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Comforting
Words
This
evening, we will look at First Thessalonians chapter 4,
verses 13 through 18. I hope you can grab your Bibles, as we
will reference some of Kaiser's words, and I thank him for
his help. If you have your Bibles, we will start here in
just a couple of minutes and explore some comforting verses
from First Thessalonians chapter 4.
I think
it's about time to begin. The Bible offers a message for us,
regardless of the circumstances or conditions we find
ourselves in during this life. It tells us that it is a lamp
for our feet and a light for our path; it guides us in the
right direction when challenges arise. At times, words may
seem inadequate, but the Apostle Paul shares about 120
comforting words in a very concise manner. First
Thessalonians 4:18 states, "Therefore comfort one another
with these words." Properly spoken and chosen words can
bring great comfort.
We recently
lost one of our members at the Granby Church, and we
understand it can be difficult to know what to say. However,
the words we’ll examine this evening are indeed comforting.
I first want us to read First Thessalonians 4:13 and 14 to
discover the first reason we should find comfort: "But I do
not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who
have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no
hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even
so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus."
Here, we
see that our faith relies on two essential truths. First,
that Jesus died. This was not an ordinary death; Jesus died
for our sins. In other words, this was an act of love from
God Himself. God demonstrates His love for us in that while
we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). This
gives us hope because He was our substitute. We were the
ones who sinned; He didn’t. We were the ones who deserved to
die; He didn’t.
So, He
served as our substitute. The sins of the world were placed
on Him, and He died in our place. Therefore, our faith is
primarily based on this fact, and secondarily on the fact
that He rose again, just as verse 14 states. Suppose we
believe that Jesus died and rose again.
That
Resurrection brings us great hope and comfort because it
assures us of our own victory over death. In that important
chapter on the resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15, I want us to
reflect on a few verses. First of all, verses 22 and 23 say,
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ, all shall be
made alive, but each in his own order: Christ the first
fruits; afterward those who belong to Christ at His coming.
We know because of His resurrection that we, too, will be
resurrected, as verse 51 of that same chapter states:
"Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but
we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and
the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed."
So here we
find the great truths of the Gospel. In that same chapter,
the first four verses state: "Moreover, brethren, I declare
to you the gospel which I preached to you, which you also
received and in which you stand, and by which you are saved
if you hold fast to that word I preached to you, unless you
believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that
which I also received: that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and
that He rose again on the third day according to the
Scriptures."
These
verses outline the essential truths of the Gospel around
which the entire Bible revolves: the death, burial, and
resurrection of Christ. Remove these, and nothing remains.
So that's
our first takeaway from this text: our faith is built on
these two great facts, both of which should provide immense
comfort. Next, accepting Christ brings us into a special
state of blessedness. Notice the phrase "in Christ" in verse
14: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even
so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus."
There’s that blessed state.
Note verse
16: "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet
of God; and the dead in Christ will rise first."
In this
brief section, we receive the information twice that being
in Christ is a blessed state. Clearly, the only other state
a person could be in involves sin or darkness, which is
certainly a state we would never want to be in. We enter
this state through regeneration, being born again, just as
Jesus told Nicodemus in John chapter 3: "Unless you are born
again, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." Thus,
being regenerated or reborn is essential, as the Apostle
Paul explains in Galatians chapter 3. He states in verses 26
and 27, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ
Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have
put on Christ." So we are born again, which occurs when we
are baptized into Christ by faith. This is the process, the
act that places one into that blessed state of being in
Christ, and death does not take away that blessed state. The
very last book of the Bible, Revelation, mentions this in
Revelation 14. We'll look at verse 13: "Then I heard a voice
from heaven saying to me, 'Write: Blessed are the dead who
die in the Lord, or in Christ, Jesus, from now on.' Yes,
says the Spirit, 'that they may rest from their labors, and
their works follow them.'" A whole lesson could arise from
examining the various passages that express how blessed it
is to be in Christ, in His body, in the Savior. We have
great blessings, and these are comforting words, knowing
that when we're born again and regenerated, we are placed
into a blessed state. The third aspect that offers us
comfort is that Christians are people of hope. Throughout
the New Testament, Christians are designated as people who
possess a very special hope—one that is distinctly different
from any other group in the world. This hope is often
defined as a confident expectation, which serves as an
anchor for the soul. Hebrews chapter 6, verse 19 tells us.
Now, this hope doesn't mean that we'll never experience
difficulties, sorrows, suffering, or tears. We know we will;
we’ve faced that in the past couple of weeks when one of our
dear members passed away. It was sad because we lost someone
in this world who loved us and whom we loved. But there was
a blessedness and comfort in knowing they belonged to the
Lord.
What hope
does is help us persevere. It helps us remain faithful,
sustains us, and enables us to keep pressing on and moving
forward. When John wrote 1 John chapter 3, he gave us these
words that align perfectly with this: 1 John 3, starting in
verse 1. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed
upon us that we should be called children of God. Therefore,
the world does not know us because it did not know Him.
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been
revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He is
revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He
is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself
just as He is pure. Everyone who has this hope in Him—see,
that's what Christians possess.
We also
understand from our text the comforting words that Jesus is
coming again. Going back to verse 14 that we read earlier,
it states, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in
Jesus.”
Verse 16:
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of
God.”
So, we find
comfort in knowing that Jesus is coming again. You know that
great section in Acts chapter 1 where the apostles are
gathered with Jesus, and He ascends into the clouds? Two
angels are there, and they say, "This same Jesus that you
saw ascend into heaven will also descend." He will return
one day as well. Jesus told His apostles in John 14 that He
was going away to prepare a place for them in heaven. If He
left, He promised to come back. Even though we don't know
when He is coming back, we certainly don't speculate about
it. However, we have no reason to doubt that He will return
because the same power that brought Him in the first place
will bring Him back the second time. There will be several
things that happen when He comes back. We know there will be
the resurrection of all the dead. Jesus mentioned this in
John chapter 5, verses 28 and 29, where it says, "Do not
marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are
in the graves will hear His voice and come forth: those who
have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who
have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." So,
everyone who has died will be resurrected on that day,
regardless of how long ago it was or the condition in which
they died. It doesn't matter where they died; all who have
passed will be resurrected. This will occur alongside
Jesus's coming. Jesus will return just once. There won't be
two, three, or four returns; He will come back just one more
time, and that's what the Bible states. He is also going to
judge mankind when He returns. We have several references in
the Bible that depict that great judgment scene, like in
Matthew 25, in the second half of that chapter, where it
shows the Lord coming back, and all the people are gathered.
He will separate them like sheep and goats: the sheep will
be on His right and the goats on the left. That section
continues to explain why one group is designated as goats
and why the other group is designated as sheep. So, there
will be the resurrection, the judgment, and, of course, the
destruction of the world, as mentioned in 2 Peter chapter 3,
where this world will be destroyed and obliterated.
Additionally, our text shows that when He comes again, it
will be a time of reunion. Notice the words "we" and "them."
In verse 17, it states, "Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air. Thus, we shall always be with the
Lord." We understand from reading 1 Corinthians 15, verse 51
and onward, that those who are alive will undergo a great
transformation, where their bodies will change from
corruptible to incorruptible, a body that is able to live in
heaven forever. Finally, the last comforting thing we see
here is what He states at the very end of verse 17: "Then we
who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus, we
shall always be with the Lord." We are going to have new
resurrected, glorified bodies: changed, glorious bodies that
are perfectly made for us to live forever in heaven. And
we're going to be with Him forever in heaven, as that verse
says: "thus we shall always be with the Lord.” No wonder
Paul says there in verse 8, "therefore comfort one another
with these words." All of this is comforting only to those
who belong to Christ—only those who have been regenerated,
only those who have been born again, and only those who are
in Christ. If you are not in Christ, we certainly encourage
you to obey that precious gospel now.
April 10,
2023
Prepared by
Bobby Stafford
The church
of Christ at Granby, MO
Located at
516 East Pine St.
P.O. Box 664
Granby, Mo. 64844
(417) 472-7109
For more
lessons and Sermons, please visit
granbychurchofchrist.org/
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