1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:28, Anticipation: It's worth the wait.
Theological Proposition/Focus: Jesus is coming again to reunite his people with him and with those who have passed before them.
Homiletical Proposition/Application: We eagerly wait for the day when Christ comes to take his own out of this word and reunites us with those who have gone before but as we wait we must still live for Jesus.
Contents
- 1 Introduction:
- 1.1 Image: A meal prepared right is worth the wait.
- 1.2 Need: We need to live in light of the Rapture
- 1.3 Subject: The Rapture
- 1.4 Preview: As we close out First Thessalonians we are going to see that there are divinely appointed words worth repeating, there is a coming divinely appointed day of the Lord that is worth the wait, but as we wait we need to continue living for Christ.
- 1.5 Text:.
- 1.6 Setting the Stage:
- 2 Body
- 2.1 Divinely appointed words of comfort are worth repeating (4:13-18).
- 2.1.1 The grief that comes from loss of a loved one does not need to be without hope (13-14).
- 2.1.2 =Two realities are present here.
- 2.1.2.1 First, we all have loved ones who have died. This is a reality, there is real grief.
- 2.1.2.2 Second we can have hope!
- 2.1.2.3 Therefore, we do not grieve as others without hope grieve, i.e. we don't grieve excessively.
- 2.1.2.4 Hope for the Christian is not mere wishful thinking but confidence in the resurrection of Christ.
- 2.1.3 The greatest reunion of all time is already scheduled (15-17).
- 2.1.4 The anticipation of this reunion should be a source of great comfort (18).
- 2.1.5 MTR: Copy down this passage of Scripture and put it somewhere where you will be reminded and comforted.
- 2.2 The divinely appointed Day of the Lord is worth our patience (5:1-11).
- 2.2.1 The Day of the Lord is coming but the specific date is not something for us to know (1-3).
- 2.2.2 The Day of the Lord is not something Christians should worry about (4-7).
- 2.2.3 The coming Day of the Lord should motivate us to live the life God has given us (8-11).
- 2.2.4 Image: Anticipation of family coming to visit, don't just sit and wait, make yourself busy.
- 2.2.5 MTR: Ask yourself, what does it look like to be busy in anticipation of Christ's return?
- 2.3 The divinely appointed way of life is worth living (5:12-28).
- 2.3.1 God's way of life mandates honor be given to His servants (12-13).
- 2.3.2 God's way of life mandates mutual edification with other brothers and sisters in Christ (14-15).
- 2.3.3 God's way of life mandates continual exercise of three actions (16-18).
- 2.3.4 God's way of life mandates the rejection of three actions (19-22).
- 2.3.5 God's way of life mandates that we depend on God for real living (23-24).
- 2.3.6 MTR: Pick one of the five mandates, pray that God will grow you in this area.
- 2.1 Divinely appointed words of comfort are worth repeating (4:13-18).
Introduction:
Image: A meal prepared right is worth the wait.
Have you ever eaten somewhere that was known to be exceptionally good but knew you were going to have to wait in line for a really long time. This summer Emily and I were in Portland Oregon and there is a well-known doughnut shop with a line that stretched around. We figured that we were only going to do this once so we waited in line. When we finally had our doughnut we knew it was worth the wait. There are things that are worth the wait and while the wait might require patience and perseverance, we still need to wait because in the end it will be worth it.
Need: We need to live in light of the Rapture
Subject: The Rapture
Preview: As we close out First Thessalonians we are going to see that there are divinely appointed words worth repeating, there is a coming divinely appointed day of the Lord that is worth the wait, but as we wait we need to continue living for Christ.
Text:.
Setting the Stage:
Remember that in 4:1-12 Paul argued that the Thessalonians needed to live to please God.
Now Paul brings together everything with an emphasis on the ultimate reason for such effort. Because Jesus is coming again.
Throughout the book of First Thessalonians Paul time and time again mentioned the fact that Jesus is coming again. Here starting in 4:13 Paul wraps up by giving extensive details on Christ's return. Details that he want the Thessalonians to know and to draw upon as they live life in a fallen world.
Body
Divinely appointed words of comfort are worth repeating (4:13-18).
If we truly believe Jesus is coming again then there should be a nagging question in the back of our minds. What about those who do not live long enough to see Jesus come again. This is exactly the question that Paul seeks to resolve in this passage. First Paul reminds his readers that
The grief that comes from loss of a loved one does not need to be without hope (13-14).
=Two realities are present here.
First, we all have loved ones who have died. This is a reality, there is real grief.
Second we can have hope!
The reality of grief is important. The greek word κοιμωμένων (fallen asleep) does not mean some theologically complex notion of soul sleep but rather is an idiom for death. People really do die and when they die they cease to be present with us here on earth. We talk about them sleeping to both highlight the temporary nature of death but I think also to try and comfort ourselves over the horrific event that death is. Remember, we were not created to die, God created us to live but sin brought death. Death is a horrible thing and the grief that is associated with death is real! However, with death there is also hope.
Therefore, we do not grieve as others without hope grieve, i.e. we don't grieve excessively.
Hope for the Christian is not mere wishful thinking but confidence in the resurrection of Christ.
If Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring his people with him.
The resurrection of Jesus is one of the best attested events in history. We can have confidence because Jesus rose!
The greatest reunion of all time is already scheduled (15-17).
The attendees at this reunion include:
Christians still alive at the time.
This might be you it might be me.
Christians who have died.
We know many people here.
Jesus himself.
The central event is the coming of Jesus from Heaven as he takes his own.
The events associated with the coming of Jesus are significant!
A loud command
The voice of the archangel
The trumpet call of God.
It is impossible to know exactly what these three events represent but what is clear is that when this happens it will be forceful and dramatic!
We are also told the order of events.
The dead in Christ are raised first.
You might be wondering, what about those who have been dead for thousands of years? What about those who are cremated and their ashes scattered? What about those who were lost at sea? The answer is, the God who created out of nothing is not limited and verse 15 tells us that this teaching came from Christ so we should just take it at face value!
Those who are still alive are caught up to heaven
The word ἁρπαγησόμεθα (caught up) is from the verb ἁρπάζω which translates in latin into Rapio from which we get rapture.
Verse 17 ends with the truth that the state of being with Jesus after the rapture is an eternal state.
The anticipation of this reunion should be a source of great comfort (18).
We must understand that death is a most unnatural end. We were not made to die. Our soul was not made to be separated from the body. Death is painful because it is unnatural. However, there is hope. Jesus is coming again to reunite body and soul in a newly transformed body. We need to take comfort in this fact! We need to comfort each other!
