completely full of joy while differing in capacity for glory. Far from producing jealousy or disappointment, these differing rewards will actually increase our happiness, because perfect love will cause us to rejoice in the happiness and honor of others as much as our own.
Edwards argues that Scripture clearly teaches distinctions among the redeemed in heaven. He first points to the angels: “As there are degrees among the angels…so there are degrees among the saints.” His point is straightforward. If God has established different ranks among the angels, there is no reason to assume that every redeemed person will possess identical honor or reward in heaven.
But where do we find biblical support for this?
Jesus’ parable of the talents provides one example (Matthew 25:14–30). Faithful servants receive differing responsibilities according to their faithfulness. To one servant the master says, “You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much” (Matthew 25:21). Likewise, in the parable of the minas, one servant is given authority over ten cities, while another is given authority over five (Luke 19:17–19). The rewards are intentionally unequal because their faithfulness differed.
The Apostle Paul teaches the same principle. “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). He also writes, “Each will receive his wages according to his labor” (1 Corinthians 3:8). Some works will endure and receive reward, while others will be burned up (1 Corinthians 3:12–15). Every believer will be saved by grace alone, but Scripture plainly teaches that believers’ rewards will differ.
This does not mean our salvation is earned. Scripture is unequivocal:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8–10)
Edwards writes, “The glory of the saints above will be in some proportion to their eminency in holiness and good works here.” The order is critically important. Holiness does not purchase heaven. Rather, holiness demonstrates God’s gracious work in us. Then, in an astonishing display of grace, God rewards His own people for the very works He empowered them to do. Nevertheless, Scripture consistently teaches that our faithfulness in this life has eternal significance. The Lord graciously rewards obedience that flows from genuine faith.
Some Christians are uncomfortable with the idea of seeking heavenly rewards, fearing that it sounds selfish. Yet Jesus Himself repeatedly motivates His disciples by the promise of eternal reward (Matt. 5:12; 6:1–21; 19:27–29). Edwards understood that there is nothing selfish about longing for the reward Christ Himself promises, especially when that reward is ultimately God Himself. In fact, to desire God above all else is the very essence of true worship.
Up to this point, we’ve established that Scripture teachers differing rewards. But what exactly are those rewards? This is where Edwards offers one of his most profound theological insights. He argues that heavenly rewards are not primarily about receiving “more stuff.” His vision of heaven is thoroughly God-centered. That may sound obvious, but many Christians subtly imagine heaven primarily in terms of reunion with loved ones, freedom from suffering, streets of gold, or magnificent mansions. While all of these blessings are wonderful, none of them is the greatest glory of heaven.
The greatest treasure of heaven is God Himself. Psalm 16:11 says it like this, “In your presence is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” We will behold Him, enjoy Him, worship Him, and delight in Him forever. Our joy will never stagnate because God is infinite. Throughout eternity, we will continually discover fresh and new wonders of His beauty, glory, wisdom, and grace. We will be ever increasing in our knowledge and delight in God for all ages.
Edwards writes in Heaven is a World of Love, “The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God Himself is the greatest good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls…They have none in heaven but God.” Or from The End for Which God Created the World, he says, “God is glorified not only by his glory’s being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it.”
Paul hints at this glorious reality when he writes that God has raised us up with Christ “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7). Notice the phrase “in the coming ages.” Throughout eternity, God will never exhaust the riches of His grace. Our wonder, worship, and delight in Him will continue increasing forever and ever.
But will my enjoyment of heaven be less full if others are receiving more joy than me? This is where Edwards uses his “vessel illustration.” He says that every vessel is full, though there are some vessels far larger than others. In other words, they possess a greater capacity to receive. Each one is completely filled up, and so likewise, each believer is perfectly satisfied. No one experiences any kind of disappointment or envy that someone else has more. And yet, some possess greater capacity to enjoy God’s infinite glory.
That’s a wonderful illustration, but is it biblical? Does the Bible tell us that God is the Treasure of Heaven? Jesus prays in the High Priestly prayer, “Father, I desire that they also…may be with me where I am, to see my glory.” (John 17:24) Or the psalmist asks, “Whom have I in heaven but you?” (Psalm 73:25-26). Again, Psalm 16:11, “In your presence there is fullness of joy.” Joy is experienced fully in the presence of God and His all-satisfying glory. The reward of heaven is fundamentally God Himself. Anything else would be idolatry.
Edwards answers an important question: How can there be different rewards in heaven without diminishing anyone’s happiness? His answer is that every believer will be perfectly satisfied because every believer possesses the greatest treasure, God Himself. Yet God will graciously reward faithful believers with greater capacities to enjoy His glory. Those who receive greater reward will also possess greater love and humility, while those with lesser reward will rejoice in their greater blessedness because all envy and sin will be gone. This beautifully preserves the biblical truths that salvation is entirely by grace, rewards are real and proportionate to faithfulness, and heaven is a place of perfect love, unity, and joy. Therefore, when Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 to “lay up treasures in heaven,” He is not calling us to pursue heavenly riches for their own sake, but to live now in a way that prepares us for a fuller enjoyment of the greatest treasure of all—namely, God Himself.
