But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (21) For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection from the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (23) But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. (24) Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. (25) For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. (26) The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. (27) For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.(28) Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

The first letter to the Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul. In this chapter Paul first proves the fact of Christ’s resurrection and moves to the certainty of the resurrection of His people. False teachers in Corinth denied this doctrine which was a primary principle of the gospel which Paul preached and in which their salvation depended. To deny the resurrection of the dead is to deny the resurrection of Christ and to make the apostles false. Man’s union with the first Adam is the cause of death. From Adam we derive a corrupt and enfeebled nature. Union with Christ (believers) is the cause of life and the future of the body and soul. Paul writes that “in Christ” the faithful all shall be made alive – the universal resurrection of believers.

Our verses unfold successive stages of God’s purposes: the resurrection of Christ, then after the purpose of the present age is accomplished, His Second Coming. Then the resurrection of those who belong to Christ who will overthrow all His enemies and establish His glorious rule over the earth and ultimately His delivering up the Kingdom to God that God may be all in all. Christ has not yet subdued His enemies – the last enemy is death and it will be destroyed.

What is peculiar to Christianity is the message of salvation. Some hope it is how we live that counts. Some philosophers contend that souls are immortal; but as for resurrection of the body, it never entered into the minds of any. Our hope is forgiveness of sin because of Christ who suffered and redeemed man and was raised from the dead. Christ came that He might restore everything that had been ruined in Adam. Christ is the firstfruit of resurrection and the guarantor that those in Him will be raised. His resurrection is a sample of ours.

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. (2) For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. (3) For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. (4) But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. (5) You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. (6) Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

The first letter to the Thessalonians was written by the apostle Paul. He has just dealt with the question of what will happen to the faithful on the Day of the Lord – they will be delivered from the coming wrath of God. They will already have been resurrected before the wrath begins. The faithful are “sons of light and sons of the day” and Paul makes a direct contrast between the situation of unbelievers and that of believers.

The concept of the Day of the Lord refers to God’s intervention in history for judgment or for deliverance and blessing of God’s people. The Day of the Lord is certainly coming and will be sudden, unexpected and inescapable for those in spiritual darkness. Our focus should not be on fixing dates but on the spreading of the gospel to those who will face God’s judgment if they do not repent. This Day will come like a thief in the night. We are given a picture that people will be enjoying peace and prosperity and they will not feel the need to get right with God. The destruction will be sudden; there are no alternatives other than life with the Lord or eternal loss – one or the other is inevitable. Believers will not be surprised at the Day of the Lord because we will expect it but unbelievers are oblivious to physical or spiritual danger. Believers should live each day alert and ready for the Lord.

We are living in serious times. As Christians our citizenship is in heaven and the Day of the Lord is for us the day of salvation. The faithful will have no part in the day of wrath; the time of still future fulfillment when God’s wrath is poured out on unbelievers. It will be a time of judgment and a time of salvation. This will be the ultimate fulfillment of prophecy concerning events at the end of history when Gods punishes evil and fulfills all His promises.

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. (14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. (15) For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. (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. (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. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (18) Therefore comfort one another with these words.

The first letter to the Thessalonians was written by the apostle Paul to the faithful in that city, (and to us). Paul taught them the Lord Jesus was going to come again and take them to be with Him. Some of the new believers died before this Second Coming and in our verses Paul is writing to correct any misunderstandings about this. Whether we are awake (alive) or asleep believers will live together with Him. Death is only temporary for our bodies but our souls go to be with the Lord the instant we die. The departed faithful souls are with the Lord now and He will bring them with Him when He returns. Paul is assuring the living faithful that their deceased loved ones would be resurrected before those believers still living – the second coming of Christ gives us real hope and comfort in the midst of life’s trials and losses. This is the day when the grace of God is being proclaimed.

At death the Spirit goes to the Lord and the body is left. The bodies fall asleep, not the souls. The spirit is alive in the truest sense for it is in the presence of the Lord. The Bible does not teach soul sleep but body sleep and sleep suggests awakening of the body which is the resurrection of the body. Paul tells them when the Lord comes for His own, He will raise the dead and change the living and they will be caught up together….to meet the Lord in the air and that those alive will not precede the faithful dead.

Unbelievers have no hope and face final destruction but believers know that with death they may at last be gathered into the kingdom of God. The order of resurrection at the second coming will begin with those faithful who have previously died – the believers who are alive and remain shall be caught up with them and the dead are not going to lose out in any way. The promise of the Second Coming brings certain hope and sure comfort. Whether we are awake or asleep the faithful will live together with Him. We do not know the day or the time – this is the age of gathering together and election; when God does speak again according to Scripture He will be speaking in judgment.

But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. (8) So affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. (9) For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil, for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached the gospel of God.…….(13) For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

The letter to the Thessalonians was written by the apostle Paul. In our text Paul continues to spell out some of the reasons he knew God chose Thessalonians for salvation. They pleased God through embracing doctrine which leads to spiritual health. They pleased God through moral integrity and how they lived their regenerated lives. They turned to God from idols (an idol is anything that usurps the rightful place of God in our lives) and waited for Jesus to return in certain hope. The gospel is not a message of how Jesus can help us succeed in life but rather how He can rescue us from the wrath to come. God gives salvation from His judgment to all who believe in Jesus.

The Thessalonians did not just add Jesus as a new idol. They trashed their idols and turned to the living God alone – a clear decisive break from the old way of life. In the fullest sense the gospel is truth and of God, not a device of man. Paul was not motivated by impure motives or greed. Paul as rabbi was entitled to claim financial support from the church as those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel. In all things Paul was a servant to whom he preached and kept back no part of himself but financially supported himself in his daily toil as a tent maker, his toil by night as preacher.

Paul was God’s choice – entrusted with the gospel which as a servant of Christ he has to give to a lost world. He looked on the Thessalonian believers as his own children in faith. In our verses Paul reminded them of his affection for them and his labor on their behalf – that In faith, in Christ, they were born again. This truth led them to take a stand for Christ. Those who were Jewish by birth had to turn from loved ones, turn from friends and endure persecution. Those from heathen backgrounds suffered at the hands of heathen relatives, former friends just as Christian Jews in Judea suffered at the hands of Jewish friends and relatives.

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. (6) And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, (7) so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. (8) For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. (9) For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God (10) and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

The letter to the Thessalonians was written by the apostle Paul. The theme of our verses is genuine Christianity and the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ – the second coming is referred to in some way in every chapter of this letter and Paul is giving clear instruction regarding this. The gospel – “our gospel” – called such because Paul’s own experience of conversion, must be reflected clearly in our lives and words. The Spirit becomes indwelling at the moment of conversion and there is a deep persuasion of the truth of the gospel. We don’t all have the dramatic conversion of Paul but our eyes have been opened, repentance worked in our hearts; our new lives back up the gospel message and we become faithful witnesses that spread the gospel to others.

Paul now moves to spell out reasons he knew God chose the Thessalonians believers for salvation; for the effects their faith had in lives of believers who turned from idols to the living God – to those converted and in turn converting others, to those living the gospel through actions and words, and to those awaiting the second coming of Christ. Paul knew God opened hearts to the gospel or he would be preaching in vain. Our good deeds cannot pay the penalty of sin and only Christ is sufficient – either our sin is on Jesus or it’s on us. Paul preached the good news of full and free salvation. Believing in Jesus is the beginning point of Christian life. Idols could not/cannot placate God’s wrath. At the root of all idolatry is anything that takes the place of the living God in our lives – the god of self.

The Spirit worked in the hearts and souls of the faithful Thessalonians and great changes took place as they passed from death to life in Christ. They became imitators of the apostles who were imitators of the Lord and then the Thessalonians became patterns to all who believed in the gospel. They waited for God’s Son, Christ Jesus, whom God had raised from the dead according to Christ’s own promise to come bodily again. Christ has delivered/will deliver the faithful from the wrath to come – before the wrath Christ will take His own into His presence.