What You Need to Know about Believers Who Have Died

Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.1 Thessalonians 4:14The first thing you need to know about believers who have died is that they are with the Lord. To be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8).The second thing you need to know is that Jesus will bring the souls of believers who have died with Him when He returns: “Through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thes. 4:14). Those who have fallen asleep (or died), are with Him now, consciously enjoying the glory of life in His presence.Then Paul says, “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command… And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thes. 4:16). The souls of those who are with Jesus will be clothed with resurrection bodies when He returns.It’s like a two-stage journey. At death, Christ brings believers into His presence in heaven. But that is not the end of the story. When He returns, they will be clothed with resurrection bodies, adapted for everlasting life in the new heaven and earth.Nancy Guthrie says, “When we’re going on a trip to Paris, we have a stopover at the Atlanta airport. We don’t spend our time talking about all the things we’re going to do in Atlanta. Our hearts and minds are filled with all that awaits us in our ultimate destination.”Believers who have died are on a stopover. They’re with Christ, and that’s better than any stopover you can imagine. But like us, believers who have died are waiting for the day when Christ will return in glory, because then, they will enter into the full joy of all God has promised.What comfort do you find in knowing that believers who have died are with Christ? How could you use this knowledge to comfort others?