1Thess 4:13-14 (asleep?)

Gleanings in First Thessalonians
Chapter 4

1Thess 4:13
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.

I will first dispense with the common bad jokes I have heard when we hit these types of phrases/words…
(1) We are blessed to have punctuation in the English, because in the Greek they do not have punctuation, therefore Paul would have said: “I would not have you… ignorant brethren…” (laugh track)
(2) The largest denomination in the world is seen in this verse, “the ignorant brethren”…(laugh track)

OK, now that I have that out of the way, we can forget about it and move on to more productive things.

The first word in the verse is “But”, so Paul is providing some information that is needed or wanting, or to exhibit a contrast. I assume the Thessalonians have had more questions since Paul was ran out of town in Acts 17; Silas and Timothy had gone back to Thessalonica apparently after the Berean incident (Acts 17:13-15) as Paul moved on to Athens (Acts 17:16) and then Corinth (Acts 18:1) where eventually Silas and Timothy caught up with him (Acts 18:5); and then gave Paul the status of the Thessalonians that we read about in Chapter 3 (1 Thess 3:6-8).
So in Chapter 4 Paul is giving additional information or building upon information he had started to when he was there and what Timothy and Silas had communicated when they returned.

“But I would not have you to be ignorant”… Paul doesn’t want them ignorant. To be ignorant is usually based on two conditions. One, you just do not know something because it has not been presented to you in order to consider or contemplate and understand; or, Two, you have heard or have been made you aware of something but you just choose to ignore it. In this case, I believe Paul is providing some information that he had the opportunity to provide to them or he had only given partial information before he was rudely ran out of town.
The information has to do with the Lord coming for the believers and ‘them’ which are “asleep”, in this case, not sleeping as in after a hard days work etc. but have passed away – i.e. believers, ones in Thessalonica that had believed the gospel and have since died. How can I make that statement, because he doesn’t want them “sorrowing” as others which have no hope, i.e. unbelievers.
Reference John 11 and the rising of Lazarus:
John 11:11-14
These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

It appears that when believers of the message from God at that time die, they are referred to as ‘asleep’ or in ‘sleep’.

Acts 13:36
For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

1Cor 15:51
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

And we have further confirmation because of the next verse:

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

So we have family members, friends, associates that pass away, and we feel sorrow and sadness – but we know, if they have heard and believed the gospel of Christ and God’s grace i.e. “the dead in Christ”, that we will see them again. It still hurts, but we have that comfort.
So right in that verse is part of the belief: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again”, reference 1 Cor 15:1-4:
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Now we also have a couple of verses in 2 Corinthians:
2Cor 5:6, 8
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: ...
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

So we can deduce from these two verses in Second Corinthians and then First Thessalonians 4:14 that when a believer dies, his body goes into the ground and sleeps, but the soul goes to be with the Lord in heaven. (a person is made up of three parts: body, soul, and spirit [1Thess 5:23])

We shall dissect more in this section (4:13-18) next time.
And you should familiarize yourself with this section going into chapter 5 verse 11, as we have a pattern:
4:13 “But”, 4:18 “Wherefore comfort”; 5:1 “But”, 5:11 “Wherefore comfort”

Grace and Peace James