What is the worst thing that can happen to you? For many of us, it could be death. What about death? Sometimes, it is not your own mortality that you have to consider. It is the mortality of others that we fear. Our parents could be growing older and we could be struggling with our parents’ health. Or maybe, it could be our own deaths. What will happen to those we leave behind — wife and kids for some, our parents for others, friends for all?
The problem of death is something that we all have to face. Mankind has been trying to run from this problem for thousands of years. The Thessalonians also struggled with death because they too, were real people. All men must die and what happens after?
Every religion seems to have different funeral rights. In Singapore, we can see different funerals at the HDB multi-purpose halls. Christian funerals always seem to be defined by singing, with a sermon where someone is proclaiming the good news about Jesus Christ. Christians seem and should grieve differently. It is often bittersweet — joy mixed with sorrow. This is a joy that comes from hope.
(A) A hope that distinguishes from the world
Paul did not want them to be uninformed, specifically “about those who are asleep” (1 Thess 4:13a). Paul wanted them to be informed. The NIV translates it as “ignorant”, in the sense of “not knowing” and it is not necessarily something with a negative connotation. Paul did to want them to be uninformed about what their faith meant in terms of living and dying.
Remember how Paul and Silas were chased out of Thessalonica in Acts 17. It is likely that given their hasty departure, Paul had not yet been able to equip these new believers with the knowledge of what would happen after death. In his absence, there was some confusion about what it meant for the Thessalonians who had died or were going to die, in relation to those who were alive and waiting for the return of Christ.
Who was Paul referring to as “those who are asleep”? Paul was referring to those among them that have died. This was a deliberate choice of word that Paul used when he wrote his letter. It was not uncommon for the idea of sleep and rest to be used to described death.
Paul wanted to convey a sense of impermanence, because sleep is not a permanent state of being. To the Christian, death is like falling asleep. It is temporary. This sleep, though temporary, is not an unconscious state of being that we go into and wait for Jesus to come back (c.f. Lk 16:22-24) . Alistair Begg says that when we die, the moment between goodbye and hello is but an instant. Life gives way to death, and we might find ourselves in torment.
Paul wanted the Thessalonians to know about these things and makes a distinction. A distinction is made between those who are in Christ, whom Paul addresses as brothers and sisters, and those who are not in Christ, who are referred to as others. Is Paul being highly exclusive here? Not really. In Eph 2:12, Paul teaches and reminds the Christians that they were once among the others, separated from Christ, alienated from God’s kingdom, having no hope. But now that they are in Christ, God has ransomed them from the kingdom of darkness, made us a son and a daughter and co-heir of God’s kingdom, worthy of the Father’s love because of Jesus. It is to these brothers and sisters that Paul is writing to them to not be ignorant regarding these things.
Hope is intrinsic to the Christian’s life and faith, and they are people who are not grieving without hope.
(B) Dying and being raised with Christ: resurrection certainty amid uncertain mortality
Paul doesn’t just end here. He also provides an assurance. He states that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep and those who are alive will not miss out — they will also be brought to God (1 Thess 4:14-15). How was Paul sure of this? Firstly, Paul was educated in the OT teachings and also what the OT prophets would have proclaimed about death. From OT passages like Isa 26:19, Dan 12, we can see that the Jews believed that God will raise the dead at a point in time. For some, it would bring joy and for others, it would bring everlasting contempt. This knowledge of scripture would have informed Paul’s eschatology – his understanding of things at the end.
Secondly, Paul uses the phrase “by the word from the Lord”. This is likely a direct revelatory proclamation from God. The OT prophets and less often in the NT, the writers would proclaim “thus says the Lord” to highlight how the instructions and commands are from God. We are not given details about how these words are revealed, but Paul’s point was to highlight the truths. Paul affirms that the great truths have come true through the greatest prophet of them all – Jesus Christ.
The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ was Him being raised to life, never to die again. His was different from Lazarus’. Jesus’ resurrection was teh first in an eternal pattern of salvation. Thus, Christ is described as the first fruits.
What does this mean for us? For a start, because God raised Jesus from the dead, God will raise those who are in Jesus, from the dead. Our resurrection as believers is based entirely on Jesus’. Our coming to faith and baptism is not merely symbolic or cosmetic. The moment we place our faith in Jesus is an actual, tangible, supernatural event that God started and brought to pass through our response to Jesus. When we respond to Jesus, our old self dies and is raised to life. It is celebrated in heaven, and it also leads to a changed life that can be noticed on earth. This alone is by the grace of God. In 1 Cor 15, Paul argues that if Jesus’ resurrection was a scam, we are fools. If it wasn’t a real, bodily resurrection, we have no hope. But if it is real, we have a wonderful and real hope, and this hope cannot be separated from the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Col 2:12-13 also tells us that our lives are hidden in Christ. We are so bound up and in Christ!
But what actually happens? The mechanics are not essential for Paul doesn’t provide it (1 Thess 4:18). Instead, Paul wanted the people to be encouraged through these words. They were also to encourage each other with the secure knowledge that God will raise the dead who are in Christ.
We might like to talk about end times and try to crystal gaze into the book of Revelations but there is a real danger of being distracted. If we focus too much on the details around Jesus’ coming instead of focusing on the person that is coming. It is not about scrutinising the details but it also calls us to have a laser-sharp focus and certainty on His coming, Him as a person.
Are we living as though this is all that matters? Are we grieving as though this life is all that matters? How then should we apply this certainty that we have in Jesus? Paul is equipping them with knowledge of the things of God. It is not a quick fix for grief. He wants them to be informed so that they can encourage one another in this hope. Encouragement is a powerful thing when it is applied to uncertainty.
“I do not want you to be uninformed”. What is your knowledge of the things of God? Often, we can get by by being ignorant of many things in life because there are people around us that can make the decision for us. But how ignorant can we be about the things of God? We will all have to come before God. He won’t ask us about our political choices or our food choices. He will ask us about what we know about Him and in whom do we place our faith in.
As Christians, we celebrate the hope we have in Christ, but we don’t want to be uninformed about things of eternal value. Let’s ask God to grant us the desire to know Him more for His sake and His glory, but also that as we are built up in that knowledge, we can encourage others.