Certainty of Resurrection of Believers
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
By Wong
Previously covered: Sanctification
Theme: Practical Christian Living in relation to the Lord’s Return
Reflect our position as children of the glorious God
Living forthright Lord
We are closer to His coming than ever before
“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. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 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. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” ~1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV
Daily expectation of the early church looking for Christ’s coming in their lifetime & this expectation continued in believers till this day.
The Lord is indeed coming
Do not turn your back away from this precious blessed hope
The sequence of resurrection
The Thessalonians Christians were all convinced about the coming of Christ for them
“But what happened to the dead in Christ?”
The certainty of Christian hope
We have hope when our loved ones in Christ are taken away from us in death
If we realise the hopelessness of unbelievers, we will no longer be ashamed or inconvenient to share the Gospel
Compared to the blessedness of believers having wonderful hope of living gloriously in the kingdom of God reunited with God & loved ones
How certain is our hope? (v14)
The coming of Christ for His own is as certain as the death & resurrection of Christ Himself
Greatest miracle in our lives has already happened when we believed in Christ saving us from our spiritual death
Loving His Appearing
Belief ➡️ Behavior
Love His appearing 🔄 Love for Him
▶️ Love for Him ▶️ Precious is the Truth
Those who are asleep in Christ
Death = Asleep (for believers)
“To be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord”
The time of Resurrection
“What is going to happen to our loved ones who have gone before us in death?” (v15-17)
Raised in resurrected body immortal & incorruptible without decay
Parallel passage = 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” ~1 Corinthians 15:51-53 NIV
Church viewpoint: Pre-tribulation + Pre-millennial
Rapture: coming for the saints
2nd coming: coming with the saints
The coming of Christ for His church,
From Earth to heaven
⬆️
The Shout of Command
The Voice of the Archangel
The Trump of God
Note: Not Donald Trump
Trumpet of deliverance, grace & mercy
Meeting the Lord in the air (v17)
With the Lord forever
“… But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” ~1 John 3:2-3 NIV
Where Christ is, there will be heaven
Not important where but whom we are with
The comfort of the Lord’s Return (v18)
Assurance that those who have died in Christ have not missed the resurrection
The challenge of the Truth
The preciousness of the truth of the Lord’s return depends on our personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ
Experience Christ daily, fresh like His mercies & grace
Love sanctified lives, set apart for the holy use of God until He comes again
We need a daily experience with God
Lord’s supper taken week after week, not as a ritual, but a reminder that Christ is coming back for us