◄ What Does 1 Thessalonians 5:10 Mean? ►

There is no solitary place to which we can go, nor a single state in which we find ourselves, that is able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. He died that we could be united to Him by faith, and live together with Him, forever. This extraordinary knowledge is beyond our understanding. This truth is so majestic that we are unable to fathom it, in our limited comprehension.

Clearly, the wages of sin is death, and assuredly, we are all sinners deserving of God's terrible punishment. But when we trusted Christ as Saviour, His sacrificial death redeemed us from the many consequences of sin, death, hell, and eternal separation from the Father. What assurance to know that Christ died for us, "so that whether we wake or sleep, we will live together with Him." What a joy to know that whether we are alive at the Rapture or our bodies are resting in the grave we can proclaim, in ecstatic unison, "Oh death, where is your sting! - Oh grave, where is your victory!" 

Familiarity with this biblical passage must never diminish the lofty splendour of this magnificent truth - that, whether we are awake or in the grave, we will live together with Jesus, eternally. This is one of a myriad of verses that proclaims the veracity of the eternal security of the child of God. This is the unshakable hope we have in Christ, that began the moment we believed; and is an everlasting assurance that continues forever throughout the eternity of eternities.

Before our salvation, we were under God's wrath and eternal punishment, but having been saved through faith in Christ, we are no longer destined for God's wrath, because Christ took the punishment we deserved. We have been given salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ and we have been promised that we will live together with Him, in resurrected bodies, through the Millennial age and throughout the eternal state.

We have a God-given promise that no matter what happens during our waking consciousness or our sleeping moments we are kept safe in His hands, through time, and will live together with Him - in the eternal ages to come - for we are in Christ and Christ is in God - and He has promised that nothing and no-one can pluck us from His hands.

Death, for the believer, is often referred to as "sleep". Our physical death is that time in our life when our born-again spirit returns to God and when our eternal soul is separated from our physical body. The Bible tells us that the soul that sins shall die, but thanks be to God for we have been redeemed by the precious blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and have been united with Him forever.

At salvation, we were positioned in Christ... and because we are in Him and are now part of His Body, death has lost its cruel sting and no longer can hold us in an icy grip around our throat. Because He lives we too shall live, and whether we live or die - whether we are awake or sleep, we have an assurance that Christ's death and resurrection has secured for us eternal life - spirit, soul, and body. 

Jesus died for us to pay the price for sin - BUT, He also rose again, so that whether we wake or sleep - whether we continue to live in this mortal realm or cast off this physical 'tent' when we die, we know that we will live together with Christ until the consummation of this Church age when we will be raised in an eternal and incorruptible body - for the rest of time (the Millennial kingdom) and for the eternal ages to come.

Death holds no fear for the one who is IN Christ. When we breathe our final breath in this life, we simply transfer into the next - with Jesus, in heavenly places. What a glorious time awaits us, when our spirit and soul go to join the Lord in the heavenly realm, for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord - "Who died for us, so that whether we are awake, (still living on earth) or asleep, (physically dead and buried in the ground) we will live together with Him,"- for we have an eternal hope in Christ and an inheritance - that is saved for us in heaven.

NEVER forget that God has promised ALL His children that whether we are awake and facing the challenges of life, or experience the inevitable death of our physical bodies, our future with Him is secure. God has purposed that whether we live or die, our destiny is already written in the Lamb's Book of Life. We have an unbreakable guarantee, that the finished work of Calvary paid the price of our salvation in FULL - and God is satisfied in HIM.

Heavenly Father, thank You that my life is hid with Christ, and that His finished work is accepted by You on my behalf. Thank You for the assurance that throughout the challenges I face in the daily and nightly round of life, You are with me and dwelling in me. Thank You that even if I am required to face physical death, Your promise remains firm, that I will one day live together with Christ in an indestructible body. Praise Your glorious name! AMEN.