There’s a saying in the Wrexham area that “we live in hope; die in Caergwrle” (Hope and Caergwrle are two small towns next to each other nearby). In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, Paul encourages you that you can live in hope – true hope for life and death – if you live in Christ.
And in fact, he wrote these particular verses for Christians who were grieving the death of another Christian. Grief doesn’t go away. It can’t. It’s the pain of love torn apart by death. A thousand tiny reminders bring the full force of grief back in a moment, even years later.
How can we live with grief? Live in hope. Hope in Christ. Because that hope is only for Christians.
These notes accompany a sermon on YouTube delivered at Bromborough Evangelical Church Wirral in December 2024. You can find more in the series in our sermon index.
In grief, hope in Christ (4:13-18)
Remember that this is a letter from Paul to the church (the people) at Thessalonica in northern Greece. After being chased out of town by a mob, Paul sent his colleague Timothy back to find out about their faith. Timothy then returned to Paul with good news: The church was doing well in faith, love, and hope – even being an example to other Christians in Greece.
But it seems they had some questions for Paul that he’s addressing in this letter (4:9, 4:13, 5:1). And the question he’s addressing here is deeply personal for many people here, and it’s about when Christians die. Read 1 Thess 4:13.
Grief is right
The first thing to say is that Paul doesn’t want you to grieve like others, but it is 100% natural that you should grieve. I heard of someone entering the funeral of a Christian man looking sad. The person on the door said, “Why so sad? This is a day of celebration!” The mourner just said, “Well, tell that to his widow.”
Grief is right because death is cruel and brutal.
You hurt in a way you didn’t know existed. And the pain leaves a bruise that doesn’t go away, but gets pressed from time to time to remind you of the pain.
But Christian grief can be different from the grief of other people.
Not all grief is the same
He draws a distinction between “brothers and sisters” and “those who have no hope.”
- Brothers and sisters: He means Christians. Paul can call them brothers and sisters because all Christians have one Father, God himself. Christians are people who have gone to God and confessed their sin, and asked him for forgiveness. Everyone is a sinner; and everyone can be forgiven if only they’ll ask God for it. He can do that because Jesus, the eternal Son of God, became human so that he could die in your place – taking the punishment your sins deserve. God loves you, and became human to die for you. That way he can forgive and justice is served. And you become a child of God – forever.
- Those who have no hope: Those who have not asked for that forgiveness. If that’s you, you’re choosing to be punished for your own sins, rather than accept God’s amazing offer of life through Jesus. In which case, you have no hope beyond death. You can only expect an eternity in outer darkness and pain, justly punished for your rejection of God’s grace. If that’s you, this life is the best you can hope for.
Many people assume that you just ‘end’ when you die. That’s the fundamental assumption in the euthanasia bill that’s going through Parliament: That death will end your misery.
Asleep in death
But Paul refers to the dead as “those who are asleep”. The Greek word for “asleep” is the root for our word “cemetery”. Landican is a massive cemetery, but in truth it’s a dormitory. Death as we know it is not the end.
It’s worth saying that Paul doesn’t answer every question you might have: He’s answering a specific question from that church. But he does want you to be very clear about hope: Read 1 Thess 4:14.
In Advent, we remember the events of Jesus, Son of God, coming into the world as a tiny baby.
But the Bible is crystal clear: Jesus, Son of God, is in heaven awaiting the day that he will return to earth in glory. He died and rose again. Everything hangs on that. And because he did, he will return to the earth.
That will be stunning for those Christians alive to see it, but what about the Christians who are already dead (“fallen asleep”)? Amazingly, God will bring with Jesus all those who have fallen asleep – specifically here, every Christian who has already died.
Get this: When Jesus returns, he will bring with him your late spouse, parent, sibling, friend. Read 1 Thess 4:15.
It will be an astonishing, wonderful day for all God’s people – those alive at the time and those coming with Jesus from heaven! Read 1 Thess 4:16.
- There’s a military air about the language.
- Imagine an army being given the command to charge.
- It’s something like that. And everyone will see it.
It’s worth saying at this point that all the language of the Bible that describes that day is filled with imagery. There’s no technical description, because everything will change.
Everything will change
Christ will appear to all his people simultaneously, whether they are in Hawaii, Antarctica, Moscow, or the moon. Reality as you know it will change. The idea of cemeteries as dormitories is helpful but incomplete. So read 1 Thess 4:17.
The language of “caught up” is to be “snatched up”. Christ will act decisively to bring all his people together. To be in the clouds is to be in the presence of God (using imagery from Sinai, Daniel, the Mt of Transfiguration).
What will it mean to meet him “in the air”? No idea. It’s not spelt out. It doesn’t make sense to read too much into that except that it will be utterly unlike anything you can imagine. The word “meet” is interesting. It’s used of people going out to meet an important dignitary on his way to your town or country: You meet him and follow him in procession to his destination (the earth, in this case).
But two things really do stand out from v17:
- First, Whether you’re a Christian alive when Christ returns or someone who has already “fallen asleep” (died), we will all be caught up together to meet the Lord. In your grief, that is hope. Live in hope.
- Secondly, and more importantly, “we will always be with the Lord” – that’s the real hope and joy. In your grief, your hope is the eternal joy of praising the Lord in the presence of all his people forever.
In your grief, hope in Christ.
Encourage others
And encourage others too: Read 1 Thess 4:18.
Paul wasn’t writing a systematic theology about the end times.
“Eschatology” is the study of end times, of what happens when Jesus returns. It’s filled with terms like dispensationalism, amillennialism, premillennialism, tribulation, and lots of other big words.
There’s nothing wrong with studying that stuff, but Paul’s emphasis here is worth noting: Encouraging other believers is more important than arguing about eschatology.
Jesus is returning. He will unite all his people, dead and alive, to eternal life and praise. So in grief, hope in Christ. But what in the meantime?
In hope, live for Christ (5:1-11)
It seems Paul is answering another (related) question in v1. Read 1 Thess 5:1.
If you have an academic interest or curiosity, you might ask “When will Christ return?” But for those living with grief every day, the same question might be, “How long must I bear this pain, this weight in my heart?”
But it’s not for us to know. Read 1 Thess 5:2.
A thief in the night is, obviously, not something most of us want to happen. But the point here is that burglars don’t make appointments. You don’t know when they might come, so you have to be ready.
Read 1 Thess 5:3.
Lots of people would think that all this talk of Jesus’ coming and the end of the world is nonsense. They live lives of “peace and security” and think all will be well. But peace and security are just illusions of the West. For example, many people in Ukraine have flocked to churches as they have been forced to come to terms with the reality of death.
Your own death will happen. For anyone who doesn’t know God in Christ, his appearance will be worse than a thief in the night – far more shocking. And inescapable too. Like a birth follows contractions, as night follows day.
All of which adds rather obvious urgency to your witnessing about salvation in Christ – especially to those close to you.
Even more, if you have never come to faith in Christ yourself, never repented of your sin, and never asked God to forgive you, then you will be swept away in judgment at Christ’s return. What are you waiting for? You don’t know if he’s coming in a thousand years or before you get home today. Go to him before it’s too late.
A different question
Now for Christians, all of this means that it’s pointless and unhelpful to keep asking, “how long until Christ returns?” Instead, it’s time to ask “What till then?”
Read 1 Thess 5:4-5.
That’s who and what you are, if you’re a Christian. A child of light; a child of the day.
What does he mean? Read 1 Thess 5:6-7.
He’s making figurative generalisations. People get drunk (usually) at night. And they do all sorts of sinful, shameful things in the dark, trying to keep secret. But nothing is hidden from God. He knows all that you do.
And if you’re a child of God, you’re a child of light, of day – so live a life where everything you do is good, right, clean, loving. Not to win favour with God. But because it’s who you are, as a child of God.
On the day of Christ’s return, you will be clothed in a new body – your current one isn’t fit for eternal life. You’ll see Jesus and you’ll become like him. Clothed in imperishable immortality, you’ll never sin again. A child of the unending day then, live as a child of light and day now. That’s how you prepare for Christ; live in hope.
Clothe yourself in faith, love, hope
Read 1 Thess 5:8.
- Put on the armour (“breastplate”) of faith and love.
- Faith in God in Christ, love for God in Christ.
- As you have these in increasing measure they will protect your heart from being overwhelmed by grief – you learn to trust the Lord in everything.
- Put on the helmet of the hope of salvation
- Hope is what keeps you putting one foot in front of the other. Hope in Christ, the living Saviour, who will unite all his people in eternal worship and bliss.
- Wear that hope as a helmet against the lies and despairing thoughts that grief brings again and again.
- Live in hope. Hope in Christ.
These three words (faith, love, and hope) take us back to the opening verses of the letter: Read 1 Thess 1:2-5.
In faith and love, you labour and toil: Love for God and his people. In hope in Christ, you persevere. It’s only in Christ that you can keep going day by day. Know him better and better; serve him more and more.
And the hope of salvation future is as certain as history. Because read 1 Thess 5:9.
Asleep again?
We need to read v10 carefully: Read 1 Thess 5:10. When he speaks of Christians “asleep” there, does he mean dead (as in 4:13) or does he mean Christians who lack self-control (as in 5:6)? It’s most likely he means Christians who lack that alert, self-control that we ought to have.
Sometimes, that’s through laziness, sin, or backsliding. What if you’re in a bad place just now, and Jesus returned today. Would he give up on you?
For other Christians, illnesses like Alzheimer’s or Huntington’s disease cause them to cease to be who they once were. Would Jesus give up on you?
Jesus never gives up on his own: Read 1 Thess 5:10 again. Whoever you are, as life goes on, there are hard times. Knowing that wherever you are isn’t the end is encouraging.
Some of you have experienced terrible grief, and by the grace of God you have learned to put one foot in front of the other as you wait for the day of Christ’s return.
Praise God. Read 1 Thess 5:11.
And that’s the heart of this passage.
- In grief, hope in Christ. He will heal your heart and wipe away your tears. He’ll only need to do it once.
- In hope, prepare for Christ, living for him everyday.
- And as you do so, encourage others along the road.