2. “Comfort One Another”
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

3. “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

4. “Comfort One Another”
Word Comfort

5. The Word Comfort
“Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

6. The Word Comfort
“Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

7. The Word Comfort 1) Definition of comfort:
“to console, to encourage and strengthen by consolation, to comfort” (Thayer, p. 482).

8. The Word Comfort 2) Words can comfort.
“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29).
“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Colossians 4:6).

9. The Word Comfort 3) They can discourage as well.
“I have heard many such things; Miserable comforters are you all!” (Job 16:2).
“Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none” (Psalm 69:20).

10. “Comfort One Another”
Word Comfort
Hope

11. Comfort Because Of Hope
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

12. Comfort Because Of Hope
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

13. Comfort Because Of Hope
1) Definition of hope:
“much more frequent in the classics, and always in the N.T., in a good sense: expectation of good, hope; and in the Christian sense, joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation” (Thayer, p. 205).

14. Comfort Because Of Hope
2) For what do we hope?
“But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
“in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began” (Titus 1:2).

15. Comfort Because Of Hope
3) Help in securing the things hoped for.
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).
“According to the analogy of the preceding expressions, "the breastplate of righteousness," and "the shield of faith," salvation is itself the helmet. That which adorns and protects the Christian, which enables him to hold up his head with confidence and joy, is the fact that he is one of the redeemed, made meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of saints in light, who has been delivered out of the power of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom there is redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Gospel Advocate Commentaries - A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles: Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians).

16. Comfort Because Of Hope
4) Why such confident hope?
“Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil” (Hebrews 6:17-19).

17. “Comfort One Another”
Word Comfort
Hope
Death of Jesus

18. Hope Because Of Jesus’ Death
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).

19. Hope Because Of Jesus’ Death
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).

20. Hope Because Of Jesus’ Death
1) Why did Jesus suffer death?
“For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11).

21. Hope Because Of Jesus’ Death
2) Sinners helpless state before His death.
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).

22. Hope Because Of Jesus’ Death
3) Motivation to live for Him.
“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

23. “Comfort One Another” Word Comfort Hope Death of Jesus
His Resurrection

24. Hope – Death – Resurrection
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:14-15).

25. Hope – Death – Resurrection
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:14-15).

26. Hope – Death – Resurrection
1) No resurrection – no hope.
“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Corinthians 15:13-17).

27. Hope – Death – Resurrection
2) A tent versus a house.
“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life” (2 Corinthians 5:1-4).

28. Hope – Death – Resurrection
3) Victory through Jesus.
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:51-57).

29. “Comfort One Another” Word Comfort Hope Death of Jesus
His Resurrection
His Coming

30. His Second Coming
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

31. His Second Coming
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

32. His Second Coming 1) Will come like a thief in the night.
“But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6).

33. His Second Coming 2) He will come for His people.
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

34. His Second Coming 3) With great eagerness we wait.
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:20-21).

35. “Comfort One Another” Word Comfort Hope Death of Jesus
His Resurrection
His Coming
If We Believe

36. If We Believe
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).

37. If We Believe
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).

38. If We Believe 1) Faith gives us access to God’s grace.
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1- 2).

39. If We Believe 2) The type believers the Thessalonians were.
“And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything” (1 Thessalonians 1:6-8).

40. “Comfort One Another” Word Comfort Hope Death of Jesus
His Resurrection
His Coming
If We Believe