Cross Reference John 5:24-30

The 2nd Resurrection

Recap this morning

Jesus will return to take his church with Him

his church are those of us that have come into a

saving relationship with Him

This may end up being a multi part series for now

lets dive deeper into what Jesus spoke about this

morning

by looking at what Paul tells the Thessalonian church

Text

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still 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. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

So, Paul had sent Timothy to check on those in

the Thess. church

when Timothy came back

He said things are going well

however, they have a question

What happens to believers who die before Christ returns?

Now this question isn’t directly stated

but it is clearly implied

and it is how Paul answers this question

that we learn what will happen to us

either after we die

or if Christ returns now

and like brother Marcos says

thats plenty reason to eat the cookie

So, Paul adressed this question

as it was implied mostly to the situation they were in

See after Paul left

well Him and Silas left quickly

because of persecution and pressure

Now, after he left and up until this time that

Timothy followed up with them

it seems some had passed away

So it may be that Paul never got around to teaching this

doctrine

or maybe false teachers had infiltrated

either way

The Thessalonians were very worried about this

see they knew there would be a second coming

we see that in 1 Thessalonians 1:9–10 “for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”

but they didn’t know what happened to those that died before

that time

or what happened to those living at that time

they were looking for Him to come back right

So Paul cleared this up starting in V 13

1 Thessalonians 4:13 “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.”

See unfortunately those that were still alive thought that

those who had already died would miss out on

Christs return

and like I said

maybe false teaching had occured

maybe Paul had to get out of town so quickly they didn’t cover this

either way

right

they didn’t know

and Paul wants to make sure that they were not uninformed

See we have hope for after death right

always a difference between a believers funeral and an unbelievers

so while we do grieve, we can also understand they are in a “better” place right

Well, the wordly way of thinking and the way that those in thessonanica were thinking

was that death is a somber thing

in the pagan world, which is really what we can call this world

death is grim and full of despaire

People outside of Christ have no basis for hope when facing death

and the members of this church

thought that those that already died would not get that hope

just as the pagans thought all around them

Paul did want this

He wanted to straighten out their thinking and calm their fears

as the verse concludes he wanted this so that they

would not grieve like the rest, who have no hope

so, he is going to clear this up for them

so, in V 15 Paul says

1 Thessalonians 4:14 “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

So Paul starts it off with this assertion of faith

the cornerstone or bedrock of our faith

and the 1st fruits as it is called

are based in the resurrection of Christ

See we believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ

Right

Lets look at 1 Corinthians 15:3–8 “For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me.”

So this is the Gospel right

1 Corinthians 15:12–19 “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith. Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified wrongly about God that he raised up Christ—whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.”

so the resurrection is key to our faith

1 Corinthians 15:20–24 “But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power.”

So, Christs resurrection guarantees ours

in the same way that Christ was resurrected

God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep (died)

So whatever Christ does

his people follow

wherever Christ is

so will we be

Christ died and rose again

so will we

Christ will return again

and those who have died will return with him

So how do we know that we will go be with Christ when we die?

where do we find that..

2 Corinthians 5:6–9 “So we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him.”

And this text tells us that

that our souls, our real us

that while we are in our homes

our bodies we are away from the lord

but when we are no longer in this body

we will be at home with the Lord

Or lets look at Philippians 1:21–24 “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better—but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.”

all by the power of Christ!

when we die, we will be united with Him

Amen and isn’t there hope in that!

so, now we know what happens to our spirit or our souls

after we die

1 Thessalonians 4:15 “For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.”

So, those that have died

will be called up before

those that are still alive

he’s going to unpack that more in 16 and 17

but.. what Paul is saying is that those souls

that have been in heaven

will come back with Christ

reclaim their glorious bodies

head back up

and while they are heading back up

we will join in

and by we I mean those that are still alive

and this must have been so encouraging to them right

by saying that those alive on earth will not go before those that

have fallen asleep

or died

ensured to this young church at Thess that thier

dead loved ones would not miss out or

have to settle for a lessor type of glory

and, now, Paul will expand the time table

or lay out the order of which this will happen right

now we don’t know when this will happen

but when it does

this is how it will go down

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still 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.”

so..

The Lord, Christ himself, will come down

this is such an awesome event

that Christ himself will be there for it

in all his greatness and glory

There will be a lot of noise

this could be one great sound

or 2 or 3 distinct ones

it could be the shout or triumph of Christ and his victory

either way its going to be awesome

now, it is debated whether or not the unbelievers will hear this

the only thing we can compare it to is what Paul and his companions experienced on the road to damascus

Something was heard

but only some understood

the dead believers will rise first

This is telling us that even the dead believer is in Christ

right

nothing can separate us from him

not even death

even though our souls are with Christ

and the first order of business for those

souls is to get into their new glorious bodies

Christians who are still alive on earth will rise next

now, the time span here is miniscule right

in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor 15:52) tells us that

so from every nation and every tribe

those that believe will be

snatched up, swept away, carried away right

The Lord will literally snatch up the bodies

of those living, transform them into their glorified

bodies

they will meet up with those that are dead and have already gotten their new bodies

and join Christ in the clouds

isn’t that cool

we will be heading up with all the great believers from throughout history!

and then we will always be with the Lord

BOOM … Eternity Begins!!

I cant wait!

Paul concludes this with

1 Thessalonians 4:18 “Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

Tell everyone of the hope that comes with faith in Christ

we ended this morning with talking about Gods will

and that right there is part of it

we are to encourage others and help bring them hope

hope that we have

So in a nutshell

The point of life is to please God

To learn what brings him honor

and remember to honor God is to hear and believe

the word of God, that is Jesus Christ

and by living a worthy life today

we will then be prepared for that great day

when Christ returns

and ushers us into

the eternal now!

Let us Pray!