1 Thessalonians 4:13 - Meaning and Application

In these words, the apostle comforts the Thessalonians who were grieving for friends and family who had died in the Lord. He wants to keep them from grief that goes too far. It is not wrong to mourn the death of friends. We may weep for our own loss, even if we cannot weep for theirs. But our sorrow must not become excessive.

Such grief can look as if we have no hope, as Paul says here (1 Thessalonians 4:13). It is too much like the Gentiles, who had no hope of life after this one. We Christians have a sure hope, the hope of eternal life after death, which God, who cannot lie, has promised us. That hope should calm both our joys and our sorrows when earthly things change. It is more than enough to balance every loss we suffer in this present life.

This sorrow also comes from ignorance about those who have died (1 Thessalonians 4:13). There are many things we do not know about the dead, since they have gone into a land of darkness, where we have little understanding and no contact. To go among the dead is to go among people we do not know in a state we do not understand. Death itself is unknown to us, and the state after death is still partly hidden. Yet there are things about those who die in the Lord that we should know, and if we truly understand them, they will ease our sorrow.

First, they sleep in Jesus. They are asleep in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13; 1 Corinthians 15:18). Death does not destroy them. For them, it is only sleep, a quiet rest. They have left this troubled world to rest from their work and sorrow, and they sleep in Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:14). They still belong to him, so they sleep under his care and protection. Their souls are with him, and their bodies are safe under his power. They are not lost, and they are not losers. In truth, death has only brought them into a better place.

Second, they will be raised from the dead and awakened from their sleep, because God will bring them with him (1 Thessalonians 4:14). They are now with God, and they are better off there than they were here. When God comes, he will bring them with him. The teaching of the resurrection and Christ’s return is a strong comfort against the fear of death and against deep sorrow for Christian friends who have died. We can trust this teaching fully because we believe that Jesus died and rose again (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Paul assumes the Thessalonians already knew and believed this. Christ’s death and resurrection are basic truths of the Christian faith, and they give us hope of a joyful resurrection. Since Christ has risen from the dead, he is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:18, 20). So those who sleep in him have not perished and are not lost. His resurrection confirms all that the gospel says, and it brings life and immortality into clear light.

Third, their condition will be glorious and happy at Christ’s second coming. Paul says this by the word of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:15), meaning by a direct revelation from Jesus. The resurrection and the future life of blessing were known in the Old Testament, but the gospel reveals them much more clearly. By this word of the Lord we know that Jesus himself will come down from heaven in the glory and power of the upper world (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout. After his resurrection, he went up into heaven and passed through the visible heavens into the third heaven, where he remains until all things are restored. Then he will come again in glory. He will come down into our air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). His coming will be public and powerful, with the shout of a king and conqueror, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. An endless host of angels will attend him. One of them may give the signal of his approach, and the trumpet will announce his great appearing.

Then the dead will be raised. The dead in Christ will rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16), before those who are alive when Christ comes are changed. So those who are alive at his coming will not go ahead of those who are asleep (1 Thessalonians 4:15). Christ’s first care on that day will be for his dead saints. He will raise them before the great change comes to those who are still alive. In that way, those who did not die will have no greater privilege than those who fell asleep in Jesus.

Then those who are still alive will be changed. They will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Just before, or at the moment of, this being taken up into the clouds, they will undergo a great change, one like dying, though not death itself. This change is mysterious, and we know little about it (1 Corinthians 15:51). In general, this mortal body must put on immortality, and these bodies will be made fit for God’s kingdom, since flesh and blood in their present state cannot inherit it. This change will happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52), at the very instant, or very soon after, the rising of those who sleep in Jesus. Then those who are raised and those who are changed will meet together in the clouds, and there they will meet the Lord. They will welcome him at his coming, receive the crown of glory he gives, and share with him in judgment. They will approve the sentence he passes on the prince of the power of the air and on all the wicked, who will be condemned to destruction with the devil and his angels.

This is the blessed hope of the saints at that day: they will always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:17). It will be part of their joy that all the saints will meet and remain together forever. But the highest happiness of heaven is this, to be with the Lord, to see him, live with him, and enjoy him forever.

This should comfort believers when their friends die. Death has separated them for a time, but their souls and bodies will meet again. We and they will meet together again. We and they, with all the saints, will meet the Lord and be with him forever, never to be separated from him or from one another again.

That is why the apostle wants us to comfort one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:18). We should try to support one another in times of grief. We should not discourage one another or make one another weaker. Instead, we should comfort one another. We can do this by thinking seriously and talking together about the many good lessons taught by the resurrection of the dead, the second coming of Christ, and the glory of the saints on that day.