1 Thessalonians - Comfort For A Believer's Death

The center of our reunion will be the Lord, and we shall be with Him and we shall be like Him.

1 Thessalonians 4:13. 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. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 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. 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. 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. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.

Now if you want comfort in time of sorrow and bereavement, this is what you want to read. You see, the believers at Thessalonica were really distressed because some of their number had died. They were wondering, now that our loved ones are dead, does this cut them off from the Lord Jesus Christ? If the Lord Jesus should return, what about the dead who have gone before us? Now Paul had explained some of these things to them, but now he wants to go ahead and explain it even further, and he points out that the dead in Christ are not deprived in any way. There is nothing to worry about as far as their future is concerned. The living have no advantages over the dead. In fact, the dead are in a far better place. Let's notice the comforts that are found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

When you find yourself in sorrow and bereavement and you're concerned about the future hope, remember what death is. Now what is death for the Christian? Well, he talks about death as sleep. Did you notice that? But I would not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep. You see, when you are a Christian and you die, you don't just die, you fall asleep. Verse 14. Even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. Verse 15. We will by no means precede those who are asleep.

Now these are interesting pictures, aren't they? Death is pictured in many different ways in scripture. Death for the believer is pictured as a departure. Philippians 1:23. Paul says he wanted to depart and be with Christ. 2 Timothy 4:6. The time of my departure is at hand. That's a beautiful word. The Greek word translated departure means to take down a tent and move on to other territory. You see, this body we live in is only a tent. It's only a temporary dwelling and death means we just simply take down the tent and we go on to higher ground.

That word also means to loosen a ship and set sail. Well, when we set sail, we know where we're going and we know who the pilot is. That word departure also means to unyoke the oxen at the end of the day and lead them into rest. You know, life is difficult, life has its burdens and its problems and its worries, and the day is going to come when we're going to meet the Lord and He's going to take the yoke off. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth, that they may rest from their labors. Revelation 14:13.

By the way, that word departure also means to solve problems. Philosophers used it when they were talking about solving problems. There are many problems in life I don't understand, but this I know, one day I'm going to meet Him and it's going to be a time of departure and all the problems are going to be solved. Of course, Jesus compared death for a Christian to going home. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. And so for the Christian, death is just simply going home. Going to be with the Father, joining the rest of the family.

Now, Paul uses sleep as a picture, and this is not a new picture. In the Old Testament, you find the very same picture. In fact, our word cemetery comes from the Greek word that means to sleep. A cemetery is a sleeping place. It is important to recognize that it is the body that sleeps. It is not the soul that goes to sleep. Nowhere are we told in the Bible that the soul goes to sleep. It's the body that sleeps. In Daniel 12:2, we read, "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake." He's talking about resurrection. Now the soul doesn't sleep in the dust of the earth. The body returns to dust. And so he's talking here simply about the body sleeping.

I suppose the best proof of this is Luke 8:42, then he was delayed by this woman who wanted to be healed. Well, by the time Jesus got to the house, already the girl was dead. And so Jesus took Peter and James and John, and the father of the mother, and went into her little room, and here were the mourners weeping and wailing. And Jesus said, "Do not weep, she is not dead but sleeping." Luke 8:52. He put them all out and he took the little girl by the hand and he said to her, "Little girl, arise." Now Luke 8:55, "Then her spirit returned and she arose immediately." Now where was her spirit? With the Lord.

You see, the Bible definition of death is James 2:26. Better mark it in your Bible. "As the body without the spirit is dead." What is death as far as the Bible's concerned? When the spirit leaves the body. Then the body seems to be asleep. It is the body that sleeps, it is not the soul. Her soul had gone out, her spirit had gone out into eternity to be with God. Now Jesus called that spirit back into the body and the body was awakened. That's why Jesus said, "She's not dead, she's only sleeping." Now these people knew that she was dead. You can be sure that that mother would not have called the mourners if the girl were not truly dead. So the Bible pictures the death of a believer as sleep.

Now we ought to think about that for a while. When Stephen was stoned in Acts chapter 7, he went to sleep. Notice what it says in verse 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. Now how do you fall asleep? Verse 14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. Now the Greek there can be translated 'those who sleep through Jesus' or it can be rendered 'those who have been put to sleep by Jesus.'

Now that comforts me. Many times I've had to conduct funeral services for people who were all alone when they died, humanly speaking. Killed in an auto accident, there they were, or they they had a heart attack somewhere. And so often the loved ones and the friends would say to me, 'Oh, pastor, if only somebody had been there.' Well, somebody was there. When a Christian dies, he is never alone. He's being put to sleep by Jesus. The Lord Jesus is there. Even though we may not be there. They were put to sleep by Jesus if they are Christians. This is the meaning of Psalm 23:4. "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for Thou art with me." A Christian is never alone when he dies. You see, Jesus Christ is with them and they are with Him. And He is with us. And one day all of us shall be together.

Now that comforts my heart. I don't know how many times we've gone through that valley with people and we've had loved ones of our own. And they've gone through that valley. And I just keep saying to folks, look, Jesus was with them, they were put to sleep in Jesus. And they are with Jesus now, and He is with us, and one day we're all going to be together. And that's the comfort of knowing what death is.

Now if you're not a Christian, this does not apply to you. Death for you will not be sleep, it will be terror. Oh, your body will fall asleep, but you go out to meet God. It is appointed unto men once to die and after that the judgment. Remember what death is. It'll comfort you. Secondly, remember what Jesus did. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again. Now that's the crux of the whole thing. He died. That means He paid the wages of sin. What's the wages of sin? Death. What's the gift of God? Eternal life. Who paid the price for eternal life? Jesus did. That's the meaning of the cross. The Lord Jesus Christ died, He paid the price for our sins. He rose again. And now because He lives, we live in Him. And thank God someday we shall live with Him forever and ever and ever.

Not only remember what death is for the Christian, it is sleep. Not only remember what Jesus did, He died for us and rose again, and if you belong to a living Savior, death cannot control you or condemn you. Thirdly, remember where the believing dead are. Notice what he says in verse 14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

Now the body is sleeping. How can God bring these people with Him if they're asleep in the grave? Well, the soul is not in the grave. The spirit goes home to be with the Lord. Paul says in Philippians 1:23, to depart and be with Christ. This is the word of God. Now where are the Christian dead? They are with Him. If God's going to bring them with Him, they have to be with Him. When a Christian dies, he or she goes to heaven to be with the Lord. The Bible says nothing about any intermediate place. We don't have to go out to the alcove or the front porch or some intermediate place where we have to get ready. If you know Jesus is your Savior, you are ready to go to heaven.

Now you may not be ready to meet the Lord if you've not been living a clean life, a dedicated life, an obedient life, then when you face the judgment seat of Christ, that's going to be something else. 1 John 2 says that some people are going to be ashamed before Him at His coming. They're going to be embarrassed because they wasted their lives and their opportunities. But if you know Jesus as your Savior and you should die, you go to heaven. To me, that's a tremendous comfort to know where our loved ones in Christ really are.

How do we know that when believers die, they go to heaven? Well, the promise that Jesus made. He said, "In my Father's house are many mansions, and I'm going to prepare a place for you." I know I'm going to heaven because of the promise that Jesus made. I know I'm going to heaven because of the prayer that Jesus prayed. John 17:24. Here's what Jesus prayed. "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave me," that's Christians, "may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory." Now the Father always answers the prayers of His Son. Jesus prayed that all who had been given to Him, all who are saved, be with Him where He is. How do we know we're going to heaven? Well, the promise that He made and the prayer that He prayed, and the price that He paid. 1 Thessalonians 5:10. "Who died for us," talking about Jesus, "who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, whether we live or die, we should live together with Him." In other words, the price that He paid on the cross, He died for our sins, He rose again, that assures us that we are going to heaven. You're not going to heaven because of your good works, your good intentions. You're going to heaven because you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Well, remember what death is, and remember what Jesus did, and remember where the believing dead are, they're with Him. Fourth, remember the assurance that we have comes from the word. Verse 15. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord. Not philosophic speculation. Not the revelation of some occult seance. People today are trying to figure out what's on the other side. Well, Jesus has told us what's on the other side. God's Word tells us what is on the other side. And God's Word is sure.

Now may I remind you that what God teaches about death and hell and heaven and the grave is progressively given through the Bible. You don't find all of the answers in Genesis or the Psalms or Ecclesiastes. Some of these cults that come along teaching that your soul is sleeping in the grave and so forth and so on. Where do they get those verses? Well, they dive into some of the obscure passages in Ecclesiastes or in Psalms. The word of God tells us that Jesus Christ has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 2 Timothy 1:10. "But has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death," that means He's taken the sting out of it, "and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." A lot of the teaching in the Old Testament about death and the future is in the shadows. Jesus has brought all of this into the light. We get our truth from the word of God, from the Lord Jesus Christ.

How do we know that what we're saying is true? Well, it's based on the word of God. Finally, we have comfort not only because of what death is and what Jesus did and we know where the believing dead are, and we know that we have assurance through the word of God, but we have comfort because we know what God is going to do.

Now Paul tells us here what's going to happen. There is a sequence here of five events. Number one, return. Jesus Christ is going to return. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord will by no means precede or get any advantage over those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven. Now how's He going to do it? Well, with a shout of command, that word means a military command, a battle cry. The voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God. Well, the trumpet's going to sound and the Lord's going to call an assembly. He's going to gather together all of His children. It also means a declaration of war. The Lord's going to declare war, the military command, the battle cry. I think that He's calling the dead out from the grave. He talks about this in John 5 when all that are in the grave shall hear His voice. So there's the return of the Lord. Now Paul says we, we who are alive, we who are alive and remain shall be caught up. Paul said it could happen to me today. Someone tells you, well, as Paul got older, he lost that vision. Oh no, he didn't. You trace his letters and find out that he kept the same position. We, the return of Jesus, which could be at any time. That's event number one, He returns.

Number two, resurrection. The Lord Himself will descend and then we which are alive shall be caught up, but between those two events, there is a resurrection and the dead in Christ will rise first. Let me remind you why there is a resurrection. The Greeks did not believe in resurrection, they laughed at it. They said, 'Who wants to be in the prison house of a body again?' God's salvation is for the whole person. He doesn't just sanctify and save the spirit and the soul, He also saves the body. Chapter 5:23. Paul prayed that your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved. Now we aren't going to have the same body. There's going to be continuity but not necessarily identity. It's like the planting of a seed, says 1 Corinthians 15. The same seed doesn't come up, but there is continuity and there's that beautiful flower or plant that comes up from the seed. Resurrection means we're going to be like the Lord Jesus. I don't want to float around throughout all eternity in some kind of ethereal state. Jesus had a real solid body, a glorified body. I want to be like Him. We are going to be like Him. We shall see Him as He is. First there is the return, then instantly resurrection. Resurrection is not reconstruction. God's not going to put the pieces back together again. Resurrection means there is going to be a glorified body.

Then third, rapture. He says, "We shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." Rapture. It's interesting, this word means to catch away speedily. It's used in John 6:15, they were going to take him by force. God is going to take us by force as it were and lift us up to meet the Lord Jesus. Relocate us in heaven. By the way, Jude 23 uses this same word describing pulling something out of the fire. God is going to pull us out of the fire, the judgment is going to come and God's going to pull us out of the fire. Return, resurrection, rapture, redemption. What's that mean? It means the changing of the person. We who are alive shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord.

We're going to be completely changed. 1 Corinthians 15:51-57 talks about that. We shall be changed to be like Him. We are waiting, says Paul, for the redemption of our body. The body hasn't been redeemed yet, but it will on that day. Return, resurrection, rapture, redemption, and reunion. We shall be caught up together. Oh, death is the great separator. Death separates loved ones, it hurts. Oh, how it hurts. But we shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord. The center of our reunion will be the Lord and we shall be with Him and we shall be like Him. I don't know how many times in funeral services I have read from Revelation 21, where the Apostle says, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Oh, it's going to be a great day. No wonder the Apostle Paul says, "Comfort one another with these words." We shall always be with the Lord. Eternity forever and ever and ever. No more tears, no more sorrow, no more death, no more pain. Hallelujah, what a wonderful day it's going to be. And it's going to happen if we believe in Jesus Christ.