We will always be with the Lord

Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.  For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.  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. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you 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. 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.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:1-18)

These are Paul's exhortations to Thessalonian church members, and are specific guidelines on how to act to please God.『For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 』 First, Paul referred to holiness for "the attitude of Christians' lives that please God." In particular, Paul said to keep away from fornication. In detail, he treated his wife with holiness and respect, and warned him that he should not be lusted like a stranger. People at the time of Paul were insensitive to sexual ethics. Not only was it sexually degraded, but it also often happened to derail not only for the sake of sexual satisfaction, but also for the wife of others. Socially, the wife was perceived as a tool for giving birth to children and caring for the family, divorce was practiced, and having an extramarital relationship was not a shame. As a whole, it was an era of acceptance and encouragement, rather than the prohibition of sexual desire. In such circumstances, Paul encourages Christians to please God with a holy life that does not participate in sexual indulgence.

Holiness cannot be achieved by man himself. No matter how hard you try, you will not become holy. This is because there is the sinful nature of greed in the human heart. So, Paul is referring to the old man as a master of greed in Romans. In Romans 6:6-7『Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.  For he that is dead is freed from sin. 』 So, God sanctifies the dead with Jesus Christ.

Second, Paul speaks of brotherly love as a way of life for Christians that please God.『 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.  And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; 』 Regarding brotherly love, Paul commended Thessalonica as saying that he no longer needed to speak to his classmates. Not only are they within the church, but they have been practicing love well for all the brothers in Macedonia, the churches in Macedonia. In John 13:34『A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 』

Third, Paul says that the lives of Christians who please God are faithful to today's work.『 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. 』 Paul exhorted Thessalonians to work quietly and to work with their own hands. At that time, Christians who gave up their daily work and laid down their lives were deceived by the false teaching that the Lord's Day, the end of the day, had begun. Christians who waited for the Lord appeared, even though they did not work, and God would help them somehow.In response, Paul exhorted them to "commit to what they were doing, not to be shaken by such false beliefs."Otherwise, it would not only be blamed by unbelievers, but it would almost certainly lead to financial hardship.

On the one hand, the misunderstanding of the Second Coming of Jesus caused Thessalonians to worry about Christians who had already died. They were concerned that they might not be able to participate in the glorious situation of the Lord's Second Coming. About that, Paul said『 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.  For this we say unto you 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. 』

Because, at the Lord's return, God will resurrect "Christians who died in believing in Jesus," and then living Christians will also receive the Lord and experience the grace of living with him forever.『 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. 』 So, he encouraged one another to comfort one another.

He said that the Lord's command would be heard. In John 11:43, 『And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 』It is the sound called from death to the life of the resurrection. Those who died in the Lord are resurrected, and those who survived are also participating in the resurrection. This is not the order of time, but that those who have already died physically have been resurrected in Christ, and those who have been alive are now resurrected. Resurrection is to those in Christ. Jesus is the first resurrection, and those in Christ are born again with water and the Holy Spirit. So, regeneration is not a matter of the heart, but a resurrection of the spirit body. So, the Apostle Paul encourages the Saints in persecution and tribulation at the time, "Because they are already resurrected with the body of the spirit, they should always live with joy with their own identity."

『 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: 』 The archangel means Michael. Michael is the archangel fighting Satan and is expressed in Revelation 12:7. 『And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 』

Those in this world are servants of Satan. However, those who entered into Jesus Christ were freed from Satan. To enter into Christ, we must be born again with water and the Holy Spirit. Water means the body dies. It means that the body of the body that is controlled by Satan is judged by the death of Jesus on the cross. It is Michael who leads the judgment. And the saints are reborn as spirit bodies by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul expressed the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit through the commandment and trumpet of the Lord. These expressions are shown to one of the regenerated Saints, but when Jesus returns to the air, he will show them all.

He said that when the Lord descends, the dead will rise first. When the Sadducees talked to Jesus, they asked Jesus what would happen after the resurrection. Jesus said that after the resurrection, they are not married and married, but like angels in heaven.

In Matthew 22:30-32『 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.  But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 』 He is referring to the resurrection of the living, not the resurrection of the dead. You will experience resurrection when your body is alive. Since the resurrected body is the body of the spirit, it cannot be seen with the eyes of the flesh. Also, even though he was resurrected as a spirit body, there is a realistic body, so one day the body dies. However, it is not to die, but to take off the flesh and return to the resurrection.

『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. 』 Those who are resurrected in the spirit body receive the Lord. So, you sit at the right hand of God in Christ. Even when Jesus returns, those who are born again will be the same.

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52『 Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 』 It is a story about the spirit body. Change means that the body of the body does not suddenly turn into the body of the spirit, but the body of the body dies and is born into the body of the spirit. With Jesus Christ, the body of fresh dies and is reborn as the body of spirit through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In 1 Corinthians 15:50『 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 』 The Bible said that the flesh received from parents cannot inherit the kingdom of God. However, in Chapter 15:53, 『For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Corruptible is the flesh received from the parents.

Incorruptible is the body of the Spirit from God. Between the corruptible and the Incorruptible, there is the cross of Jesus. In order for the corruptible to wear the Incorruptible, it must be passed through the cross where Jesus died. The apostle Paul described this corruptible body as an old man. The old man must die with Jesus, but he wears an incorruptible spirit body. And those who survive the Second Coming of Jesus and wear the body of the spirit will suddenly lose the flesh received from their parents. Jesus died and was resurrected in three days. The body of the dead Jesus disappears, and we can understand through the appearance of the body of the risen Jesus. The body of the dead Jesus is different from the body of the risen Jesus.

What happened between the dead body and the resurrected body? It is reminiscent of Jesus making wine with water. The story of water becoming wine must be believed that the water disappeared and the wine appeared. Water did not become wine due to chemical changes, but water disappeared (died) and wine appeared (born). Water represents the law, and wine is the word of the new covenant. Jesus died by the law. And he was resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit. The law is the word of God, but it is not the life-giving word. Only life is received by the power of the Holy Spirit. So those who are in Christ, the law disappears, and only the Holy Spirit works.

The born-again saint is a body (the dead Jesus) who died in Christ by the law, although the flesh received from his parents is alive. The body of the spirit is the body (resurrected Jesus) reborn by the grace of God. So, the dead Jesus disappears, just as the risen Jesus appeared, so is the saint's body. Suddenly, the body disappears, and the regenerated spirit body appears.