"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." 1 Thessalonians 4:14

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1 Thessalonians 4 

Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
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"Who is the One who is coming? What has He done for us? It is the Son of God who left the glory which He had with the Father from all eternity, and humbled Himself, took upon Him the form of a servant, was seen walking down here as a man, the meek and lowly Jesus, of whom it is recorded,
"Lo, I come, to do Thy will, O God"
—a life of perfect, unswerving obedience to the will of God. He could say of Himself, and He was the only one that ever could say it,
"I do always those things that please Him."
And this very obedience to His Father's will brought Him down even into the dust of death.

He was a perfect Man, the only perfect Man that ever trod this earth; He was just, but He suffered for us the unjust; He knew no sin, but He was made sin for us. On the cross He suffered for us when He offered Himself without spot to God:
"Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree."
Now we can say,
"In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins," 
and we have liberty and boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. We can find our deepest joy and delight in the presence of God, because His blood cleanseth us from all sin. And, beloved, He has not only given all that He had, all that He possessed, but, blessed be His name, He gave Himself. Could He give more? Impossible! By this He has not only met our need, but He has also glorified God, and brought us into the presence of God, as perfect as He is Himself. We are "holy, and unblameable, and unreproveable in His sight.”

He is now seated in glory at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and He is waiting there for the moment when He shall come, and take us to be forever with Himself to share in His glory. He will not be fully satisfied till we are enjoying His presence, till we are with Him, where He is. He is waiting there, and we are waiting here till we hear that "shout, and the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God," when the dead in Christ shall rise, and we shall be changed. Our body of humiliation shall be fashioned like unto His own body of glory, and we shall enjoy Himself and the fullness of His love forever.

Beloved, may the Lord in His grace keep this blessed hope always fresh before our souls, that we may be in communion with Himself while passing through this world, as those not of it, but as those separated to Him, who gave Himself for us, so occupied with Him that we may be really and truly waiting for Him, looking for and expecting to hear His voice, when "this mortal shall put on immortality," and death be "swallowed up in victory.”

Excerpt from Waiting for Him
From: Christian Treasury, Volume 2




Photo by Michael Weidner on Unsplash

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I'm a Christian saved by God, by His Sovereign grace. I want to encourage all to read, to hear, to believe, and to feed upon the only Words in all the world that are truly spirit and life, living and active; to know the One True God: God the Father, His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit; Who has graciously given us the Holy Scriptures
“All Scripture is God-breathed..."
2 Timothy 3:16–17; cf., John 3:31-36; John 6:63; John 14:26; John 17:3, 17; Romans 1:1-6, 16-17; 1 Corinthians 2:1-16; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Peter 1:20–21; Hebrews 4:12-13. As for the commentaries I post and refer to; with much gratitude, as they have done for me, it is my hope and prayer that they serve to edify all who read them.

Shalom, beccaj
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