<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1\nThessalonians 4:13-18<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIV.\nExhortation to the Thessalonians (<\/strong>4:1-5:22<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n B.\nExhortation Regarding Eschatological Needs (4:13-5:11<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n How many messages have you heard on these six verses? I am sure you have heard them expounded at funerals, maybe grave-side readings. I just used these six verses at a recent funeral. And any time a pastor focused on the Rapture, these verses were read. I have heard them taught and preached many, many times. I am not sure what I could say that is new about these sentences that Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What we are going to do this morning is focus, not on the Dispensational Theology of these verses, or how Reformed Theology may use them, or on how any other systematic Theology may fit them into one system or another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWhat\nI would like to do is to take us carefully through the passage and\nlook at what Paul has written by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n a.\nPurpose\n(4:13<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThe\nfirst question we need to ask ourselves is “Why?” Why did\nPaul write this section of the letter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nNow,\noften, when we look at a passage, we have to look for clues within\nthe context to find hints as to the author’s purpose in writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nBut\nnot here in verses 13-18. Paul tells us\nhis purpose at the beginning and at the end of these verses. Paul’s\npurpose in writing these sentences is to give us accurate information\nabout one of the most difficult of human experiences: death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cBut\nwe do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are\nasleep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThe\nword translated “asleep”\nis the word koima\u014d.\nThis word is used of someone sleeping, as in Matthew\n28:13\n(You\nare to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we\nwere asleep.’)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nBut\nit is also used metaphorically to\nrefer to\n‘Death.’ We see this use in Matthew\n27:52\n(The\ntombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen\nasleep were raised.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThis\nis explained by Jesus and John\nin John\n11:11-14:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cHe\n*said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go,\nso that I may awaken him out of sleep.” The disciples then said\nto Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”\nNow Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was\nspeaking of literal sleep. So Jesus then said to them plainly,\n“Lazarus is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nIt\nis this metaphorical use that Paul emulated here in our passage in\n1Thessalonians\n4:13.\nPaul wrote to inform the Thessalonians about those Believers among\nthem who had died.\nHe did not want them to be ignorant of what had happened to their\nbrethren.\nNor\ndid he want them to think that their brethren who had died had missed\nout on the blessings of the return of Jesus. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThe\nreason he did not want them to be ignorant was so that they would not\nsorrow as the world sorrowed. For the world, death marked, and\ncontinues to mark, a permanent separation. I continue to hear words\nat funerals that attempt to give hope when there is none. Such words\nas ‘They are still here with us.’ ‘They are with us here in our\nmemories.’ ‘They are looking down on us.’ ‘I can feel their\npresence.’ Etc., etc., etc. But none of those words are true. Our\nloved ones are not still here with us. They do not hover over us\nwatching out for us. Our memories remain of them, but they are gone.\nWhat Scripture is very clear about is that a person’s soul, at death,\nis separated from the body and is gone. Gone where?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nSolomon\nwrote about death in Ecclesiastes\n12:7\n(then\nthe dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will\nreturn to God who gave it.)\nAnd that is absolutely true. The spirit of every person who dies is\nimmediately in the hand of God. But where is that spirit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWhat\nPaul was doing was giving those Believers who remained alive hope\nabout the future for those who had died. He was telling them that\ndeath, for Believers, is not an eternal separation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n \nb.\nThose\nAlive – Condition\n(4:<\/strong>14a<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nSo,\nafter giving a purpose for his words, Paul immediately spoke of those\nliving, specifically, of the conditions under which his words would\nbe true as a comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThe\ncondition: \u201cFor if we believe that Jesus died\nand rose again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nNotice\nthat these words of comfort are not for everyone. Everyone dies, and\nall mankind experience the grief of the separation of death. But\nPaul\u2019s words of comfort are not for all mankind. They only apply to\nthose who believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nMany\narrogantly or flippantly think that they\u2019ll see their loved ones in\nHell for a big party. That is false. The very fact that Believers\nhave a hope implies very strongly that unbelievers do not. The\nseparation of death is permanent for them. They will not be with<\/em>\nloved in Hell or the Lake of Fire. Their separation will be\npermanent. They will be in the same place, but not with each other.\nThey are without hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nBut\nfor those who believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus,\nrelationships will continue after the resurrection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n c.\nThose Dead\n– Condition\n(4:14b<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nBut\nnotice that Paul also gave a condition the dead must fulfill for them\nto experience this hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThe\ncondition: those who have fallen asleep in\nJesus. Even though we are Believers in the resurrection, these\nwords of hope do not automatically apply to all those we love. It\nonly applies to those who were in Christ at the moment of death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWhat\ndoes it mean to be \u201cin Christ?\u201d The\nmoment a person puts their faith in the death and resurrection of\nJesus that person becomes a member of the body of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nRomans\n12:5 \u201cso we, who are many, are one\nbody in Christ, and individually members one of another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n1Co\n12:12-13 \u201cFor even as the body is one\nand yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though\nthey are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we\nwere all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether\nslaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n1Co\n12:27 \u201cNow you are Christ’s body, and\nindividually members of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Believers are considered as being members of Christ\u2019s body and are, thus, in Christ. There is a lot more involved in this, but for today, just note that \u201cin Christ\u201d means a person has placed their faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. In other words, these words of comfort are not only for those who are saved, it applies also to the dead who were saved at death,<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nNow\nnotice again the second half of verse 14: \u201ceven\nso God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.\u201d\nThe \u201ceven so\u201d was telling the\nThessalonians that their dead loved ones were going to be resurrected\njust like Jesus. And that resurrection meant that they were returning\nwith Jesus. The Thessalonians were looking forward to the return of\nJesus. Not only would that be a glorious reunion with Jesus, but it\nwill also be a glorious reunion with our departed fellow Believers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cGod\nwill bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.\u201d\nGod Himself, in Whose care are all of His children, living or dead,\nis going to bring with Him those Believers who have died. They will\nnot stay in Heaven. They will one day head back to earth. They have a\ngreat event, a wondrous event, a glorious experience coming to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nAnd\nall these precious Saints who have died. Can you imagine the laughter\nin their eyes and faces as they know what\u2019s coming. They are headed\ndown to earth for the great resurrection of Believers. If I am still\nalive, I can imagine the laughter of my mom as she heads down with\nJesus to get her Stephie. The delight of Ed and Mary as they head\nhere with Dorita to pick up Darlene and Kevin. Our loved ones delight\nand joy as they come to rejoin us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n d.\nThose Alive\n(4:15a<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cFor\nthis we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and\nremain until the coming of the Lord,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nSince\nwe do not have in any Gospel these words, Paul would have been\nreassuring them that this revelation of reunion was directly from the\nLord. This is not a supposition, a longing, or anything questionable.\nThese words of hope are directly from Jesus. This is His plan. This\nis how He is going to carry out the words He gave the Apostles there\nin John 14:1-3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nSo\nthis hope pertains to those who are physically alive and remaining on\nthis earth at the moment Jesus returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n e.\nThose Dead\n(4:15b<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cwill\nnot precede those who have fallen asleep.\u201d Those who have\ndied are not going to miss out on anything. In fact, those who are\nalive are going to have to wait on those who have died. Whatever is\ngoing to happen at the coming of Jesus, the dead will not have missed\nout on even a second of that thrilling and glorious event. So what is\ngoing to happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n f.\nThe Lord Returns\n(4:16a<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThe\ncentral thought of these 6 verses is the first half of verse 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cFor\nthe Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the\nvoice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nJesus\nis going to give a shout as He is coming down from Heaven, with the\narchangel shouting as well (Michael? Jude 9),\nand with an angel, presumably, blowing the trumpet of God. This is\nthe whole focus of these verses. It is the focus of all the Hope of\nHis Body, the Church. It is our motivation for living a righteous\nlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nTitus\n2:11-13 \u201cFor the grace of God has\nappeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny\nungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and\ngodly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the\nappearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThat\nshout of Jesus will girdle the earth. That shout will be a shout of\nabsolute omnipotent power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThat\nshout will be a shout of sovereign command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWe\nsaw a little of the power of that shout in John 11:43 \u201cWhen\nHe had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, \u2018Lazarus,\ncome forth.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThat\nshout can no more be ignored than Lazarus could have chosen to stay\ndead. Jesus\u2019 command is absolute. He will shout as He is coming\ndown …<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n e’.\nThose Dead\n(4:16b<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cand\nthe dead in Christ will rise first.\u201d The graves will open,\nand all who have died in Christ over the last 2000 years will rise up\nout of their graves, the sea, the ashes, wherever they lay. Since the\nsouls have been brought by God from Heaven we conclude that each\nBeliever\u2019s soul will reenter that body they departed, the body will\nbe transformed, and the dead will walk. The shout of our Lord will\nempty every tomb of the saved, no matter where or under what\ncondition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nBehold,\nI tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be\nchanged, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last\ntrumpet<\/strong>; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised\nimperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on\nthe imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when\nthis perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal\nwill have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is\nwritten, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. “O DEATH, WHERE\nIS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” The sting of\ndeath is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God,\nwho gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n1Corinthians\n15:51-57<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n d’.\nThose Alive\n(4:17a<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cThen\nwe who are alive and remain will be caught up …\u201d Those\nBelievers who are alive and remain here when this event takes place\nwill be caught up, snatched away from earth. Our place will be empty.\nOur possessions no longer important. Our careers no longer to be\nstriven for. We will be gone from the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n c’.\nThose Dead\n(4:17b<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201ctogether\nwith them\u201d We will not be snatched alone. We will go up with\nthe vast company of Believers who died in Christ since the Church\nbegan on the Day of Pentecost. We will go up with Peter, Paul,\nBarnabas, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Irenaeus, Polycarp, Mark, Luke,\nLuther, Katherine, Thomas, Philip, and all the host of Saints we have\nheard and read about through the centuries. All of us will go\ntogether. Those precious Saints whose faithfulness down through the\ncenturies has brought the Gospel and God\u2019s Word to us, they will be\nin that crowd of Believers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n b’.\nThose\nAlive\n(4:<\/strong>17c<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cin\nthe clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be\nwith the Lord.\u201d And now there is no more dead and alive. Now\nwe will all be alive in Christ, not only spiritually, but physically\nas well. And we will be headed up as one great troupe of living\neternally transformed people to meet our precious Savior and Lord in\nmid air. All those who had died had already been with Jesus. For\nthose still alive, that indescribable joy comes at that moment when\nthey meet Jesus in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nAnd\nit will not be a temporary, short meet and greet. No! \u201cand\nso we shall always be with the Lord.\u201d We will be with our\nprecious and dear Savior from that moment on. As our Bridegroom, we\nwill live eternally with Him in sweet communion, in perfect love, in\ntotal sinless holiness, a perfect Bride adorned for her Husband. We\nwill be with Jesus<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n a’.\nPurpose\n(4:18<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cTherefore\ncomfort one another with these words.\u201d Therefore, in light\nof this truth, because of this hope, comfort one another with this\ntruth. As Paul wrote to Titus: This is the blessed hope. This is all\nof our futures, if we Believe in Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection.\nThis is where we are going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nFor\nour Christian loved ones, death has lost its sting. Death has lost\nits victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nAs\nPaul wrote in 1Corinthians 15:57<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThe\nsting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be\nto God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWe\nhave future and eternal victory promised in Christ Jesus. On that\ntruth we can hang all our hopes and dreams. No matter how dark it\ngets down here. No matter how death has hurt us. No matter how we may\nstruggle here in this world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWe\nhave a sure and steadfast hope in Christ Jesus. And whether we go in\ndeath or when Jesus returns, one day we will be together with Jesus\nand with all the Believers through the ages, enjoying sweet, perfect\neternal fellowship in the presence of our precious and dear Savior\nJesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nSo\ndo exactly what Paul said to do:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cTherefore\ncomfort one another with these words.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 IV. Exhortation to the Thessalonians (4:1-5:22) B. Exhortation Regarding Eschatological Needs (4:13-5:11) How many messages have you heard on these six verses? I am sure you have heard them expounded at funerals, maybe grave-side readings. I just used these six verses at a recent funeral. And any time a pastor focused on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastorsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=487"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":612,"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487\/revisions\/612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}