We Believe. 1st Thessalonians 4:14 The message really means that, or since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, this is a guarantee that we who are in Christ will rise again even if we die before He comes back. Of particular interest in this verse is the fact that it does not say that Jesus “slept.” He took the entire burden of the “wages of sin,” which is death, upon Himself. The torments that come with death for sin, which would have been on us if we had died in our sins, were on Him when He died. He died so that we would not have to die, so those of us whose souls leave our bodies “sleep in Jesus.”
The dead will rise in response to the One who holds the keys to life and death. The resurrection of life will occur as the Lord Jesus said, and God's power will bring about this first resurrection. He who formed man from dust will reassemble that person in a glorified body that is incorruptible, undefiled, and will never fade away. That rapture, the catching up, will involve the bodies of the living saints as the entire family of God is caught up in fellowship and joyfully gathers unto our Lord and Savior.