1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - The Future Resurrection - Part 2

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Target Date: Sunday, 12 February 2023

NOTES:

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

Uninformed - ἀγνοέω agnŏĕō – lit. un-knowing, ignorant.

Asleep - κοιμάω kŏimaō – from a root: laid out, stretched out – meaning asleep or dead.

The “nice” way or euphemism to speak of someone who has died. Similar to our “passed”.

This is contrasted in this passage with the ἀποθνῄσκω (apothnēskō) meaning just plain “died” in v.14 regarding Jesus.

This is also a different word than Jairus’s daughter, of whom Jesus said she was “sleeping” - καθεύδω kathĕudō (Mark 5:39). This word is lighter than koimao, meaning more of “lying down for a rest” or even “napping”.

This IS the same word Jesus used for Lazarus before He went to Bethany:

“Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” 12 The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead - John 11:11-14

Also Stephen:

Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep. – Acts 7:60

Also used of David:

For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; 37 but He whom God raised did not undergo decay - Acts 13:36-37

14 – even so – kai houtos – the houtos indicates that the second part of the sentence will be in “a like manner” as the first.

Since God raised Jesus from the dead, those who have died through Christ are likewise with Him.

Thoughts on the Passage:

Geerhardus Vos asserted: “Ours is a religion whose centre of gravity lies beyond the grave in the world to come.”

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. – 1 Corinthians 15:16-18

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. – 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. - Luke 16:22

So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up. 10 “He will not return again to his house, Nor will his place know him anymore. – Job 7:9-10

No other belief in the afterlife, whether from philosopher or false prophet like Muhammed, has their belief validated by Jesus Christ who passed through death.

14 – There is some slight difficulty in translation for the phrase “through Christ” in this verse. The difficulty lies in precisely placing this phrase with the phrase it modifies.

ESV seems to be least correct, opting for the phrase to modify the ACTION of God bringing the dead saints – that God is bringing them “through Jesus”.

KJV and NASB have a stronger claim to the correct syntax, having the phrase modify the state in which the saints died:

KJV - even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

NASB - even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

Ultimately, though, the Greek seems to make no issue at all of this English conundrum – the state of the believer in Christ is such that he is joined with Christ in death and in eternal life.

Sermon Text:

We look again this morning at these last verses in the 4th chapter of the first epistle to the Thessalonians.

You may remember last week we looked specifically at how Paul described those believers who had died from here on earth before the Return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He said they had “fallen asleep”.

And I hope you considered this week the wealth of meaning behind that simple phrase.

Today, we will continue to look at what the Holy Spirit is telling us through Paul and Silas about the resurrection of followers of Jesus Christ on the day of his Appearing.

I remind you that this passage is not meant to tell everything about that day, but to answer one practical and doctrinal question: What will happen to believers who do not live to see the Day of Christ’s Returning?

The apostles’ main concern in this letter is to help clarify what will happen for believers at Jesus’s Return.

Not much is said in this epistle regarding unbelievers, or the judgment, or eternity in particular.

The section 4:13-5:11 was written to comfort and encourage the believers in Thessalonica.

To settle their fears perhaps.

To silence false teachings.

To even put to rest the possibility that Christ had already returned.

And to explain the plan of God for His great final promise: the resurrection of the saints.

Today, let’s consider what the word itself, “resurrected”, means as it applies to these great promises of God.

The first thing we know about the resurrection of believers is that it is about bringing the BODY back to life.

Like we talked about last week, the believer never dies.

It is a little hard to think about this without having an idea that man is made up of at least two parts: the body and spirit.

The Bible uses these same pictures to help us understand.

Recall that when Adam was created, he was created a body, but with the breath (spirit) of God breathed into him.

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. – Genesis 2:7

Both parts were necessary: the body and the spirit, created to be unified.

But because of the Fall, the body was subject to decay and death:

It became a temporary home for the person.

Sin caused us to, in a sense, become spiritually homeless.

Until the day when we will be given perfected, eternal homes – glorified bodies.

Until then – our persisting spirit dwells in this tent.

So when we talk about the spirit, it is the person himself – an eternally identifiable individual.

The spirit may, in death, be absent from the body, but even as Jesus died and rose again, we have the same promise.

We too, if we have died with Him, we will be raised with Him.

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. – Romans 6:8-9

Just as Christ died, His followers may die (sleep).

And just as Christ was raised from the dead, His followers will be raised as well.

Christ has experienced everything His followers will.

But His followers are kept from the most terrible thing Jesus Christ faced.

He faced the unfiltered, unlimited, holy wrath of God for the sake of the sin of His people.

Because He endured God’s wrath for your sin, Christian, you will NEVER have to face a wrathful God.

You may face man’s disapproval or derision.

You may endure man’s judgment or punishment upon your flesh.

You may endure the death (sleep) of your body at the hands of evil men because of the gospel you proclaim.

But, child of God, you will NEVER face God’s wrath, not in ANY measure.

Those who are not believers, they will see the terrible wrath of God in judgment.

That is why the Day of the Lord is comfort to believers.

And that is why it is the most terrible day possible for those who have rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. – 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Jesus is the FIRST to be resurrected to eternal life.

The first fruit is the promise of the harvest.

The first fruits of those who are asleep – He was raised, and so shall ALL His people.

By a man (Adam) came death, by a man (Jesus) came the resurrection of the dead.

This is God’s glorious redemptive plan, declared in the Garden:

This body of flesh will die, and in Christ, a glorified body will rise.

We will be ourselves, and we will be clothed in glorified flesh.

Don’t ask me how it will be done – I don’t know other than to plead my faith in God to accomplish the re-creation.

But the Scripture is plain: we will have bodies, new and glorified bodies, that will endure for eternity in Christ.

2. The dead believer’s spirit is with the Lord – God will bring WITH HIM.

Notice where the sleeping believer is in our passage today: returning alongside our Lord in glory.

We who are followers of Christ who are alive in this world live in communion and fellowship with Jesus Christ right now.

And is we die before the Return of Christ, we will CONTINUE to be with Him WITHOUT interruption.

Again I will say, I cannot tell you what our state or awareness will be after death – no one knows.

There have been some who have sold books and novels dealing with the question.

It is a great unknown in regard to the particulars of what our disembodied life will be.

But one thing I am sure of: to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Full stop.

We mentioned it last week – for the believer, not even death can separate you from Christ.

The apostles writing this letter even tell us that all these details are a revelation, a word, from the Lord.

This is exactly how the Return of Christ will occur.

The gracious promise of His Return is not the only way He could have sovereignly chosen to bring us to Himself.

He could have simply caught us after we passed from this earth and made us new bodies in heaven, some other place besides earth.

But God has chosen to raise up His sleeping ones with bodies glorified out of this very dust.

To call us back into a unified body and soul for eternity.

And so we are not without hope – we have the promise of God that if we have died in Him, we will return with Him to be part of the great Resurrection.

3. The resurrection is about reuniting the spirit with the body – And the dead in Christ will rise (get up) first.

When we, meaning our persons or spirits, return, we will be first in line to receive our promised bodies.

Even the verb he uses here for “rise” is interesting.

It sounds a bit formal in the translation, but it is simply the verb to “get up,” often used to mean “get out of bed.”

The dead in Christ will get up first…

And rightly so:

The point of a believer’s life is to endure to the end.

Glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.

These who are dead in Christ have already run their race, finished their course, and kept the faith.

They, by definition, persevered to the end of their lives.

They deserve to have first place in line for the great promise of God in the resurrection.

Ghosts will not be called to the air; real bodies with spirits re-attached will.

This great day has at various times been called “the Rapture.”

Not in the way those “Left Behind” books mean it:

Nothing in Scripture suggests TWO returns of Jesus Christ, particularly not a secret one and the REAL final one.

No, when the Puritan and early Reformed writers spoke of the Rapture, they meant it simply as the day when all our desires will come true.

IF all we desire is our Lord and his abiding presence forever.

If we have longed for Him,

looked to His coming,

sought His voice through His word,

Loved to hear of Him and about Him,

Shared in His Spirit,

And loved his Appearing,

Then that day will be truly rapturous.

4. The resurrection will be at one time for all time for all believers – and so (in this way) we will always be with the Lord.

The day of resurrection is the culmination of God’s redemptive promise:

We are justified through the blood of Jesus Christ.

We are sanctified through the work of the Holy Spirit.

We are glorified through the Appearing of the Lord.

We will be persons who are whole again – unfallen bodies and living persons.

The skeptical may ask how those bodies that have returned to ash or dust can be reunited with their spirit.

Like they are asking if God has individual atoms tagged that are yours and yours alone.

And, for the third time today, I will tell you we aren’t given that much detail into the resurrection.

But, Mr. Skeptic, will you admit that your body is in a constant state of change, and yet you have some belief that you are an individual?

Every day, you lose cells from your body that die from the ravages of this world.

And every day, your body makes new cells to keep your body at equilibrium.

The skeptic would have you believe that you are simply a collection of cells, but his own question forces us to ask “which cells”?

The ones that were alive yesterday, or the ones that were made today?

Dear child of God, the body we will receive will be created just for us, so it will be ours with no doubt at all.

Recall that John the Baptist told the Pharisees:

do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. – Luke 3:8

If God is able to raise children to Abraham from the stones of the ground, He can certainly give you title to the EXACT body He ordains for you.

And it is in that state – living persons in unfallen bodies joined with Jesus Christ – that we will live forever.

We read in v. 17 – and so we will always be with the Lord.

That word “so” should not be read simply “as a result,” as in:

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and [as a result] we will always be with the Lord.

The word means “in this way” or “in this manner”, even “in this state” – all referring to OUR eternal state.

We see the living spirits re-joined with unfailing bodies, and then the final piece added in verse 17:

We will always be with the Lord.

Even that is stronger than it sounds in our ears.

We might get the idea that when the writers say we will always be with the Lord, it is kind of like saying we will live in the same neighborhood WITH the Lord.

Or even in the same house WITH our Lord.

But what is said is much closer than that:

We will always be UNITED WITH the Lord.

We will always be TOGETHER WITH the Lord.

We will not simply be living alongside Jesus Christ, bumping into Him on occasion,

We will be JOINED together with Christ, closer than anything we have here in this life.