What will God do with those who have died in Christ?

God will bring them with Him when He comes. Those who have died in Christ are described as asleep, and Scripture says if we believe Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Christ. They will not be preceded by living believers.

Les explains that Paul did not want believers to be ignorant about those who are asleep, meaning those who have died in Christ. He says we should not sorrow as others who have no hope. In 1 Thessalonians 4:14, Paul writes that if we believe Jesus died and rose again, even so them also who sleep, or who have died in Christ, God will bring them with Him. Les points out this is another instance where the name Jesus and God are used interchangeably: the God coming with the saints is Jesus, and Jesus is the God coming with the saints. In 1 Thessalonians 4:15, Paul says we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord—that is for the body of Christ—will not precede or go ahead of them who are asleep.

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.

What will God do with those who have died in Christ if we believe Jesus died and rose again?

Scripture teaches that if we believe Jesus died and rose again, God will bring with Him those who have died in Christ. They are described as asleep in Christ, yet they are not excluded. At the Lord’s coming, God brings the saints with Him, and the living will not precede or go ahead of them.