Losing a loved one is hard. The Christians in Thessalonica were confused, they were a young church and expectant church. Paul had taught them that Jesus would return and rightly they expected this could happen in their lifetime, but Paul had got torn away from them before having the opportunity to teach them everything. So they were confused and upset as their believing loved ones started to die. What happened to them? Would they miss out because Jesus hadn’t returned? Is the return of Christ even going to happen?
Paul writes to reassure them, and I am so thankful we have his words in 1 Thessalonians 4 recorded. He tells us 2 things, firstly that we grieve (v13).
Why do we grieve? Because we’re human and something very sad has happened. Someone we loved has died, and we miss them. Maybe there’s things we’d wish we had done or said and now it feels too late, or things we wish we hadn’t done or said. Or maybe it’s just that we miss them, they were always there and now they’re gone. We grieve.
But, Paul says secondly, we grieve with hope.
Our hope is not wishful thinking, but is based on historical fact – Jesus Christ (v14) – the God-man who walked this earth 2000 years ago. What we need is someone who can get us through death. Look at what Jesus did – he died and rose again! And that’s good news not only for Jesus, but for all who belong to Him. Because what happened to Jesus happens to his people.
Paul wants the Christians in Thessalonica to know that their believing loved ones will not miss out on the resurrection, they have gone ahead of us, they are with Christ now, and they will be raised before those of us who are still alive (v15-16). They certainly won’t miss out, and if Christ doesn’t return in our lifetime we won’t miss out either. On the great day of resurrection, those who are dead “in Christ” will get their resurrection bodies first, then those who are still alive will receive our new bodies. We will be caught up together with them – in the clouds – which means in the presence of the Lord. And then, I think this is when Revelation 21 occurs – the earth will be totally renewed and the great crowd of believers will come down together.
The all important phrase is found in v17 – “in Christ” – that is what makes all the difference, are you in Christ? What does that mean? The Bible tells us that the whole of humanity can be divided into 2 groups “In Adam” or “In Christ”. By nature we are “In Adam” – this means we have done what Adam did and disobeyed God and deserve His judgment.
How do you move from being in Adam to being in Christ?
Does it simply mean that you have been baptised? It’s a great privilege to be baptised, but baptism is only a sign of the washing that needs to take place in your heart. You may have been baptised, but not come to Christ personally yourself. To be “in Christ” you need to admit that you have not always gone God’s way, and ask him for forgiveness. It means that you believe that your sin is so serious that the only hope you can have is if Jesus died in your place to take the punishment you deserve. If you haven’t come to Christ, I urge you to trust the God-man who loved you so much that He was willing to die for you.
If you have come to Christ then you can know that you now belong to Him, you’re united to Him and that what happened to Him will happen to you. This gives us great confidence for the future, for ourselves and for our believing loved ones. Paul ends this chapter by telling us to encourage one another with these words (v18), store these words up so that you can use them to encourage a grieving brother or sister at the right time.
Light and Momentary Troubles 
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