The Hope of the Resurrection
Introduction
Focus on the things you know. We have hope. As Christians, we are citizens of Heaven.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT
13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
Examine the Scriptures:
The Hope of the Resurrection
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT
13 And now, dear brothers and sisters,
Dear brothers and sisters used 20 times in 1st & 2nd Thessalonians.
This is a clear indication of Paul’s love for the Thessalonians.
we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died
We do not want you to be uninformed … NIV & ESV
- There were some things the Thessalonians needed to know.
Review:
1 Thessalonians 3:9-10 NLT
9 How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence. 10 Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith.
The Thessalonians were concerned about what would happen to the Christians who have already died.
Some Thessalonian Christians had died before Christ’s return, and the church worried they would somehow miss out on the blessings of the Second Coming.
- Paul is about to tell the Thessalonians what will happened to the Christians who have died.
so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
Grieving is not wrong.
Godly people grieve.
Acts 8:2 NLT
2 (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.)
However, it is wrong for Christians to exhibit hopelessness in their grief.
The grief of a believer differs from that of unbelievers.
Unbelievers have no hope of a bodily resurrection. Believers do have hope.
- Christ transforms grief. Christians grieve, but not hopelessly.
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again,
Christ’s resurrection is the center of God’s plan …
1 Corinthians 15:12-14
12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.
- The death and resurrection of Jesus is a well-known recorded fact of history.
People Who Saw the Resurrected Christ
Mary Magdalene
Other women
The disciples (multiple appearances)
Over 500 believers at once
Paul
The certainty of our resurrection rests entirely on Christ’s resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:23 NLT
23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord:
- This is a message from the Lord, not from Paul.
This is not speculation; it is divine revelation.
We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.
There is no advantage for the living over the dead.
Picture this in your mind.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.
1 Corinthians 15:42-44
42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
- Christ’s return will be a powerful, public, unmistakable, transforming, and triumphant event.
After the dead come forth, their spirits, already with the Lord, are now being joined to resurrected bodies
2 Corinthians 5:6–8 NLT
“To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.
Luke 23:42–43 NLT
Jesus tells the repentant thief:
“Today you will be with Me in paradise.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
John 11:25–26 NLT
Whoever believes in Christ will live even though he dies.
25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
1 Corinthians 15:51-55 NLT
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory
55 O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
- All believers — resurrected and transformed — are united.
Death is permanently defeated.
- All Christians will be with the Lord forever.
18 So encourage each other with these words.
- The primary purpose of this passage is to provide encouragement to those Christians whose (Christian) loved ones have died.
The dead will be resurrected and will participate in the Lord’s coming for His own.
When Christ comes the living will be reunited forever with their loved ones.
Believers will spend eternity with the Lord.
Understanding about the Lord’s return should give us comfort and encouragement.
Believers can and should encourage other believers in the face of death.
Other scripture passages to reflect on: (this list is not all inclusive)
Philippians 3:20-21
20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
John 14:1-3 NLT
14:1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
1 Peter 1:3-4 NLT
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.
1 John 3:2 NLT
2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
Revelation 21:3-4 NLT
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
2 Peter 3:13 NLT
13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
