1 Thessalonians 4:14
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
For since we believe
This phrase establishes the foundational Christian doctrine of faith. The Greek word for "believe" is "pisteuomen," which implies trust and confidence. In the early church, belief was not merely intellectual assent but a deep, personal trust in the truth of the Gospel. This belief is the bedrock of Christian hope and assurance, emphasizing that faith in Christ's death and resurrection is central to the Christian life.

that Jesus died
The death of Jesus is a historical and theological cornerstone. The Greek word "apethanen" signifies a real, physical death, underscoring the humanity of Christ. Historically, Jesus' crucifixion is well-documented, and theologically, it represents the atoning sacrifice for sin. This phrase reminds believers of the gravity and purpose of Christ's death, which is to reconcile humanity to God.

and rose again
The resurrection is the triumphant affirmation of Jesus' divinity and the validation of His victory over sin and death. The Greek "anestē" means to rise up, indicating a physical resurrection. This event is pivotal in Christian theology, as it assures believers of their future resurrection and eternal life. The resurrection is not just a past event but a present reality that empowers and transforms the lives of believers.

so also, through Jesus
This phrase highlights the mediatory role of Christ. The Greek "dia Iēsou" indicates that it is through Jesus that God's promises are fulfilled. Jesus is the conduit through which believers receive the hope of resurrection. This underscores the exclusivity of Christ as the way to eternal life, a central tenet of conservative Christian doctrine.

God will bring with Him
Here, the focus shifts to God's active role in the resurrection. The Greek "axei" (will bring) suggests a future action, emphasizing God's sovereignty and faithfulness in fulfilling His promises. This phrase assures believers that God, who raised Jesus, will also raise those who have died in Christ, affirming the continuity of life beyond death.

those who have fallen asleep
The term "fallen asleep" is a euphemism for death, used frequently in the New Testament. The Greek "koimēthentas" conveys a temporary state, suggesting that death is not the end but a pause before the resurrection. This imagery provides comfort and hope, reinforcing the belief in the resurrection and eternal life. It reflects the early Christian understanding of death as a sleep from which believers will awaken at Christ's return.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
Central to the Christian faith, Jesus' death and resurrection are foundational events that affirm His divinity and the hope of eternal life for believers.

2. God
The sovereign deity who orchestrates the resurrection and the return of Jesus, affirming His power over life and death.

3. Believers ("those who have fallen asleep in Him")
Refers to Christians who have died, with the metaphor of sleep indicating a temporary state before resurrection.

4. Thessalonica
The city where the church receiving this letter is located, a significant urban center in ancient Macedonia.

5. Paul the Apostle
The author of the letter, providing guidance and encouragement to the Thessalonian believers regarding the hope of resurrection.
Teaching Points
The Certainty of Resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus is a historical and theological certainty that assures believers of their own future resurrection.

Hope Beyond Death
The metaphor of sleep for death provides comfort, indicating that death is not the end but a transition to eternal life with Christ.

Faith in Action
Belief in the resurrection should influence how Christians live, encouraging a life of holiness and hope.

Community of Believers
The promise of resurrection fosters a sense of unity and encouragement among believers, as they share in this common hope.

God's Sovereignty and Power
Trust in God's ability to bring about the resurrection underscores His ultimate authority over life and death.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the certainty of Jesus' resurrection impact your daily life and decisions?

2. In what ways can the metaphor of sleep for death provide comfort in times of loss?

3. How can the hope of resurrection encourage you to live a life of holiness and purpose?

4. What role does the community of believers play in supporting one another in the hope of resurrection?

5. How can you practically demonstrate your trust in God's sovereignty and power in your life today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
1 Corinthians 15
This chapter elaborates on the resurrection of the dead, emphasizing the victory over death through Jesus Christ.

John 11:25-26
Jesus declares Himself as the resurrection and the life, promising eternal life to those who believe in Him.

Romans 8:11
Highlights the role of the Spirit in giving life to mortal bodies, connecting to the resurrection theme.

Philippians 3:20-21
Speaks of the transformation of our lowly bodies to be like Christ's glorious body, reinforcing the hope of resurrection.
Christ's Resurrection and OursC. Molyneux, M. A.1 Thessalonians 4:14
Christ's Resurrection the Pledge of OursR. S. Barrett.1 Thessalonians 4:14
Resting on God's Word1 Thessalonians 4:14
The Certainty and Blessedness of the Resurrection of True ChristiansAbp. Tillotson.1 Thessalonians 4:14
The Dead Christ and Sleeping ChristiansA. Lind, D. D.1 Thessalonians 4:14
Sorrow for the Dead Transfigured by the Resurrection of ChristW.F. Adeney 1 Thessalonians 4:13, 14
Anxiety About the State of the Christian DeadR. Finlayson 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The ResurrectionB.C. Caffin 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Reasons Against Sorrow for the DeadT. Croskery 1 Thessalonians 4:14, 15
People
Paul, Thessalonians
Places
Macedonia, Thessalonica
Topics
Asleep, Believe, Bring, Death, Died, Faith, Fallen, God's, Passed, Power, Risen, Rose, Sleep, Sleeping, Underwent
Dictionary of Bible Themes
1 Thessalonians 4:14

     2555   Christ, resurrection appearances
     2560   Christ, resurrection
     6645   eternal life, nature of

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

     5288   dead, the
     5797   bereavement, comfort in
     5952   sorrow
     9315   resurrection, of believers

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17

     5598   victory, over spiritual forces
     8106   assurance, nature of

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

     5535   sleep, and death
     6182   ignorance, human situation

1 Thessalonians 4:14-17

     5110   Paul, teaching of
     9110   after-life

Library
Twenty Fifth Sunday after Trinity Living and Dead when Christ Returns.
Text: 1 Thessalonians 4, 13-18. 13 But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Be Ye Therefore Perfect, Even as Your Father which is in Heaven is Perfect. Matthew 5:48.
In the 43rd verse, the Savior says, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy; but I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward
Charles G. Finney—Lectures to Professing Christians

April the Tenth Resurrection-Light
"If we believe that Jesus died and rose again...." --1 THESSALONIANS iv. 13-18. That is the eastern light which fills the valley of time with wonderful beams of glory. It is the great dawn in which we find the promise of our own day. Everything wears a new face in the light of our Lord's resurrection. I once watched the dawn on the East Coast of England. Before there was a grey streak in the sky everything was held in grimmest gloom. The toil of the two fishing-boats seemed very sombre. The sleeping
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Chrysostom -- Excessive Grief at the Death of Friends
Chrysostom (that is, "Of the Golden Mouth") was a title given to John, Archbishop of Constantinople. He was born of a patrician family at Antioch about 347, and owed much to the early Christian training of his Christian mother, Anthusa. He studied under Libanius, and for a time practised law, but was converted and baptized in 368. He made a profound study of the Scriptures, the whole of which, it is said, he learned to repeat by heart. Like Basil and Gregory he began his religious life as a hermit
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume I

The Relation of the Will of God to Sanctification
"This is the will of God, even your sanctification."--I THESS. iv. 3. "As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy.'"--I PET. i. 15, 16. "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. . . . By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."--HEB. x. 9, 10. OUR discussion of the will of God landed us--perhaps in rather an unforeseen way--in the great subject of sanctification.
Henry Drummond—The Ideal Life

Sanctification
'For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.' I Thess 4:4. The word sanctification signifies to consecrate and set apart to a holy use: thus they are sanctified persons who are separated from the world, and set apart for God's service. Sanctification has a privative and a positive part. I. A privative part, which lies in the purging out of sin. Sin is compared to leaven, which sours; and to leprosy, which defiles. Sanctification purges out the old leaven.' I Cor 5:5. Though it takes not
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The True Christian Life
TEXT: "My beloved is mine, and I am his."--Sol. Song 2:16. "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine."--Sol. Song 6:3. "I am my beloved's and his desire is toward me."--Sol. Song 7:10. These three texts should be read together, and the significant change found in each text as the thought unfolds should be studied carefully. They remind one of three mountain peaks one rising higher than the other until the third is lifted into the very heavens. Indeed, if one should live in the spirit of this
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

The Death of Death
'But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. 21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.... 50. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, (for the trumpet shall sound;) and the dead shall
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

"Pray Without Ceasing"
Observe, however, what immediately follows the text: "In everything give thanks." When joy and prayer are married their first born child is gratitude. When we joy in God for what we have, and believingly pray to him for more, then our souls thank him both in the enjoyment of what we have, and in the prospect of what is yet to come. Those three texts are three companion pictures, representing the life of a true Christian, the central sketch is the connecting link between those on either side. These
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 18: 1872

The Bible
THE WORD OF GOD "When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the word of God." (1 Thessalonians 2:13.) THE Apostle here testifies that he believes himself to be the bearer of a revelation direct from God; that the words he speaks and the words he writes are not the words of man, but the Word of God, warm with his breath, filled with his thoughts, and stamped with his will. In this same epistle he writes: "For this we say unto
I. M. Haldeman—Christ, Christianity and the Bible

The Education of the World.
IN a world of mere phenomena, where all events are bound to one another by a rigid law of cause and effect, it is possible to imagine the course of a long period bringing all things at the end of it into exactly the same relations as they occupied at the beginning. We should, then, obviously have a succession of cycles rigidly similar to one another, both in events and in the sequence of them. The universe would eternally repeat the same changes in a fixed order of recurrence, though each cycle might
Frederick Temple—Essays and Reviews: The Education of the World

Letter cxix. To Minervius and Alexander.
Minervius and Alexander two monks of Toulouse had written to Jerome asking him to explain for them a large number of passages in scripture. Jerome in his reply postpones most of these to a future time but deals with two in detail viz. (1) "we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed," 1 Cor. xv. 51; and (2) "we shall be caught up in the clouds," 1 Thes. iv. 17. With regard to (1) Jerome prefers the reading "we shall all sleep but we shall not all be changed," and with regard to (2) he looks
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

Sanctification
TEXT: "This is the will of God, even your sanctification."--1 Thess. 4:3. It is quite significant that the Apostle Paul writes explicitly concerning sanctification to a church in which he had such delight that he could write as follows: "Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the Church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet,
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

The Beginning of the New Testament
[Illustration: (drop cap T) Coin of Thessalonica] Turn to the list of books given in the beginning of your New Testament. You will see that first come the four Gospels, or glimpses of the Saviour's life given by four different writers. Then follows the Acts of the Apostles, and, lastly, after the twenty-one epistles, the volume ends with the Revelation. Now this is not the order in which the books were written--they are only arranged like this for our convenience. The first words of the New Testament
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

The Resurrection
'Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.' John 5:58, 29. Q-38: WHAT BENEFITS DO BELIEVERS RECEIVE FROM CHRIST AT THE RESURRECTION? A: At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgement, and made perfectly blessed in the
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Paul a Pattern of Prayer
TEXT: "If ye shall ask anything in my name I will do it."--John 14:14. Jesus testified in no uncertain way concerning prayer, for not alone in this chapter does he speak but in all his messages to his disciples he is seeking to lead them into the place where they may know how to pray. In this fourteenth chapter of John, where he is coming into the shadow of the cross and is speaking to his disciples concerning those things which ought to have the greatest weight with them, the heart of his message
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

The Doctrine of the Last Things.
A. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. B. THE RESURRECTION. C. THE JUDGMENT. D. THE DESTINY OF THE WICKED. E. THE REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS. THE DOCTRINE OF THE LAST THINGS. Under this caption are treated such doctrines as the Second Coming of Christ, the Resurrection of both the righteous and wicked, the Judgments, Final Awards, and Eternal Destiny. A. THE SECOND COMING OF CHEIST. I. ITS IMPORTANCE. 1. PROMINENCE IN THE SCRIPTURES. 2. THE CHRISTIAN HOPE. 3. THE CHRISTIAN INCENTIVE. 4. THE CHRISTIAN COMFORT.
Rev. William Evans—The Great Doctrines of the Bible

Effectual Calling
'Them he also called.' Rom 8:80. Q-xxxi: WHAT IS EFFECTUAL CALLING? A: It is a gracious work of the Spirit, whereby he causes us to embrace Christ freely, as he is offered to us in the gospel. In this verse is the golden chain of salvation, made up of four links, of which one is vocation. Them he also called.' Calling is nova creatio, a new creation,' the first resurrection. There is a two-fold call: (1.) An outward call: (2.) An inward call. (1.) An outward call, which is God's offer of grace to
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Epistles of St. Paul
WHEN we pass from primitive Christian preaching to the epistles of St. Paul, we are embarrassed not by the scantiness but by the abundance of our materials. It is not possible to argue that the death of Christ has less than a central, or rather than the central and fundamental place, in the apostle's gospel. But before proceeding to investigate more closely the significance he assigns to it, there are some preliminary considerations to which it is necessary to attend. Attempts have often been made,
James Denney—The Death of Christ

The Unity of God
Q-5: ARE THERE MORE GODS THAN ONE? A: There is but one only, the living and true God. That there is a God has been proved; and those that will not believe the verity of his essence, shall feel the severity of his wrath. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.' Deut 6:6. He is the only God.' Deut 4:49. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thy heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath, there is none else.' A just God and a Saviour; there is none beside
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Links
1 Thessalonians 4:14 NIV
1 Thessalonians 4:14 NLT
1 Thessalonians 4:14 ESV
1 Thessalonians 4:14 NASB
1 Thessalonians 4:14 KJV

1 Thessalonians 4:14 Commentaries

Bible Hub
1 Thessalonians 4:13
Top of Page
Top of Page