“God did not appoint us to wrath” (1 Thess. 5:9, NKJV)
Though we have explored the section as though there were a warren of side roads, in many ways 1 Thessalonians 4:13 through 5:11 forms a teaching block, a single road with a variety of vistas we can marvel at along the way.
The Holy Spirit is ministering to the people of God through His apostle in their confusion of mind and turmoil of soul. He addresses them in their grief over the death of loved ones. He explains the unfolding of events in their time, unknown to them but known to God whose plan those events serve.
The issue is their grief and the explanation Paul gives is intended to assuage that grief, and not with pious platitudes or well wishes. He lays out the declaration of God. The hope he describes is not a possibility, not even a probability; it is a certainty bound up in the saving purposes of our triune God. The writer of Hebrews describes our hope as “an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Heb. 6:19) because it rests in the accomplished work of Christ.
That certainty is why Paul can say, “Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:18), and again, “Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing” (1 Thess. 5:11).
What comfort would it be if what the apostle describes were iffy? How could their faith be built up if the materials he offered were not solid? The ability of what he has said to provide comfort, encouragement, and strength is dependent on the unshakeable and certain truths he describes as realities.
He has said that brothers have hope, while others do not. The means by which brothers possess the hope of the gospel is faith. He emphasizes that, “if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thess. 4:14).
The singular message of the gospel is that the blessings of salvation are communicated to faith. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The hope of the gospel is ours through faith. Neither hope nor faith is tenuous. Rather they take hold of spiritual realities (Heb. 11:1).
Faith, however, is not our contribution to the equation. Rather, faith is ours through the work of the Holy Spirit to make us alive in Christ. It is a gift of God that we exercise.
So when Paul highlights the Thessalonians’ faith in the crucified and risen Christ (1 Thess. 4:14), he concludes the section by laying out the fountain of their faith and foundation of their hope. “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” (1 Thess. 5:9–10).
What that means for us in Christ is that our confidence and security depend not on the fickleness and frailty of our faith but on the firm purposes and promises of God who has appointed these things. God did not destine us for the wrath of His judgment but He did destine us to receive salvation.
In his second letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle expressed it this way: “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 2:13–14).
So whether we have died physically or whether we are still alive when Christ returns, we will be with Him, together with Him as His bride. The apostle’s point is that the work of Christ will not fail and the assurance of God will not disappoint. Nothing, not even death, can separate us from His love in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
