Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. 1 Thessalonians 5:10
A quick question, who died for us? That’s an easy question to answer, because it is revealed in the previous verse, our Lord Jesus Christ. OK, then, here’s a second quick question: why did He die for us? That’s a little trickier, and sometimes we get this one wrong. We sometimes say He died for us so that we don’t have to go to hell for our sins. Or, we might say that He died for us that we might be able to go to Heaven when we die. Now, it is true that His death means that we don’t have to go to hell and that we are guaranteed of Heaven. But according to our text, that’s not why He died. Our text declares that our Lord Jesus Christ died for us so that we should live together with Him. And that is so much more than a fire escape from hell and a ladder to Heaven.
Sin was the wedge that initially came between God and men. Holy and perfectly righteous, God cannot condone nor abide the presence of sin. So, sinful man is barred from His presence and condemned to death. The death of Christ changes all of that. Although you and I are still sinners, our sins are washed away by His blood. Our standing before God is perfect, and therefore we are entitled to be in His presence. His Holy Spirit indwells us, not because we don’t sin, but because all of those sins are covered by the blood. And Heaven awaits us because the sins that would once have barred us from God’s presence are gone.
Although Heaven is our eternal destination, that is not exactly what is before us in this text. Earlier in our chapter, Paul exhorts the Thessalonian Christians not to sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober (verse 6). He is referring to the sleep of idleness and carelessness in the things of God. We are to be awake and alert and working for our Lord. Or, in the words of our text, we should live together with Him. That is why He died! In the Garden of Eden, Adam enjoyed fellowship with God. That was God’s desire. And that desire has not changed when it comes to us. As His children, we have the right of access to His presence and all that that means, both on this earth and throughout eternity. Living together with Him is possible now and promised forever. But like Adam, we fell into the sleep of disobedience and unprofitability. Although this should not characterize believers, it sometimes does. Shame on us. But as far as God is concerned, even when our condition is not what it should be, our position remains perfect; we are living together with him.
Living together with Christ will be more fulfilling if we do so as waking saints and not sleeping saints. – Jim MacIntosh