1 Thessalonians Chapter 4 verses 13 to 18: Hope for the Future

 

Introduction

Suns may set and rise again but we, when once our brief light goes down, must sleep an endless night.

This was the common belief in the world into which Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians. The Thessalonian Believers were surrounded by a culture that feared death and faced it with utter hopelessness- a culture remarkably like our own.

Throughout Thessalonians we see the Believers there had confidently embraced the teaching that the Lord Jesus Christ would return. For a time, they faced both life and death with hope, expecting that Jesus would soon come to take His People home.

But then some of their members had died before Jesus had returned. Suddenly their hope had evaporated. They were stunned by these developments, and they were left with unanswered questions: What happens to those Believers who have died before Christ’s return? And when Jesus does return, would they still share in God’s eternal purposes?

So, Paul writes to the Believers to rekindle their hope and strengthen their faith. He does so by directing their attention back to Jesus.

Paul is clear that Christian hope rests upon two unshakable realities: the historical resurrection of Jesus Christ and His promised return. Because these truths are certain, Believers face both life and death differently from the world. Christian hope is rooted in Gospel reality.

Our passage, then, can be understood in this way:

A Grief Observed

A Guard Against Hopelessness

A Guarantee to Inspire Hope

Paul continually directs our attention to Christ. Our hope in life and death is to be centred on Him, and we are called to live with a hope that points the watching world to Him.

So, firstly… A Grief Observed

 

There are many situations in life where everything seems to be running smoothly, and the future appears clearly mapped out. It might be purchasing a house, getting a university place or a promising career path. Everything seems secure and we can imagine how the future will unfold. We look forward with confidence in our plans.

Then tragedy strikes. In a moment our plans collapse, our hope disappears.

Now we need something greater than our circumstances. We need God.

This was the situation at Thessalonica. With the death of fellow Believers, the Thessalonians’ hope had been shattered. What they understood about Christ’s return seemed unable to explain what had happened.

And so, in verse 13, our passage begins with a grief observed:

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.

Remember, Paul is writing to encourage these new Believers in growing maturity. But before Paul brings positive encouragement through instruction, he identifies two interrelated issues which must be addressed: ignorance and grief.

These new Believers lacked a full understanding of what happens to Believers who die before Christ returns. And this lack of understanding amongst the Believers had led to behaviour which was not distinctively Christian at all. Their ignorance had produced a grief that looked no different from that of their unbelieving neighbours.

The surrounding world grieved without hope because it had no confidence beyond the grave. These Believers, however, should be different. And so, Paul recognised the need to provide further teaching about how the Gospel transforms the Believer’s understanding of death.

Notice how Paul describes the Believers who have died as those who have ‘fallen asleep’. He is not denying the reality of death but redefining in Gospel terms. Death is no longer the end, the enemy that cannot be resisted. No, death has been overcome by the risen Lord, and that has transformed the whole situation for those who belong to Him.

So, Believers, armed with a Gospel understanding of death, are to live distinctively Christian lives. In the face of death, they are not to ‘…grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.’.

Now, Paul is not saying that Christians should never grieve. Grief is both natural and appropriate. Even our Lord Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus; despite knowing He was about to raise him from the dead.

 

What Paul forbids is hopeless grief- a grief that forgets the victory of Christ over sin and death, a grief that forgets the great promises of the Gospel. We are not to grieve like the world around us because they do not have the hope we have.

Yes, our tears are real. But they are accompanied by hope in Christ’s victory over sin and death.

In grief we are to display the hope we have in Christ. In our grief we rejoice in the complete victory Christ has won. Those who have died in Christ have simply fallen asleep in Him, and they will awake with Him. There is reason for sadness, but there is no reason for despair.

Paul is encouraging these Believers to live distinctive lives against the backdrop of a pagan world. Believers are not to grieve like those around them who fear death and face it with hopelessness.

Yes, Believers should grieve but Believers grieve in light of the Gospel and the hope we have in Christ. In this way we will commend the Gospel and cause people to consider the person of Christ.

So, Paul observes the Thessalonian grief and identifies a problem- the absence of hope. To rekindle hope, Paul lays before them glorious Gospel truths. Secondly, then, we see… A Guard Against Hopelessness

Bereavement had plunged these new Believers into despair. So Paul, the Gospel Pastor, seeks to rebuild their hope on solid Gospel foundations.

In verses 14 to 17 Paul builds a guard against hopelessness by grounding the basis for hope in the resurrection of Jesus and setting the focus of hope in the return of Jesus. Again, we see that true hope is based upon the person and work of Jesus- He is our guard against hopelessness.

The basis of hope- the resurrection.

Our guard against hopelessness begins with the resurrection. In verse 14 we learn that Christian hope is not the result of philosophical speculation or wishful thinking. Instead, it rests on a sure historical foundation.

Hope in the face of death must start with the recognition that Jesus died and rose again, defeating sin and death. This is the central truth of our faith and basis of our hope. Without the resurrection and all that it means for this life and the life to come we there is no Christian hope.

So, how does the resurrection of Jesus help grieving Believers?

First, the resurrection of Jesus is the ‘model’ for the resurrection of Believers. Paul’s logic here is simple yet profound: in the same way that Jesus genuinely died but rose to new life, so Believers, by way of their special union with Christ, can expect to follow the same path.

Through the resurrection of Jesus, death has now been transformed. Death is now redefined as ‘falling asleep’ because, as with Christ, we know that it is no longer the final destination. Now, in Chrost, death is the path that leads to a glorious life beyond the grave.

What happened to Christ will happen to every Believer. This is the basis for Paul’s teaching in this passage and should be a guard against hopelessness for every Believer.

Then, secondly, we see that the resurrection of Jesus is the ‘means’ of the resurrection of Believers. Throughout the New Testament Believers are described as being ‘in Christ’. If you are a Believer today that means that by faith you are united to Him so completely that everything of His also belongs to you- His victory over death becomes your victory.

Because Christ defeated sin and death, those who belong to Him share in that triumph. His resurrection guarantees yours.

So, Christian hope is anchored firmly in what has truly happened in history. The resurrection of Jesus is both the model and means for our own resurrection as Believers. When our faith is shaken and our hope wanes in the face of death, we need to go back to the Cross and remember Christ has accomplished in His death and resurrection.

Our hope is never based on wishful thinking but is tied to the historical events of that first Easter weekend. Any hope we have concerning the future must flow from Jesus’ resurrection and the implications of this for our relationship to death.

As one commentator has put it:

In Jesus’ resurrection, a doorway has been forcibly opened through the wall of death. This enables those of us who follow Him to pass through death.

So, in Jesus we have a guard against hopelessness. Whenever grief threatens to overwhelm us, we must return to the Cross and the empty tomb. Our confidence for the future always rests upon what Christ has already accomplished.

But Paul does not stop there as he seeks to offer hope that will produce distinctive, Gospel living. And so, in verses 15 to 17 we see…

The focus of hope- the return of Jesus

After declaring that ‘…God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him….’, Paul then explains what will happen when Jesus returns. His teaching about the future is neither imaginative speculation nor a vague optimism. Rather, as verse 15 makes clear, Paul’s words are grounded in the teaching of Jesus Himself- these words carry divine authority.

In verses 15 to 17, then, we read of a guarantee to inspire hope: the glorious return of the Lord. Notice what Paul says and does not say- this is significant and instructive.

For example, very little attention is given to the resurrection body, and nothing is said about the new heavens and the new earth. There may be many things that we would like to know about Jesus’ Return, but God’s Word is not given to satisfy our curiosity. Instead, Jesus gives us His Word to help us live for Him and be prepared for the day when He will call or come.

So, these verses focus on the personal return of the Lord Jesus. He Himself has promised that He will return and this is the focus of the Believer’s hope.

Believers can be confident that He will return in all His Glory; He will come down from heaven and gather His People, and they will be with Him forever. That is the heart of Christian hope.

Paul also answers the Thessalonians’ immediate concern: Will those Believers who have already died somehow miss out?

Not at all. In fact, Paul says the opposite. In verse 15 he notes that the Believers who are still alive ‘…will certainly not precede…’ those who have already died.

Then in verse 16 Paul gives the order of events at the return of Christ:

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

The language used imagines the entry of Royalty at a special occasion.

Here Jesus is pictured as a triumphant King whose authority is unmatched and unquestioned. As He arrives, He speaks to the graves and calls out Believers, with the result that the dead in Christ rise.

So, through the power of the Word of the Lord, those who have died in Christ are raised to new, full life beyond the grave; and all this happens before the effects of Jesus’ return are felt by those still living! Rather than looking neglected or overlooked, it looks like special treatment!

If that is what will happen to those Believers who have already passed, what about those who are still alive at Jesus return?

In verse 17 we read that they will be gathered up with those already raised so that together all God’s People will meet the Lord Himself to be with Him forever. Notice the focus here is not on figuring out the order of events. Instead, the focus is on the Believers’ relationship with Jesus.

Jesus’ return guarantees that all Believers will meet Him and be with Him forever. The fulfilment of the glorious Gospel message will be in Believers being with Christ forever- dwelling with their Good Shepherd and feasting with their Generous Host.

As Believers, when we think about the future, it is possible to focus on ourselves rather than Christ. We may be fascinated by dates and times and all the speculative theologies about what some wrongly refer to as the ‘end times’. We might wonder about the realities of a new resurrected body or what the new heavens and the new earth will actually entail.

However, the focus in this passage is all on Jesus. The glory of eternity is that we shall finally be with the One who loved us, redeemed us, and gave Himself for us.

And so our focus as Believers is to be entirely on Jesus. Our hope is not found in working out every detail of the future. Our hope is found in the certainty that Christ will come, gather His People, and keep them with Himself forever.

And so, we close with… A Guarantee to Inspire Hope

Paul concludes with a wonderfully practical command in verse 18:

Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Given all the Paul has said it is only natural that Paul should conclude with a call for all the Believers to encourage each other with these truths.

This teaching is not intended merely to satisfy our curiosity. It is meant to strengthen weary hearts. Believers are to remind one another of these truths, especially in times of bereavement.

We comfort one another by reminding each other that those who have died in Christ are safe in Him and will be raised when He returns. Death does not have the final word. Jesus does.

Because Christ died and rose again, and because He has promised to return, every Believer can face both life and death with hope. Our only hope in life and in death is that we belong to our faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, let us continually encourage one another with these truths. Let us grieve, but never without hope. Let us live distinctively in a world that fears death. And let us keep our eyes fixed upon Christ, knowing that one day we shall be with the Lord forever.

 

 

Conclusion

Today we have dealt with a difficult subject: death. This leaves us wrestling with lots of emotions. So let me conclude with a ‘summary of the passage’ and a ‘central application’.

Summary In this passage Paul is dealing with a specific issue, a narrow question: what happens to Believers who die before Christ returns? And so, Paul offers teaching from Christ, centred on Christ. Paul’s expectation of what God and Jesus will do in the future is based upon what God has done in the past: God has raised Jesus, so He will raise those in Christ.

Paul writes about the dead, those asleep, for the sake of the living. The Gospel should impact all of life, even how we think about the end of life. What we believe must dictate how we live. Paul’s fundamental purpose is not speculation but inspiration- he answers a specific question to equip Believers to encourage one another to live well for Jesus.

This then leads us to the… Application

So, what is our encouragement? Well, let me take you to the Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 37: What benefits do Believers receive from Christ at death? Answer: The souls of Believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection.

The great hope for all Believers is that when we die, when we fall asleep, we will meet Jesus straight away- Jesus is the One who will wake us from our sleep. So, our future is not about a place but a person- we will be with our Lord forever. And death is not, ultimately, our enemy, but the servant who ushers us into the presence of our Jesus. So, our present ought to be shaped by our future- we live this life with true hope in Christ and utter devotion to Him.