1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Resurrection Hope in the Face of Death
Resurrection Hope in the Face of Death
1 THESSALONIANS 4:13–18
In The Silver Chair, C. S. Lewis tells the story of two children named Jill and Eustace, along with a funny little character named Puddleglum, who go through a great adventure to find Prince Rilian, the son of King Caspian. They discover that Prince Rilian is being held captive in the Underworld by a witch who can turn into a green serpent. After Prince Rilian is released and kills the green serpent, he leads the others through a series of tunnels in an attempt to reach the outside world and hopefully make it back to Narnia.
As they are traveling, they face the constant threat of death, and at one point Prince Rilian says, “Courage, friends. Whether we live or die Aslan will be our good lord.” As he encourages them each step along the journey, the focus is not on whether they live or die but on the irrefutable truth that Aslan is a loving lord. Whether they survive that journey or whether they die in the Underworld will not change the nature of Aslan: he cares about them.
Prince Rilian’s statement made a lasting impression upon me. As I reflected on his words, I wondered if I could honestly say that about Jesus Christ. Can I say that whether I live or die, or whether a loved one lives or dies, Jesus Christ is and will be my good Lord? I think this is one of the crucial tests of faith in the Christian life. Will we believe that Jesus is a loving Lord no matter what trial we face?
One of my duties as a pastor is to teach and preach in such a way that my hearers are prepared for death. We will all face death when friends and relatives die, and we will have to walk with them through that ordeal. But we will also face death ourselves, and we need to be prepared. When the trial of death occurs, we must not turn away from Jesus and the gospel, thinking that he has let us down. We need to believe that whether we live or die, Jesus is a good Lord.
In order to believe that Jesus is good in both life and death, we have to understand what the Bible says about the reality of death and the hope of the resurrection. We do not need to avoid this difficult topic as Christians because we can confidently face death with the power of the gospel. Too frequently the church has allowed itself to be caught up in attempts by our culture to ignore pain and suffering and death. We have become experts at distracting ourselves from the fact that we will die. One way we see this is the very modern notion of a funeral as a “celebration of life.” The service for the dead in Christ has moved from the pain of death and the hope of resurrection to a celebration of this life, often minimizing the fact that our hope is not in death but in the resurrection. Although Christians can be thankful that those who are dead in Christ are no longer suffering, we must nevertheless realize that death is not the final destination: we await the hope of the resurrection and the reality of a new creation.
The church once believed that what was most relevant about its ministry in this regard was the process of preparing for death and proclaiming the resurrection. That is why funerals were once called “witnesses to the resurrection.” Death is a reminder of sin and weakness, and we cannot avoid the pain and suffering connected to it. Those who do not believe in Jesus seek various ways of escaping grief and putting off the fact that one day they will die. But Christians can look death in the face and believe there is hope. We can be confident that death will not have the last word. The basis of our hope is that Jesus is a good Lord, that in his first coming he destroyed the power of death, and that in his second coming he will put an end to death and dying and will bring about resurrection.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 Paul’s concern was precisely this issue—hope in the face of death. He was very pastoral because this church was confused on the matter of death, and they needed to understand the doctrine properly so that hope would inform their life and their understanding of the future. When Paul planted this church, he left the Thessalonians with a great deal of hope, not only in the midst of their suffering but also in regard to their future. But at some point the Thessalonians moved from hope to despair. They were grieving about those who had died, and that sadness was perhaps causing them to question whether or not the gospel is good and Jesus is a good Lord.
Paul sought to inform them about this confusion regarding those who have “fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:14), which is terminology for someone who had died. Paul was addressing confusion over the matter of death in the life of this church. We don’t know if these deaths were from natural causes or from persecution, but however they died, there was confusion about the future. Paul sought to clarify these issues and to provide hope in the midst of despair.
We are going to examine the nature of this resurrection hope and how this hope should shape our lives so we can believe that whether we live or die, Jesus is a loving Lord. We are going to see that the Christian gospel provides hope both for the living and for the dead, which was contrary to the pagan notion stated by Theocritus: “Hopes are for the living; the dead have no hope.” This gospel hope is rooted in a proper understanding of Jesus’ first coming—his life, death, and resurrection—as well as his future second coming. This hope allows us to face whatever trials come our way.
CHRISTIAN HOPE DOES NOT IGNORE THE GRIEF
We should begin with this observation: Christian hope does not ignore the pain and grief. These are a normal part of life, and the hope that we have as Christians does not ignore pain but redeems it. Two central notions are bound up in the command of verse 13 that we need to realize as Christians. First, grief is part of life. God created humans with the capacity for relationships. So when we lose a relationship to death, there will be intense grief. We must not allow the pagan philosophy of Stoicism to sneak into the Christian faith by denying our emotions. Christians need to acknowledge the struggle of grief because it reflects the reality of loss in this sinful world. This also means, contrary to popular opinion in Christian circles, that death is not a celebration. Death is not the way it is supposed to be. Since Adam’s sin, death is a judgment by God.
Second, although we must realize that grief will be part of the struggle of this life in the face of death, we must also grieve with confident hope. That is why Paul explains that we should “not grieve as others do who have no hope” (v. 13). Paul does not forbid us to grieve. On the contrary, he acknowledges the grief and tells us to grieve with hope. John Calvin says, “[Paul] does not, however, forbid us altogether to mourn, but requires moderation in our mourning.” Our Christian hope transforms the pain and grief to the point that we realize that death does not have the final word. This is why Chrysostom says, “Weep, then, at the death of a dear one as if you were bidding farewell to one setting out on a journey.”
CHRISTIAN HOPE IS GROUNDED IN CHRIST’S DEATH AND RESURRECTION
The second observation is that our hope in the resurrection is based on our connection to Christ’s death and resurrection. Paul explains in verse 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.” Paul notes a parallel between the death and resurrection of Christ and the death and resurrection of those who believe in Christ. The first part of the parallel is that “Jesus died,” and Christians “have fallen asleep.” The second part of the parallel is that “Jesus … rose again,” and God “will bring [those who] … believe” with Jesus when he comes. We can structure the verse as follows to make the point:
Jesus died
Christians who have fallen asleep
Jesus rose again
God will bring with Jesus the dead in Christ
Paul is setting up this parallel to point out how powerful our union with Christ truly is. If Jesus died and rose again, that will also happen to Christians who believe in Christ. Robert Cara explains:
When we make the logical connections between “Jesus died and rose up” and “God will bring those who slept through Jesus with him,” it becomes clear that the latter expression actually makes two points: in the first place, those who are sleeping will be raised; and secondly, those who are currently sleeping will be fully brought in the presence of Christ (“him”) at the Second Coming. Therefore, Paul’s antidote to the grief of the Thessalonians is to remind them that believing in the reality of the death and resurrection of Christ also includes believing, on the grounds of their union with Christ, in the reality that dead Christians will not only be raised but will be bodily present with Christ at the Second Coming.
Our resurrection from the dead is absolutely true because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and we are united to him.
This central doctrine of union with Christ is not unique to Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians; it is a doctrine that permeates all of Paul’s letters. The doctrine of union with Christ was first realized by Paul on the road to Damascus when he met the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, who said to Paul, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5). Paul was persecuting the Christians, but the union between Christ and his people is so real that Jesus said Paul was persecuting him. Believers are so united to Christ that their own life is his, and his life is theirs. This includes not only forgiveness but also resurrection. Paul articulates this in other verses as well:
• And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. (1 Corinthians 6:14)
• But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:20, 21)
• … knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. (2 Corinthians 4:14)
Our hope is that we are united in Christ. When Christ died, we died. Christ was raised, so we will also be raised from the dead. Our hope is focused on Christ’s death and resurrection.
CHRISTIAN HOPE IS FOCUSED UPON CHRIST’S PRESENCE
The third observation is that our hope is focused upon the very coming, or to be more precise, presence of Christ. We see this in verse 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.” The word “coming” is the Greek word parousia, which can mean “coming” but can also mean “appearance” or “presence.” All three convey the meaning, but when we think of the coming of the Lord, we should not primarily think about his appearance. Instead we should think of the presence of the Lord. That is what Paul is getting across here. When Jesus appears, he will be present with us in a way that he is not now. He is Immanuel, God with us, and when he returns, he will fulfill the covenant promise that he will be a God to us and we will be his people. Greg Beale explains, “What has been traditionally understood as the second coming of Christ is best conceived as a revelation of his formerly hidden, heavenly ‘presence.’ ”
Although the root meaning of parousia is Christ’s presence, the term itself has taken on a more technical meaning that signifies the second coming of Christ and everything connected to that event. When we talk about the parousia of Jesus, we are referring to his second coming. This also makes sense in terms of the way it is used in Greek and Roman literature outside of the Bible. Parousia designates the arrival of a dignitary. For example, when Caesar came to a city, his arrival would be described as the parousia of Caesar, or in Latin the advent (from adventus) of Caesar. In Corinth archaeologists found “advent coins” commemorating Nero’s visit to Corinth with the inscription Adventus Augusti Corinthi, which means “the Advent of Caesar Augustus in Corinth.” This coin was made during Paul’s lifetime, so Paul was not creating a word here. He was using something his contemporary audience would know in order to describe the coming of Jesus Christ. The coming of the Lord will be similar to the coming of Caesar (or another dignitary) to the city of Thessalonica. And when Jesus comes, we will be in his presence.
There is a very obvious statement here that we take for granted. Imagine for a moment that we are Christians living in the first century, and we have no knowledge of this event. Paul explains to us that those who are alive when Jesus returns will not precede those who are dead. Instead the dead in Christ will be raised first. This is a profound and significant truth that we cannot take for granted. Paul indicates that those who are alive at the coming of Jesus do not have an advantage over those who are dead. Because we live two thousand years after this was written, we take our knowledge for granted. But the hope we have for those who have died, that they will be present with Jesus on that day, comes from this verse.
CHRISTIAN HOPE IS CONSISTENT IN LIFE OR DEATH
The fourth point is that our hope does not change whether we are dead or alive. This might be a surprise, but part of Paul’s broader point here is that the living and the dead have the same hope—the resurrection. Those who die are living with Jesus Christ in what we often call Heaven. As far as we can tell from the Bible, Heaven is a dimension of reality that is invisible to us right now. When Christ returns, “The old world reality will be ripped away, and the dimension of the new, eternal reality will appear along with Christ’s ‘presence.’ ” In their current state, the dead in Christ are spirits waiting to be reunited with their bodies at the resurrection. Christian theologians call this “the intermediate state,” the state of the dead between death and resurrection. Anthony Hoekema provides a good summary of the Christian tradition on the intermediate state: “Since the time of Augustine Christian theologians have taught that between death and resurrection the souls of men enjoy rest or suffer affliction while waiting either for the completion of their salvation or the consummation of their damnation.”
What is often confusing and misleading for Christians is that we see so much hope in death that we think this intermediate state is a final destination, but it is a temporary destination. This “state” is not the new heaven and the new earth described in Revelation 21. Let’s make the distinction between the intermediate state that we often call Heaven, the place where believers go when they die, and the eternal state, the new heaven and the new earth, where we will all receive glorified bodies after the resurrection.
Some have wondered if Paul thought he would be alive at the advent of Jesus because of his language: “we who are alive” (v. 15). This perspective is not necessary because Paul is using what we often call a plural “we,” just as I am using in this book. Paul is speaking in terms of a collective identity regarding everyone in the community. We can see another example of this in 1 Thessalonians 5:10: “… that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.” Notice that Paul uses the plural “we” with the idea of whether we are alive or dead. Paul is not dead while he is writing this, but he is anticipating what will one day happen. Robert Cara explains, “Paul is using ‘we’ to mean whoever is alive at the Second Coming. He is unsure whether or not he himself will be among them, as his use of the expression ‘thief in the night’ (5:2) implies.”
Nevertheless, Paul’s point here is that whether we are alive or dead when Jesus comes back, Jesus will bring with him a completely new reality bound up in the resurrection. In verses 16–18 Paul provides a sequence of events: 1) the Lord himself will descend from Heaven, 2) the dead in Christ will rise first, 3) we who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds, 4) and so we will always be with the Lord. The point of this sequence is to help us see that the dead in Christ will not miss out on the resurrection hope; in fact, they are eagerly anticipating it.
Our hope as Christians is not eclipsed by death. We believe in the resurrection of our body because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. Death does not determine our fate, and it is not the determining factor in regard to the goodness of Jesus Christ. He has overcome death. So whether we live or die, Jesus is our good Lord.