The Dead Shall Rise: 1 Thessalonians 4:7-13

1 Thessalonians 4:7 "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness."

This sermon from American Pastor J.D. Montieth explores Paul's epistles to the Thessalonians in a series titled The Dead Shall Rise. This sermon, the ninth in the series, 1 Thessalonians 4:7-13 highlights why the Christian should not sorrow at the prospect of death: "The language Paul uses in his instruction to the Thessalonians that they should sorrow not, even as others which have no hope, is strong so that his point may be clear: the fate of an unsaved man is vastly different than that of a saved  man. This teaches us that for Christians there is hope, but for those who have no relationship with the Son of God there can be only sorrow. And like the thieves crucified with Christ on the cross, two men can die at the very same time and in the exact same manner yet have two totally different futures. For this reason, Christians should not grieve as do those to whom physical death brings much sorrow. If a man has Christ in him, though his physical body is destined for death, his soul/spirit will live because of his connection to Christ.

"The key to a man continuing to live once his fleshly body dies is through the Christ Spirit living within him. The manner in which Christ lives with the Christian is through the Spirit of God Christ imparts to them. But how, though, does a man know that Christ lives within him? It cannot be just because he assumes it to be so but must rest on a much more concrete foundation than human assumption. Ultimately then, it is only by men keeping Christ’s commandments that it can be seen that Christ lives in His people. The proof therefore that the Holy Spirit lives within a man is that he will both keep and walk in God’s laws.

"Because of the presence of this divine spiritual nature, sent by the Son of God to the saved, spiritual death need not follow bodily death. Though the natural body must return to the dust from whence it was made, the spirit, because its source is God, returns to God. Practically speaking, the natural material realm, which is what the earthly body consists of, cannot pass over to the higher spiritual realm where God maintains His being. Each world, natural and spiritual, consists of two completely different substances, and because of this the natural body, whether alive or dead, cannot without transformation enter the higher spiritual realm of God.

"It was from the first Adam that we derive our natural, physical, and carnal nature, but it is from the last Adam, Jesus Christ, that a new spiritual life is given to us. This life is not natural; rather, it is spiritual and descends from the higher spiritual realm. Its source is God; its sender is the Son of God. Those of the last Adam, who have been born again or born from above, are made living spirits both like and by Christ. Hence, whereas the first Adam genetically passed natural life to his progeny, the second Adam, Jesus Christ, because He is a living Spirit, imparts eternal spiritual life to His children.

"Adam’s creation by God was a natural one. All the elements used in it came from the natural realm. Adam was the first of an earthly race of men who would populate and spread over a natural and organic world. A splendid and bountiful earthly garden was prepared for Adam’s residence, purposed by God not only to bless Adam’s life but also to provide the necessary sustenance for his survival. The first man, Adam, was earthly in every way. The next Adam, though, Jesus Christ, is not natural but spiritual, and for those called to heaven through Him, God has purposed heavenly habitation. 

"For a man to enter the higher spiritual realm, biblically defined as heaven, he must be born again. This teaches us that for any to live beyond the grave, a new spiritual birth must be given to them by God, whereby through the Spirit they are given the same nature as God.

"Just as believers must share in the weakness, deficiencies, and death of the first man, Adam, they will also share just as equally in the glory of the second Adam, Jesus Christ. Being born of God through possessing the Spirit of God gives hope of glory in the world to come. Again, it needs to be emphasized that the connection to the second Adam, Jesus Christ, is not less than the one to the first man, Adam, once a man is born again. Thus, just as men must physically die because of their relationship to the first man, Adam, so too will they eternally live because of their relationship with God’s second Adam, Jesus Christ. 

"For most men it would be enough to be saved by the Savior, but this is not what God’s Word reveals is the believer’s true hope. This hope is to be made through Christ’s power to share in Christ’s own glory and likeness.

"Hence, as surely as he who is without Christ will die eternally, just as certainly will believers who are given life through Christ live eternally. All that was lost in Adam through the fall has been regained, and then some, by the second Adam, Jesus Christ, in resurrection. Because of this, we who have believed upon the Son of God should sorrow not, even as others which have no hope."

Broadcast live on 07/03/2022