Comfort When Confronted With Grief

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 NKJV

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

As we look at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 today, we will notice that Paul is writing to a people who are apparently struggling with unhinged sorrow as they bury their fellow believers. Now, we don’t technically know what it causing this sorrow. Some think that there are heretics in the church spreading lies that cause these believers to think they’ve missed the rapture or that those who have died will miss the glories of Christ’s return. We don’t know, however, one thing is clear; these people are weeping in front of the world as though they don’t have a hope and Paul wants them to know that we have a hope that is grounded and while that doesn’t mean we don’t grieve at all, it does mean that we aren’t hopeless in our grief.

Now, before we go any further, Paul teaches us something very important at the beginning when he says, “I don’t want you to be ignorant, brethren...” and it is that an uninformed faith is one that exposes itself to unhinged responses to life’s difficulties. I think that truth is so important for the stage of life that you guys are in right now. As you’re gearing up for high school, or college, or work life, you are about to enter a time of life that is going to be throwing loads of changes and challenges at you, so it is time that you dig in your heels and start developing an informed faith and today we’re going to see how being informed affects our view of death and grief.

At the beginning, I want to make it clear that Paul is not saying that we don’t grieve, as a matter of fact, Jesus grieved at the tomb of Lazarus. The thing we need to understand is that it isn’t that we shouldn’t grieve, it’s that we shouldn’t grieve as though we are hopeless. Paul wants us to know that we can approach even grief differently from the world because we have a hope grounded in Christ.

Our Hope is Grounded in Christ’s Triumph over Death

In verse 14, Paul roots his argument for assurance in the gospel of Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection and then he turns to apply it to believers who die. Essentially, he is saying “The same God that rose Christ from the dead, is the same God who will be faithful to bring about the resurrection of believers who are dead today.”

Paul addresses this in 2 Corinthians 4:14

2 Corinthians 4:14 NKJV

14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.

as well as Romans 8:11

Romans 8:11 NKJV

11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

So, when we are faced with grief as we mourn the passing of a loved one, there is a glimmer of hope through the clouds of sorrow that we have as we remember the victory of Christ over death and that since our dead loved one was in Him, they too will rise again. This is what leads Paul to quote Hosea in 1 Cor 15:54-55

1 Corinthians 15:54–55 NKJV

54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

Now, while there is comfort for the dying as we know to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, there is, as we have already discussed, more comfort in the final return of Christ. This is the bedrock of where our hope is anchored.

Our Hope is Grounded in Christs’ Glorious Return

The next thing I want us to focus on is the phrase “the coming of the Lord.” The word for “coming” here is parousia. Now, I’ve always immediately thought of that word as referring to the presence of Christ, which is right. However, there was another aspect of the word that I didn’t know about. One resource says this about the word:

The Message of Thessalonians b. A Fundamental Creed (4:14–15)

On the one hand, the word served as a cult expression for the coming of a hidden divinity, who makes his presence felt by a revelation of his power … On the other hand, parousia became the official term for a visit of a person of high rank, especially of kings and emperors visiting a province … These two technical expressions can approach each other closely in meaning, can shade off into one another, or even coincide.…

So, what Paul is doing here by using this word is describing the glorious event that will be the revelation of King Jesus where the glory of God will be declared in power and Jesus will be personally seen in all of His glory. But that’s not all. It isn’t as though He will come and be celebrated and completely forget about those believers who died. Instead, Paul wants to assure them that they won’t miss a thing because Jesus will see to it that they will be the ones who will rise first.

After this, Paul tells us, in verse 17, that then we who are alive will be caught up with them and will meet the Lord in the air. The word for “meet” there is interesting. FF. Bruce says that:

The Message of Thessalonians (iii) The Rapture: We Who Are Still Alive … Will Be Caught up together with Them … (4:17a)

‘When a dignitary paid an official visit (parousia) to a city in Hellenistic times, the action of the leading citizens in going out to meet him and escort him back on the final stage of his journey was called the apantēsis.’

So, when Jesus comes, the leading citizens of the Earth, His people, the Church, will be called up in the air to see Him and will be like a celebratory escort for the Lord as He comes to make all things new. What will happen to us if we are alive when He comes? Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 15:50-57

1 Corinthians 15:50–57 NKJV

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

And after all of this, the joy has just begun because the climax of what Paul wants us to learn is that:

Our Hope is Grounded in Our Future Union

Our hope is grounded in the fact that one day we will see Him, we will be made new, we will be united with our loved ones again, and we will be with Jesus forever. Rev. 21:1-7

Revelation 21:1–7 NKJV

1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” 6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.