Children of Light

April 21, 2013

Lesson: 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11

Key Verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:5

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Introduction

Jesus testified, “I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). We who follow Christ are those who join with him as his chosen disciples. A disciple is one who learns from Jesus through his Word. What does the disciple learn? He learns the truth, which only the Spirit can give. We come to the written Word as disciples of Christ. We join with him as students join with an instructor. Jesus gives us the light that disperses the darkness of lies and ignorance. Christ teaches us, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (8:31–32).

Shall we then spend six to eight hours a day under the tutelage of the humanist, and a few moments of Bible study, and expect the darkness of ignorance to disperse? The Christian child finds that he or she cannot speak or ask questions of a Biblical moral issue without being looked down upon as a fool. The twisting of history is seen as proper, while the Christian character of President Adams is forbidden. Who then is the fool? God’s word is clear, saying, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good” (Psa. 14:1). A fool is one who is senseless, saying that there is no ruler, no authority but his own. He is one who despises wisdom.

However, our Lord gives us the true light that disperses the darkness of ignorance and foolishness. He gives of himself, that we might have “the light of life,” that we might have the truth that enlightens our soul. In his light, we have fellowship with him and with one another. In this fellowship, we die to sin and live to Christ; we die to lies and live to truth; we grow in righteousness rather than the unrighteousness of this world. This Scripture teaches us that “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

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The Dead in Christ—1 Thess. 4:13–18

A question is raised concerning those who have died. In the midst of an evil world, when Christians are suffering and dying for their faith, the question is naturally raised about the value of their faith. For suffering brings about sorrow; and sorrow, if not nurtured by the grace of God, may lead to doubt and confusion. Paul does not want the church to be ignorant or not understanding “concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope.” It is not that we do not sorrow, but that we not sorrow like those who have no hope. We do weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. But our weeping and rejoicing is not hopeless activity; rather, it is an acknowledgment of life in Christ, now and for eternity.

Sleep is used of death in Scripture, giving us understanding that, though the body dies, the soul is alive. And though the body dies, we look forward to a resurrected body. Our hope in the resurrection and the life is seen Christ Jesus alone. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” Paul testifies to this truth “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.”

Paul continues the argument for hope in the resurrection by pointing us to Christ: “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.” These are words with which we are to “comfort one another”! To comfort is to call another to your side. We do not just comfort with words, but with our very presence; so that by our love we can personally comfort one another.

Our Lord Jesus Christ will gather his church together in that final resurrection. He will descend with a shout or a command. This command will summon his bride to himself. The order of the resurrection begins with Christ and, by command, those who have died in the Lord. He chooses the archangel, his heavenly messenger, to be his voice. Our Lord used the angel to inaugurate the coming of the Christ to Bethlehem. This archangel will announce His coming, discharging “the office of a herald to summon the living and the dead to the tribunal of Christ” (Calvin). By the word of the Sovereign God, the “dead in Christ shall rise first; then we who are alive!” We will meet him in all his glory and we will be with our Lord forever. This builds our hope in a world where the Christian suffers and even dies for his or her faith.

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Discussion: What does it mean to have hope in the resurrection?

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The Children of Light—1 Thess. 5:1–5

Paul now turns the Christian’s thoughts to the “time and seasons.” We sometimes spend too much time wondering just when the Lord is coming. We look for signs, and they seem to come and then rise as steam, disappearing in the sky. Paul wakes us to this truth, “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” When we claim that we know the times and seasons that are in the hand and will of our Father in heaven, we have the promise of his coming and our resurrection. In Christ is our hope; for we claim Christ as our resurrection and life.

However, the wicked are not so. They have no such hope because they refuse to believe; they deny the very hope that they need in Christ Jesus. The wicked continually cry “Peace and safety.” Then their hopelessness will be revealed. For “sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” They promise themselves peace and prosperity in face of God’s words of judgment.

Paul turns his attention to the Christians, saying, “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief.” Though the Lord may come as a thief in the night, for the Christian it will be a welcome coming, as the sun rises in the morning and disperses the darkness. Paul writes, “Ye are children of light, and the children of day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” We are disciples of Christ, living in his truth. We live not in the darkness of ignorance. Therefore our actions should be as those who know the truth and practice righteousness.

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Discussion: How are we children who walk in the light in the midst of the suffering around us?

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The Life We Live—1 Thess. 5:6–11

If we are children of light, then we are not sleepers, but those who will “watch and be sober.” Those who sleep are defined as those who are of the night, or darkness. They are like those who walk as drunken men in the night. However, we are called children of light. The life we live is the life given us in Christ Jesus.

We are of the day! Therefore, let us “be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.” This is what we wear, that which protects us and nurtures our everyday living: Faith in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, Love for God and one another, and hope in the salvation. For “God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.” What a wonderful comfort that we are to live, one with another, with Christ our Lord. And this life begins now. Therefore, “Comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” Continue to grow in strength in the Lord by continually lifting each other up in Christ. Tearing down a building is easy, but being used as Christ builds his Church is hard—sometimes suffering, but always with joy. Study and live in God’s Word. Christ admonishes us to remember that we who hear his word, “and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

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Discussion: What does it mean to live with Christ?

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Lessons are based on the International Sunday School Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyright © 2013 by the Committee on the Uniform Series.