Question:
Please provide an explanation of the 14th verse from the 4th chapter of 1 Thessalonians.
Answer:
The verse reads:
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” 1 Thessalonians 4:14.
The subject Paul is dealing with in this passage is the second coming of Christ and the resurrection of the righteous dead. He is comforting the believers concerning those who had fallen asleep in Jesus. His point is simple: as surely as Jesus died and rose again, so surely will those who sleep in Jesus be raised by the same divine power.
This verse does not teach that the righteous dead are already in heaven and that God will bring them down from heaven with Christ at His coming. Rather, it teaches that God will bring them forth from the dead through Jesus, just as He brought Jesus Himself from the dead.
Hebrews 13:20 helps make this plain:
“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep…”
God brought the Shepherd from the dead, and He will also bring forth the sheep. Paul says the same thing in another place:
“Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.” 2 Corinthians 4:14.
So the “bringing” in 1 Thessalonians 4:14 is not a bringing from heaven, but a bringing from the grave. When Christ comes, He calls His sleeping saints from their graves, raises them incorruptible, and then takes them with Him to glory. This agrees perfectly with the words of Christ:
“The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth…” John 5:28, 29.
If those who sleep in Jesus are already in heaven, then the resurrection loses its meaning. But Scripture makes the resurrection the very basis of the Christian hope. Paul says plainly that if there is no resurrection, then those who are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. See 1 Corinthians 15:12-19.
The Christian Standard Bible renders 1 Thessalonians 4:14 this way:
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”
That is the thought. God will bring them forth from the dead through Jesus. The same power that raised Christ will raise all who sleep in Him. The dead in Christ are not coming from heaven; they are coming from the grave, to be raised in glory and caught up to meet the Lord when He appears.
