Dear Friends,

I hope you can attend our Bible study tonight! We will be studying a passage from 1 Thessalonians 4. Notes are attached.

LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

HILLTOP LAKES CHAPEL

MARCH 26, 2025

1 Thessalonians 4:9-18

9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have

been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers

throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live

quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you

may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not

grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so,

through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a

word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede

those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command,

with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will

rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to

meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another

with these words.

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v 9 – “Now concerning brotherly love …”

brotherly love — philadelphia, phileō, phílos + adelphos

“taught by God” – God himself teaches us to love (here agapáō), in this case, Paul may have

especially been mindful that the apostles’ time with the Thessalonians had been cut short

v 10 – “for that indeed …”

We do not know what the church was doing for all the other Christians “throughout

Macedonia”—perhaps sending some type of material support, or perhaps the welcoming of

other Christians who were travelers…

more lit. “But we exhort you, brothers to abound more and more”—this was a word of

encouragement, recognizing that they were already abounding, overflowing [perisseuó]

vv 11-12 – “and to aspire …”

These may be some of the more neglected teachings in the New Testament

C S Lewis (somewhere) that some Biblical teachings are surprisingly humdrum

“live quietly” – so … not trying to make a big splash, not causing trouble or, really, trying to

draw attention to ourselves, not being a nuisance, living respectfully

“to mind your own affairs” – so for the record, it is Biblical to mind one’s own business, noting,

however, that the real emphasis here may be on truly taking care of one’s own affairs (as

opposed to the emphasis, as we normally use the phrase, of staying out of the affairs of

others)

2

“to work with your hands”—those who can should. (see 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12, especially v 10:

“If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” Idleness for the able-bodies is un-

Biblical.)

“as we instructed you” – more than once …

“so that …”

Two benefits

“you may walk properly before others” – as a witness to unbelievers

“and be dependent on no one”—again, self-sufficiency is a Biblical value, also allowing us to

contribute to the needs of others

[New topic]

v 13 – “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers…”

Many rumors were swirling (like now)

“those who are asleep”

Some Christians believe that when Christians die, until the resurrection, they are in an

unconscious state, sometimes called “soul sleep.” That seems mainly to be based on this

phrase, often used, referring to Christians who die as being “asleep.” Also, perhaps it seems,

in some intangible way, to correspond with their idea regarding the dead being raised.

This view would not seem to be supported by:

Jesus’ promise to the converted thief on the cross

Jesus’ transfiguration (when he conversed with Moses and Elijah)

“And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God:

‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not

God of the dead, but of the living.”—Matthew 22:31-32

Other Christians (I am one) believe that referring to Christians who have died as being “asleep”

is, well, a way of referring to them—in the way that we used terms like “has passed” or “has

passed away.”

There is also the consideration that time may work quite differently once we have “fallen

asleep” and that this whole way of looking at things will be irrelevant once there

Paul’s main point here was to reassure Christians in Thessalonica that the Christians who had

already died were not going to miss out on the second coming of Christ. They were not to

“grieve as others who have no hope.”

“For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with

him those who have fallen asleep.”—Here reinforcing that those who are dead are dead in

Christ and that they all share in his resurrection victory.

vv 15-17 – “For this we declare to you…”

“by a word from the Lord” or “in the word of the Lord”

“that we who are alive …”

Again, the emphasis is on reassurance

“Not only do you not need to be worried, but when the Lord comes again, those who are asleep

are going to be him before you are!”

3

[Here’s what will happen]

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel,

and with the sound of the trumpet of God”

“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 imperishable, and we shall be changed.”—1 Corinthians 15:51-52

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not

give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be

shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the

earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with

power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they

will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.—Matthew

24:29-31

“And the dead in Christ will rise first.”

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal

life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 25 “Truly, truly, I say

to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of

God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted

the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment,

because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who

are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the

resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.—

John 5:24-29

[Note: there are numerous ways that Revelation 20 is interpreted. So this will have varying

degrees of relevance, depending on one’s view.] Revelation 20 refers to the “firsta

resurrection” of what certainly appears to be all the saints, who then reign with Christ on

earth for a thousand years. Following this and the subsequent, final defeat of Satan, there

appears to be a resurrection of all those who have ever lived (and who were not in the first

resurrection), who are judged “according to what they had done,” this being the “second

death.” This is not in conflict with what Jesus said about the resurrection above, since, at one

time or another, all people do hear his voice and will come out from the dead, either unto the

resurrection of life or the resurrection of judgment.

“Then we who are alive…”

more lit. “Then we, the living, the remaining…”

Will be “caught up” – harpazó. “The Greek verb harpazó conveys the idea of seizing or

snatching away with force or suddenness.” (Strong’s) As Paul said to the Corinthians “in a

moment, in the twinkling of an eye”

“to meet the Lord” – more lit. “for the Lord’s meeting in the air” or “for the meeting of the Lord

in the air” – meeting is a noun.

Christ’s second coming is described consistently in the New Testament as an event of great

visibility in the sky

“and so we will always be with the Lord”

a Gk protos. This often means first in importance, as in “many who are first will be last” (Mt. 19:30) and “whoever wishes to

be first among you” (Mt. 2-:27).

4

Meaning permanently changed; in our new, eternal bodies; in perfect fellowship with Christ and

with one another, having received our completeness and inheritance in Christ—we will now

always be with him

v 18 – “Therefor encourage one another…”

encourage – parakaleó, comfort, bring strength

This is what we should continue to do with these words

The end is clear, and the theology of salvation for all in Christ is clear, even if we differ in how

we understand the particular chain of events. May we be ever open-minded to what God

would teach us, and may we never let ourselves be divided by eschatological understandings

that do not violate truthful theological underpinnings.