1 Thessalonians 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. The leading topic of Paul's preaching at Thessalonica having been the coming kingdom (Acts 17:7), some perverted it into a cause for fear as to friends lately deceased, lest these would be excluded from the glory which those found alive alone should share. This error Paul corrects (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:10). I WOULD NOT. A B Delta G 'Aleph (') f g, Vulgate, have 'we would not:' Silas, Timothy, and myself desire that ye be not ignorant. THEM WHICH ARE ASLEEP. So Delta G [ kekoimeemenoon (G2837)]. A B 'Ale...

13_But I would not have you ignorant_. It is not likely that the hope of a resurrection had been torn up among the Thessalonians by profane men, as had taken place at Corinth. For we see how he chastises the Corinthians with severity, but here he speaks of it as a thing that was not doubtful. It is possible, however, that this persuasion was not sufficiently fixed in their minds, and that they accordingly, in bewailing the dead, retained something of the old superstition. For the sum of the whole is this — that we must not bewail the dead beyond due bounds, inasmuch as we are all to be raised up again. For whence comes it, that the mourning of unbelievers has no end or measure, but because they have no hope of a resurrection? It becomes not us, therefore, who have been instructed as to a resurrection, to mourn otherwise than in moderation. He is to discourse afterwards as to the manner o...

13-18 Here is comfort for the relations and friends of those who die in the Lord. Grief for the death of friends is lawful; we may weep for our own loss, though it may be their gain. Christianity does not forbid, and grace does not do away, our natural affections. Yet we must not be excessive in our sorrows; this is too much like those who have no hope of a better life. Death is an unknown thing, and we know little about the state after death; yet the doctrines of the resurrection and the second coming of Christ, are a remedy against the fear of death, and undue sorrow for the death of our Christian friends; and of these doctrines we have full assurance. It will be some happiness that all the saints shall meet, and remain together for ever; but the principal happiness of heaven is to be with the Lord, to see him, live with him, and enjoy him for ever. We should support one another in ti...

Verse 13. _I WOULD NOT HAVE YOU TO BE IGNORANT_] Instead of εχομεν, _have_, θελομεν, _wish_, is the reading of ADEFG, many others, besides the _Arabic, AEthiopic, Armenian_, some of the _Slavonian_, the _Vulgate_, and _Itala_, with many of the Greek _fathers_. This is undoubtedly the true reading: _Brethren, I would_ _not wish you to be ignorant_; or, _I would not that you should be_ _ignorant_. This was probably one of the points which were _lacking in their_ _faith_, that he wished to go to Thessalonica to instruct them in. _THEM WHICH ARE ASLEEP_] That is, those who are _dead_. It is supposed that the apostle had heard that the Thessalonians continued to lament over their dead, as the heathens did in general who had _no hope_ of the resurrection of the body; and that they had been puzzled concerning the doctrine of the resurrection. To set them

BUT I WOULD NOT HAVE YOU TO BE IGNORANT - I would have you fully informed on the important subject which is here referred to. It is quite probable from this, that some erroneous views prevailed among them in reference to the condition of those who were dead, which tended to prevent their enjoying the full consolation, which they might otherwise have done. Of the prevalence of these views, it is probable the apostle had been informed by Timothy on his return from Thessalonica; 1 Thessalonians 3:6. What they were we are not distinctly informed, and can only gather from the allusions which Paul makes to them, or from the opposite doctrines which he states, and which are evidently designed to correct those which prevailed among them. From these statements, it would appear that they supposed that those who had died, though they were true Christians, would

EXPOSITION CONTENTS.—With this chapter the second portion of the Epistle—its practical application-commences. The apostle exhorts and entreats the Thessalonians to make progress in the Christian life, and to practice those commandments which, when he was with them, he gave them by the authority of Jesus Christ. God had called them to holiness and to the renunciation of their heathen practices. They must especially be on their guard against impurity, to which as Gentiles they were formerly so prone. He who rejected his injunctions rejected, not man, but God, whose commands they were. As they were already taught of God in the active practice of Christian love, so they must abound therein. They must not allow themselves to be led away by excitement, as if the day of Christ were at hand, but with quietness and honesty perform the duties of their earthly calling, and so commend the gospel to...

BUT I WOULD NOT HAVE YOU TO BE IGNORANT, BRETHREN,.... As they seem to have been, about the state of the pious dead, the rule and measure of mourning for them, the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, the second coming of Christ, and the future happiness of the saints; wherefore the apostle judged it necessary to write to them upon these subjects: the Alexandrian copy and others, the Complutensian edition, the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read, "we would not have you to be ignorant", c. CONCERNING THEM WHICH ARE ASLEEP that is, dead: it was in common use among the Eastern nations, when they spoke of their dead, to say they were asleep. This way of speaking is used frequently both in the Old and the New Testament; see 1 Kings 2:10 1 Corinthians 1

1 Thessalonians 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._ You cannot help sorrowing, for you miss your dear ones so much; but you do not sorrow like the heathen who believe their departed friends to be extinct and annihilated. You have a glorious hope concerning those who have fallen asleep in Christ, you believe that they are still live, and that, by-and-by, their bodies will rise again. 1 Thessalonians 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._ There is such a union between Christ and his people that they never can be divided from him. In life, they li

1 THESSALONIANS 4:13 koimwme,nwn The text is somewhat doubtful, external testimony being divided between koimwme,nwn, which is supported by Alexandrian witnesses (a A B 33 326), and kekoimhme,nwn, supported by Western and Byzantine witnesses (D F G K L Y 88 104 257 623 915 1245 1518 2005 Hippolytus Cyril-Jerusalem) and adopted by the Textus Receptus. The Committee preferred the former reading, because it is found in the older manuscripts, and because it is more likely to have been altered into kekoimhme,nwn than conversely, the latter being the usual expression (cf....

IV. THE SEPARATED WALK AND THE BLESSED HOPE CHAPTER 4 _ 1. The separated walk 1 Thessalonians 4:1)_ 2. The coming of the Lord for His saints 1 Thessalonians 4:13) 1 Thessalonians 4:1 “Furthermore, then, brethren, we beg you and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, even as ye received from us, how ye ought to walk and please God, even as ye also do walk, that ye would abound still more. For ye know what charges we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor (not in passionate desire, eve