This is Part 4 of a 4-Part Advent sermon series titled “Christmas according to Paul” preached at Mt. Gilead UMC in Georgetown, KY. The whole worship service is in the link below titled “Sermon Video,” and the sermon begins at minute marker 18:20. For Part 3, click here. For Part 1, click here.
Introduction
- We’ve seen that Paul doesn’t talk very much at all about Jesus’ birth, and when he does, it is very brief, full of depth and meaningful explanation, and he usually ends by pointing to Jesus’ second advent. In fact, as we’ve mentioned in previous weeks, Paul obsessively reminds himself on a regular basis of Jesus’ second coming. It was always at the forefront of his mind and it was the ultimate longing of his heart. So to close this series on Christmas according to Paul, I think it’s appropriate that we sit with Paul one last time pondering not only the birth of the Savior, but more so the return of the Savior.
1 Thess 4:13-18
- There are a number of places where Paul discusses the second coming of Christ. We’ll look at one this morning, which relates to Christmas and something we talked about a couple weeks ago, the holiday blues or having what that one song calls a blue Christmas.
- In 1 Thess 4, Paul addresses Christians who have just experienced great loss in their community. There was an outbreak of persecution, and some of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, no doubt some would’ve been blood relatives, were martyred there in Thessalonica. Not only were they hurting, but they were confused as to what this meant for their loved ones in relation to Christ’s return. You see, Paul believed and taught that he and other Christians would be alive and well and ready when Christ would return to earth to usher in the fullness of God’s kingdom and reign. He taught, for instance in 1 Cor 15:50ff., that not everyone would die before Christ came back, but that followers of Christ who are alive at the time when Christ returns would undergo a glorious, bodily transformation, in the snap of a finger or wink of the eye—that’s how fast it would happen. On the flip side, he taught that those who had already died in Christ and whose spirits were alive in heaven with Christ, would also experience a transformation, namely, that they would be raised from the dead and receive resurrected, glorious bodies which are not susceptible to sin, death, decay, cancer, illness, hunger—you name it. So the dead in Christ receive transformation via resurrection from the dead, whereas those alive in Christ at his coming will not need to be raised from the dead—because they hadn’t died—but rather will be changed instantaneously into glorified bodies.
- But the Thessalonians didn’t have all of this sorted out in their minds. Instead, they were confused and thought that those who died in the Lord would miss out on the second advent of Jesus entirely. And Paul’s response to them was that that was the farthest from the truth. Here in 1 Thess 4, Paul explains that our loved ones who have been followers of Jesus will not in any way, shape, or form miss out on the coming of Jesus. Rather, he says that they will be raised and received their glorious, sin-free, death-free, illness-free, hunger-free bodies FIRST!
- So we see Paul here comforting his children like a father or mother, reassuring them (1) that their loved ones are with the Lord, their spirits alive in heaven with Christ, (2) that their loved ones won’t miss out on the return of Christ, (3) that their loved ones who are in Christ in fact will basically get front row seats to Christ’s return, and (4) that they will be reunited together with each other and with Christ at the second coming of Jesus.
- After this reassurance, Paul urges them to comfort and encourage one another with these words.
Application
- Friends, this is a word that our church has needed over the past several years. We have lost a lot of brothers and sisters in Christ recently, and not only at our church, but I’ve heard from many of you about losing other loved ones, family, and friends. Even just three days ago, we lost our brother, Jim Trotter. But as they say, our loss is heaven’s gain. But that saying doesn’t share the whole story. Because heaven’s gain will one day be our gain. When Christ comes, death will be destroyed forever, and that, my friends, is the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. That is the Christmas message, that the baby “born in a barn” did so to show truly that God is love and humble and doesn’t want to conquer us, but instead wants to conquer the things that conquer us. He came, not to make us feel bad and guilty for our sin and scare us out of Hell, but he came to destroy that which has been destroying us from the moment that Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the grave; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty…and from there, he will what? He will come—a second time—not to repeat what he already did the first time, but this time he will come to bring judgment for the living and the dead, judgment meaning making and setting right what has been wrong for too long. That is why he came. That is why we celebrate Christmas. And that is why, even if you’re hurting this Christmas because you’re deeply missing the ones you love and who have gone on to be with the Lord, that is why we don’t have to have a blue Christmas. “Though the sorrow may last for the night, the joy comes in the morning.” Friends, we are quickly approaching the morning. I miss my mother-in-Law every day; my wife and father-in-Law do too. It’s still very painful for us and it’s been 5 years. And I know that it is for you too, whomever you are missing and grieving. It is for everyone.
- But friends, I want for you what Paul wanted for his church in Thessalonica, and I want it for myself too. This is the Christmas gift that I want for me, you, and all who are mourning during the holidays this year: Paul says, “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of humanity, who have no hope” (1 Thess 4:13).
- Remember your loved ones this Christmas and New Year’s. Talk about them if you can. Have a good cry. Remember the sound of their voice; remember the good times and the bad times; but don’t do so as if they are gone forever. Do so knowing that God still hears the sound of their voice even if we don’t, because they’re with Him in his very presence.
- Paul said, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, then we are to be pitied more than all men” (1 Cor 15:19). We often get so wrapped up in our lives that we forget that the most important things aren’t our jobs or the pressures of life all around us. The world wants us to think that this life here and now is the only and most important one. But we have hope beyond this broken world, beyond this corrupt generation as Paul describes it.
- And so, the death of our loved ones is not and never has been a “Good-bye.” Instead, it is a “See you later.”
Conclusion
- The Christmas story, as Paul has taught us these past few weeks, is a story of hope, true hope for the world. That’s why the shepherds sang and the wise men bowed down and Mary sang her Magnificat. The reign of sin and death was coming to an end through the first coming of the Messiah; the reign of goodness and life has already started and will come in fullness through the second coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
- Let us be comforted from Paul’s words here and encourage one another with these words that are truly life and good news for you and me, and for the whole world. May God grant us the strength to praise Him in the midst of the storm, and may he grant us a heavenly, eternal, and even a resurrection perspective on our present sufferings. Paul did not consider his present sufferings and hardships to even come close to comparison with the glory of Jesus’ return. He fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith, and the Lord will award him a crown of righteousness on that day of His return—and Paul adds that this is not just for him, “but also to all who have longed for [Christ’s] appearing” or return. So often we long for Christmas and are excited for what we will get, or what we will give. I’ve waiting months to give Asher some amazing Christmas gifts this year, and it’s been hard to wait. I’ve been longing for the day when we can celebrate Jesus’ birthday together in this way. And if my longing for Christ’s first coming is so strong, how much more should it be for the second coming of Christ? This Christmas, let us believe, embrace, long for, and even share with the people around us the soon-coming advent of Jesus Christ. This is our hope this Christmas and holiday season. It is our hope everyday as we pray, “Your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Amen.
Dr. Timothy J. Christian 