1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 - The Parousia: Part 2 - The Resurrection

11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Target Date: Sunday, 13 November 2022

Thoughts on the Passage:

References (inherent) to the Parousia:

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. - Ephesians 4:30

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. - Philippians 1:6

so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and without fault until the day of Christ, - Philippians 1:10

holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to boast because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. - Philippians 2:16

conformed to His death, 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. - Philippians 3:10-11

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by His working through which He is able to even subject all things to Himself. - Philippians 3:20-21

When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory. - Colossians 3:4

On account of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience - Colossians 3:6

But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who WILL REPAY TO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and anger. - Romans 2:5-8

on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. - Romans 2:16

For the anxious longing of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. - Romans 8:19

that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. - Romans 8:21

And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we eagerly wait for it. - Romans 8:23-25

For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. - 2 Timothy 1:12

In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. - 2 Timothy 4:8

instructing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ - Titus 2:12-13

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. - Hebrews 9:27-28

Again the high priest was questioning Him and *said to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” - Mark 14:61-62

Events of the Parousia:

Return of Jesus Christ

Resurrection of the dead

Judgment of all people to eternal reward or punishment

Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. 12 So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. 13 “And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.’ 14 “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 “And it happened that when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know how much they had made in business. 16 “So the first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ 18 “Then the second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ 19 “And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a cloth; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a strict man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 “He *said to him, ‘From your own mouth I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a strict man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 ‘Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ 24 “Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 “And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 27 ‘But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.’” - Luke 19:11-27

Recreation of the world to purity

Sermon Text:

We return this week to this fundamental teaching of the apostles: the Parousia, or the bodily return of Jesus Christ at the end of the age.

Last week I introduced the subject, illustrating the constant mention of the anticipation of this event that will culminate history.

In that, I reminded you that every single author of the New Testament makes reference to the Return of Jesus Christ on the last day.

We are also given in the Scriptures three indisputable events that will happen at the Parousia along with the Return of Jesus Christ:

The resurrection of the dead.

The judgment of all people.

The re-making of fallen creation.

And, while we are looking at these things, I would remind us all of two things:

1. This doctrine of the Return of Jesus Christ has nothing to do with theories of eschatology.

It is my intention to teach the revealed truth of Scripture regarding these events without recourse to working out timetables or the ordering of events.

All we know, all we have been told by God with absolute certainty, is that these events will occur.

We have not, for instance, been given a timetable of the Great Judgment, nor the specifics, in plain text, of the last day.

2. The second thing I would say is that a good deal of the remainder of the Thessalonian letters deals with this very subject, so there may be some overlap or review at times.

I have chosen to look deeply at the Parousia as presented in this passage because of the assumption that Paul made in this passage that the readers would understand the basics of the doctrine.

I illustrated that pretty thoroughly last week.

Plus, as is true with the many great doctrines of the faith, it is hard to imagine that we could hear them too often,

Or that they would fail to benefit us in some new way as we review our understanding of them and, more importantly, our faithful obedience to them.

And so we come this morning to look at the resurrection of the dead as we are told it will occur on the last day.

We will look at it in three questions:

1. What is the resurrection of the dead?

2. What do we know about that great resurrection?

3. Who will be resurrected?

1. What is the resurrection of the dead?

Simply, the resurrection of the dead is the act of God on the last day where those who have died will be brought back to life bodily.

We have all seen the caricatures of heaven where people float on clouds and play lyres.

Or where, even worse, people become angels, with tiny, undersized wings sprouting from their backs.

That is not the Bible – that is simply rubbish.

God, through the holy Scriptures, does not promise us a mere existence for our soul in eternity, floating around.

When the Bible speaks of our eternal destiny, it presents it as a bodily reality.

Real bodies with real life in the full presence of God.

And, as I intend to discuss in more detail next week, God-willing, these bodies will be untouched and unmolested by sin, and without the attendant infirmities these current, sin-ruined bodies have.

One mistake some people might make is to try to “spiritualize” the resurrection promised by God,

Meaning that they take it to mean that we have an eternal spirit within these temporary bodies.

They may think that we will not need bodies once we get to heaven, since heaven is a spiritual place.

After all, Paul did tell the Philippians:

But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; 24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. - Philippians 1:23-24

Telling the Corinthians: we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. – 2 Corinthians 5:8

But making the assumption that this disembodied spiritual state is to be our final state would be incorrect indeed.

We saw, as we read the story of the raising of Lazarus from the grave this morning, that Jesus undoubtedly had talked at length with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus about this bodily resurrection,

Because when Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” – John 11:23-24

The restoring of life to Lazarus on that day of mourning was the raising of his body, not just causing his spirit to walk around and speak.

On that day of resurrection, eyes that have closed in death will open.

Lungs that have long since ceased to draw breath will once again expand and contract on their own.

Hearts, still and quiet, will leap to beat at the call of our Lord.

Bodies unmade by disaster or time will be remade in the original, unfallen mold.

And souls, separated for a moment from their rightful home, will flow back into those bodies which were remade and beautified.

One of the greatest tragedies of our world is that so many are led astray into false religions that promise the obliteration of the individual person, for example when the Hindus claim to long for the day when their “consciousness” merges with the universe.

What rubbish!

What right would that impersonal consciousness have to even suggest how you should live?

What does that pantheon of false gods know about life?

False gods can never raise anyone from the dead.

But Jesus Christ was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead - Romans 1:4

The true God of the Bible MADE you.

He made YOU.

Knew all along He was going to make YOU.

Even when you were born into the sin of Adam, the fallen ruination of His good creation, He loved you and set His redemptive plan through Jesus Christ.

And, child of God, He called you from the death of sin into His life through Jesus Christ.

Declaring to you that you must repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ for your goodness, and you will be saved.

And the promise He makes is that on that last day, He will raise His children to eternal life with Him.

The second question this morning is - What do we know about that great resurrection?

1. It will happen in the future – on the last day.

Paul indicts a couple of false teachers:

men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. – 2 Timothy 2:18

You can see how this would upset some people’s faith.

Because if the resurrection had already occurred, then what is OUR hope?

What is the promise made to US?

It will be the last day so that ALL God’s people through Jesus Christ will be raised.

We see it also in Paul’s teaching to the Corinthian church:

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 15:21-22

In this, we see the bodily aspect: death through Adam contrasted with resurrection through Jesus Christ.

And also, we see the future tense of that resurrection: in Christ all WILL BE made alive.

He could have said that in Adam all die, and in Christ all ARE made alive.

But he was thinking specifically of the resurrection of the dead in this passage (unlike Romans 5:12-19), he spoke in the future tense of the resurrection.

If we look at Romans 5:18-19, we can see the two tenses side by side:

So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. - Romans 5:18-19

Notice the past tense in verse 18: there resulted justification.

Justification was accomplished at the moment of the death of Jesus Christ, once for all.

But then in verse 19, we see the future tense again: many will be made righteous.

This righteousness is, as I plan to look at next week, in the context of the great judgment that will begin at the Return of Christ in conjunction with the resurrection of the dead.

But for this week, it is enough to say that this righteousness and judgment are in the future.

2. Another thing we know about the great resurrection is that it will not bring us back as we were, but as God intends us to be.

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; - 1 Corinthians 15:42

I alluded to this earlier, but what dies here will be raised better.

A few verses down, Paul calls the new body a “spiritual body”.

He doesn’t call it this because it is only spirit and NOT body.

He calls it this because it will be a body entirely suited for God’s Spirit to dwell.

Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. – 1 Corinthians 15:49

This will be a life no one has known since that day in the Garden when our first parents lost that life, died to that spiritual body in the way we die in our earthly bodies to this day.

We will live as God created us to live – in communion with Him forever.

The third question we will look at this morning is Who will be resurrected?

In many of the passages of the New Testament, we see the focus of the promise of the resurrection on believers in Jesus Christ.

And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. – Romans 8:23

But from verses like these, we should not conclude that only believers in Jesus Christ will be raised in the resurrection.

Many have falsely believed that, leading them to conclude that for those who are not in Christ, they will simply remain dead forever.

If you look at the major cults of our day: Mormon, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the like, they hold to variations of this satanic doctrine, denying the existence of judgment and hell.

God, through His revelation in the Scriptures, is quite clear. As Paul declared in his great sermon on Mars’ Hill:

God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” – Acts 17:30-31

Jesus told His disciples:

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. – John 5:25-29

The follower of Jesus Christ is resurrected to hope; the unbeliever resurrected to judgment.

For the believer, the resurrection is a sweet promise, an unfailing hope.

For the unbeliever, that same resurrection on that same day is a perilous and terrifying threat.

For the one who spent their entire life loving this world, seeking after themselves, and rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ, the words of Amos the prophet will ring in their ears:

Alas, you who are longing for the day of the Lord, For what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light; 19 As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets him, Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall And a snake bites him. 20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it? – Amos 5:18-20

What promise does that day hold for you?

If you dread that day, find the sin you are cherishing in your heart and repent of it, leave it behind.

If you fear to stand before God on that day, clothed in the righteousness of Jesus, ask yourself what other goodness you are expecting to claim on that day.