Sermon on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Grieving with Hope

^{1 Thessalonians 4:13} 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. ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words. [NIV]

Big Idea:  The reason believers do not need to grieve the same way over the death of their believing loved ones is…Jesus is going to bring their souls with him and raise their bodies from the dead first when he comes again and then those who are still alive will be given new bodies and perfection of their souls.

Introduction:

I recently went to the funeral of an 84-year-old woman from my church.  She was a delightful and loving woman who had a way of making you feel special and very loved.  I know she is a believer and that upon death her spirit went to be with Jesus.  Should I mourn her death?

A couple of weeks later a friend of mine lost his dad to death.  He told me over the phone that his father never trusted Jesus for salvation despite my friend’s witness to him.  He was grieving that he would never see his father again.  His father did not go to heaven.  But if his father had become a follower of Jesus Christ, should he have been mourning his father’s death? When anyone we love dies and we know him or her to be a follower of Jesus Christ, should we mourn their death? Paul gives us instruction on this in our passage, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

1. God expects you to grieve the death of your loved ones.

 – do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. (v.13)

We should grieve what they suffered and what we suffer.

My 84-year-old friend told me before she died that she had never hurt so much in her life.  It hurt me to think of how she had suffered.  I don’t fear death because it will usher me into the presence of my Lord.  But I fear dying, because it is fraught with pain and discomfort.  I have seen many people die and it is a most unpleasant experience.

I will miss my friend’s loving hugs and words of encouragement.  So will her family.  They know she is in heaven but her departure from our lives causes us to suffer.  We lose something precious and valuable in her sojourn with us.  And it hurts to be without it.  They encouraged us, provided for us, taught us, or led us in directions we will miss having now that they are gone.

But for those who die in faith we should grieve with hope.

 

2. God promises believers a time that our spirits are with Jesus in heaven at death and then, when he returns, that our bodies are resurrected and joined to our spirits.

 – 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.

The believer’s spirit or soul goes to Jesus when he or she dies.

When Paul says a believer falls asleep, what does he mean?  What falls asleep when we die?  Our bodies.  Our spirits do not fall asleep.  In fact, Paul says that when Jesus returns he will bring with him those whose bodies fell asleep.  So what is he bringing with him?  Our souls or spirits.  When Jesus was dying on the cross he told the thief next to him who believed in him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”  Did Jesus’ body or that of the thief go to Paradise?  No, they remained in the grave.  But their spirits went to Paradise.  And so Paul tells us in Philippians 1, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”  If Paul dies, his body stays here but his soul departs to be with Christ.  This is our hope.  To be in Paradise with Jesus is better than to be here, even though we have loved ones here.  This is because we will be with Jesus, enjoying His love, freed from the pull of sin, rejoicing in relationships on a deeper level than ever before, and growing at a pace unheard of.

The believer’s spirit is joined to his resurrected body when Jesus returns.

– 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. 16 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. 17 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. (vv.15-17)

If you are still alive when Jesus comes back, what can you expect?  You can expect that your loved ones who died in the Lord before you will experience a resurrection of their bodies and the joining of their bodies with their spirits in the air with Jesus.  In honor of their dying they will be raised first.  Then you can expect that you will be caught up into the air with them and Jesus and as this is happening your body and spirit are being resurrected and perfected as you rise.

So, if I am alive when Jesus comes, my 84 year old friend who just died will be resurrected first, as will all those who have died in Christ.  Then I’ll be drawn up into the heavens and experience my body changing into the kind of body Jesus has, perfectly suited for the kingdom.  And my spirit will also be perfected as I rise.  I will no longer feel that resistance in my spirit to God that leads me to sin.  Every part of my heart and soul and mind will be completely obedient to Him.

Conclusion:

Should my wife die before I do, I will grieve and hurt.  I will miss her intensely.  I will grieve if she had to go through pain and suffering before she died.  I will miss all that her life has added to mine.  But I will grieve with hope.  I know that she follows Jesus.  So I know that she will immediately be with Him in heaven, seeing her daddy again who has already gone to be with the Lord.  And if I die before Jesus returns I know that my spirit will immediately be with Jesus and I will see her again.  And for that I cannot grieve but only rejoice.  And should I somehow live until Jesus returns, I know that my wife will be resurrected first and then I too will get my resurrection body and perfected spirit and join her with Jesus in the air, and so we will ever be with the Lord.

Have you prepared yourself with these truths?  Are you ready to face our last enemy, Death?  Jesus has given us the spiritual tools we need to undergo this most difficult challenge.  I know you will comfort yourself with this.  May God give us grace to mourn as those who have hope.