Sermon Tone Analysis

*1THESSALONIANS 4:13-18  *

1Thessalonians opens a window on to newly planted church in the middle of the 1st century AD.

It tells us how it came into being, what the apostle taught it, what were its strengths and weaknesses, its theological and moral problems, and how it was spreading the gospel.

What is of particular interest, because it applies to Christian communities in every age and place, is the interaction which the apostle portrays between the church and the gospel.

* He shows how the gospel creates the Church [1:1-4].

* He shows how the Church spreads the gospel [1:5-10].

* He shows how the gospel shapes the Church [ ], as the Church seeks to live a life that is worthy of the Gospel.

According to John Stott, the above theme gives the following analysis of the letter:

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Christian evangelism, or how the Church spreads the gospel [1:1-10].

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Christian ministry, or how pastors serve both the gospel and the church [2:1-3:13].

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Christian behaviour, or how the Church must live according to the gospel [4:1-12].

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Christian hope, or how the gospel should inspire the Church [4:13-5:11].

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Christian community, or how to be a gospel Church [5:12-28].

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*THE PROBLEM *

*1.        **General Observations *

In this section Paul sets out to “/encourage the fainthearted/…” [5:14].

The anxiety was related to two matters:

* The problem of bereavement: they were apprehensive about their Christian brethren who had died.

* The problem of judgement: they were apprehensive about themselves and about their own readiness for the day of reckoning.

* What is clear is that the church did not understand the fundamental points of Christian eschatology.

*2.        **The Problem *

The problem has to do with the dead and their participation in the coming of Christ from heaven.

* It seems that between the foundation of the church and the return of Timothy, some members of the church had died; an event that caused much sorrow among them.

*a.       **The Gospel Received *

Paul had preached the gospel to them: “/our gospel came not unto you in word only/…” [1:4].

* Resurrection: “/Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead/…” [Acts 17:3].

* Faith and hope: “/the perseverance of hope/…” [1:3].

*b.       **The Question of the Dead *

The basic question is: ‘what will happen to the dead in Christ?

What becomes of believers who die before the second coming?

* The reconstruction of greatest merit argues ‘that at the moment of confronting the reality of death, the Thessalonians did not allow their confession to inform their reaction to this human tragedy’ (Green, 215).

* What is clear is that the Thessalonians were experiencing great grief because of the death of one or more of their members, and the apostle needed to respond with the appropriate teaching so that they would not be overwhelmed with grief like the unbelievers who “have no hope”.

* Paul’s purpose was distinctly pastoral as he urged the church to use this teaching to comfort one another [4:18].

*c.        **The Resurrection & The Parousia *

The apostle seeks to console his readers through instruction regarding the relationship between the resurrection and the Parousia of Christ.

* We get the impression that the Thessalonians had understood Paul to mean that the Parousia would take place within their lifetime (Morris, 135).

* The Thessalonians believed that to be assumed to heaven with Christ at his Parousia one had to be alive.

*Summary*

 

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*THE PASTORAL CONCERN *

Before the apostle responds to their enquiry with positive instruction about the Lord’s return, he makes two preliminary and negative points.

*1.        **The Theme  *

*a.       **The Dead   *

The theme of the passage: “/concerning them which are asleep/…” [4:13].

§  περὶ - “/concerning/” [4:13], ‘around’; ‘on all sides’; this ‘sets the theme of the passage’; 

§  κοιμωμένων - “/asleep/” [4:13], present passive participle, related to /keímai/, ‘to lie outstretched, to lie down’; ‘to cause to lie down to sleep’;

§  It is worth noting that our word “cemetery” is derived from this term; from the Greek word κοιμetέrioν, ‘sleeping room’.

*                                                                                                         i.

**The Sleep *

The metaphor of “sleep” for death was used by those who had no real concept of afterlife (apart from the Book of Daniel): “/slept with their fathers/…”

§  Moses: “/the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up/…” [Deu.31:16].

§  Death is only temporary: “/multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake/…” [Dan.12:2].

§  Lazarus: “/Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep/” [Joh.11:11];

§  The final resurrection: “/And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose/…” [Mat.27:52].

Death is a rest after labour: “/that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them/” [Rev.14:13].

*2.        **The Reason *

*a.       **Knowledge *

The reason for Paul raising the matter of the dead: “/I do not want you to be ignorant/…” [4:13].

§  θέλομεν - “/would not have/” [4:13], present active, ‘to desire, purpose’;

§  ἀγνοεῖν - “/ignorant/” [4:13], present active infinitive, from the priv.

/a/, not, and /noéō/, ‘to perceive, understand’; ‘not to recognize or know’; can denote ‘being mistaken’ or ‘being in error’.

*b.       **The Sorrow *

The present sorrow: “/that you sorrow not, even as others/…” [4:13].

§  μὴ λυπῆσθε - “/sorrow not/” [4:13], present passive subjunctive, from  λύπη, ‘pain, sorrow’; ‘to cause pain’;

§  Primarily an inward grief: “/ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy/” [Joh.16:20].

§  Physically λύπη can denote any pain, though especially that caused by hunger or thirst, by heat or cold; spiritually λύπη is sorrow, pain or anxiety at misfortune or death, or anger at annoyances or hurts.

*c.        **The Comparison *

The comparison between his readers and those outside the Christian community: “/others who have no hope/” [4:13].

§  λοιποὶ - “/them/” [4:13], ‘remaining, left over’; ‘them that are without the kingdom’;

§  μὴ ἔχοντες - “/not/ /have/” [4:13], present active participle, ‘to hold, possess’;

§  ἐλπίδα - “/hope/” [4:13], ‘a looking forward with confident expectation’;

§  The ungodly: “/without God and without hope in the world/” [Eph.2:12].

*Application*

Nowhere outside of Christianity do we find at this period any widespread view of a worthwhile life beyond the grave.

* Pagan literature contains some literature about it; philosophers had an idea about it; but this did not penetrate into the beliefs of the ordinary people.

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*THE THEOLOGICAL ANSWER  *

*1.        **The Basis of Hope *

Out of a pastoral concern for their grief, Paul reminded the church of the theological basis of their hope of reunion.

*a.       **The Creedal Formula *

The basic creedal formula: “/if we believe that/…” [4:14].

§  πιστεύομεν - “/believe/” [4:14], present indicative active, ‘think to be true, implying trust’;

§  The Thessalonians: “/work of faith, labour of love, perseverance of hope/…” [1:3].

*b.       **The Historical Foundation  *

*                                                                                                         i.

**The Death of Jesus *

The foundational belief: “/if we believe that Jesus died and rose again/…” [4:14].

§  ἀπέθανεν - “/died/” [4:14], aorist indicative active, ‘physical death’;

§  Paul speaks, not of Jesus’ “sleeping” but of Jesus’ dying; Jesus’ death is the ‘penal consequences of sin’: “/the wages of sin is death/…” [Rom.6:23].

§  Christ in his death bore the wages of sin: “/he was made sin for us/…” [2Cor.5:21].

§  Thereby he transformed the whole position of those who are in him: “/asleep in Jesus/…” [4:14].

*                                                                                                       ii.

**The Resurrection of Jesus *

The triumph of the resurrection: “/and rose again/…” [4:14].

§  ἀνέστη - “/rose again/” [4:14], aorist indicative active, ‘to cause to stand up’; ‘to raise to life’;

§  The resurrection demonstrates that death is truly conquered: “/Where, O death, is your victory/…” [1Cor.15:55].

*                                                                                                     iii.

**The First-Fruits  *

The resurrection of Christ guarantees the resurrection of believers: “/become the first fruits of them that slept/” [1Cor.15:20].

§  avparch.

– “/first-fruits/” [15:20], first portion from grain and fruit harvests and from flocks.

§  The term is deliberately chosen to make evident the organic connection between the two resurrections, the inseparability of the initial quantity from the whole.