RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2021-05-06	What Does Paul Mean That 'The Dead In Christ Will Rise First' (1Th.4:16)
		1Th 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. 1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 1Th 4:15 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. 1Th 4:16 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. 1Th 4:17 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. 1Th 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. Paul wants the Thessalonian readers to have more understanding regarding their hope (v.13). He begins this section noting that he did not want them to be ignorant concerning those who have “fallen asleep” (died in Christ). Believers should not grieve like unbelievers grieve, because they do not have any hope (v.13). Grief is a normal response to the loss we experience when someone dies. Jesus grieved when He saw the pain associated with Lazarus' death (Jn.11:35). Paul is not suggesting the Thessalonians should not grieve at all. Rather, he wants them to grieve, but not as those without hope. Even in grief the believer has hope! Those who believe in Jesus when they die will have eternal life, and their spirit will be present with the Lord (2Co.5:6-8). Jesus will bring believers who have died with Him when He returns for those believers still alive on the earth (v.14). Those believers who have died before will be resurrected before those who are still alive when Christ comes (v.15). Those believers who are alive at Christ's coming will be “caught up” (Gk. harpazō, v.17) in the clouds to meet those who have previously died. The spirits of those believers who have died will return with Christ, and their bodies would be resurrected to be reunited with their spirits. Paul described this same chronology in 1 Corinthians 15:52, “the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed”. The dead believers will get their resurrection bodies first. Then the believers alive at the time will get theirs. This event is often called the rapture, and it is a grand event that reunites loved ones. The certainty of this resurrection and the reality of eternal life is what gives us hope even amid grief. Because the dead in Christ will rise first, it shows how important those who die in Christ are to Him. The greatest joy of the event is that we shall all be together with Christ (v.17). Since we have this hope Paul exhorts his readers to “comfort” one another with this truth (v.18). Because of this glorious truth, even when we are grieving, we have hope. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

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