Hope in Christ's Return, Lessons from Paul - 1&2 Thessalonians

Hope in Christ

Hope is another of the themes that Paul includes in his letters to the Thessalonians. We looked at it as one of the foundations of Christian life before, but there is so much more that Paul has to say. Paul talks of the coming of Christ as our hope. (1 Thess 4:13 – 5:4, 2 Thess 2:1-17)

Apparently, there were some believers who were concerned that those who were dead would see Christ’s return at a different time than those who were living. Paul offers the encouragement that at Christ’s return, all of his people, dead or alive, will be caught up with him. Paul says that the grief people were experiencing was more like that of those who have no hope. The hope that Paul then reminds us of is the hope of Christ: of living with and in Christ now in our hearts, of the teachings that Paul imparted, and of future certainty of living with Christ again.

Hope defined

As we recall the definition given earlier this month of hope (see here for discussion of faith, hope, love, and perseverance): Hope is a future expectation of good because of faith in God. So, this faith that we have, reveals itself as hope for future good. The lesson Paul seeks to impart here is that the hope does not end with our death. That hope does not end with the end of life, but merely waits for return of Christ. So, the hope we have for good does not cease with death, but instead goes on to the future life with Christ. Paul also speaks of the lawlessness that is at work and the deception that the evil one uses as a highly effective tool to sway people from Christ.

I think Paul was trying to say that our temporal issues or concerns for others fade in the light of Christ in our lives. The Christ that we have accepted for our own has covered not only our past and redeemed it for himself, but he has also called us to his side for our future.

Live in certainty of our redemption

Paul goes on to remind us that we do not know when the return of Christ of will be. Many thought it would be imminent. Instead, Paul encourages us to live in the light of Christ, live as the children of light and not of darkness. He wanted to encourage the Thessalonians, and encourage us, to live as believers of Christ, with the certainty of our redemption as our hope. Living as light as Paul describes, is having fellowship with each other and our cleansing by the blood of Christ from all sin (1 John 1:7) and the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth (Eph 5:8-9).  Paul looks at the confusion of the future and death, and he distills it down to hope being the future good of God in our glory in the returning Christ, and in the meantime living as light as Christ has called us.