Exhortations Regarding the Dead
Excerpt
Paul’s words here (vv. 13–18) concern “those who fall asleep,” that is, those Christians who have died. His primary intent in the passage was to comfort the living in the face of death and enable them to use his teachings to comfort one another (v. 18). Thus a primary question question the modern reader should bring to this text is, What is said in these verses that would comfort a Christian who has lost a loved one?
The believer’s grief in the face of a fellow Christian’s death is addressed by highlighting the hope of resurrection (v. 13). The return of the Lord, by itself, is not the salve Paul applied. Rather, the reunion of the dead with the living and their shared glory in the presence of the Lord is crucial (v. 17). The living and the dead will be reunited and will be together with the Lord forever. It is this expectation that makes Christian grief the grief of temporary separation. It is still grief, but it is grief moderated by the anticipation of a certain and joyous reunion in Christ.
Martin, D. Michael. 1, 2 Thessalonians. Vol. 33. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995. Print. The New American Commentary.
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