634
THE KING’S BUSINESS
This error Paul here corrects, he tells them that those who are living on the earth when the Lord comes will not take pre cedence over those who have already fallen asleep, but that those who have fallen asleep shall first be raised and then those who are still living be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the" air. ‘There is an emphasis upon the "together with them:’’ this settles forever the ques tion whether we will recognize our loved ones after the resurrection; not only are we to be caught up, and they caught up at the coming of the Lord, but we are to be caught up "together with them.” A question arises as to exactly what is meant by “asleep in Jesus.” Is the word “asleep” used to distinguish the condition of those who pass away before the return of our Lord until the time of His return, from a condition of consciousness, or to distin guish it from a .condition of death?- The context clearly settles this question: the world says of our departed, “they are dead,” but God says, “no, they are not dead, they are simply sleeping” (cf. Luke 8:52; John 11:11 ; 8:51 ; 11:26): i.e., what the worlt) calls death the Bible calls sleep, not to distinguish it from a state of conscious ness, but to distinguish it as a state of repose from a state of dissolution. Sleep, even ordinary sleep, is not a state of uncon- sciousnéss; oftentimes the mind is more active in the sleeping hours than in the waking hours. Many a man who could not solve a difficult problem in his waking hours can sleep over it and have it solved when he wakens. It is clearly taught else where that the spirits of those who départ from the body before the coming'of Christ are in a present state of conscious blessed ness (cf. Phil. 1:21-24; 2 Cor. 5, 8, R.V.), but they do not attain to their full bless edness until the redeemed spirit shall be clothed upon with a redeemed body at. the return of our Lord (vs. 16, 17; cf. 2 Çor. 5:1-8; Phil. 3:20, 21). What Paul declares in verse 15 and following verses, is not his
own opinion, but something that the Lord had told him by direct revelation: he says these things he- tells us “by the word of the Lord” (cf. 1 Kings 20:35). These verses definitely tell us that Ihe return of our Lord is* to be a personal return of the Lord Himself, that it will be a visible and bodily return (cf. Acts 1:11; John 14:3; Heb. 9:28; Phil. 3:20, 21), and that it might occur at any time. Paul does not say that it would occur during his lifetime, but he certainly implies that it might, as far as he knew, occur during his lifetime. He puts himself with those who would be alive at the coming of our Lord, because they are contrasted with those who had already fallen asleep, and of course Paul had not as yet fallen asleep and could not put himself in that class, though he does not declare that he would not be in- that class at some later day, before the return of the Lord. It is oftentimes said that Paul was mistaken about the time of the Lord’s return, for he taught that he would himself be alive at that time. But he does not teach that, though he does imply that he might be, and that is the attitude that every true and intelligent believer should take toward the coming of the Lord. It is clearly taught here that the Lord who is now in heaven (cf. Eph. 1:20) shall some day “Himself descend from heaven.” This cannot mean that He will merely send His spirit, or a great revival, or an army of angels, it does certainly mean that He shall descend, Himself, personally, bodily, vis ibly. Paul closed with a commandment that they should comfort one another with the words which he had just spoken, i.e., the truth about the second coming of Christ. According to this, when any of our friends lose loved ones, the one doctrine to bring to them for their comfort, accord ing^ to a specific, Divine command, is the doctrine of the second coming of Christ. There is no other doctrine which has such comforting power in it as this when prop erly understood and properly taught.
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