1 Thessalonians 4:15

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep.

By the word of the Lord ... "The most natural explanation of this is that Paul is quoting a saying of Jesus,"[28] and it is not revealed whether it was conveyed to the apostle personally by the Lord, or if Paul had received it through some other apostle, the preferable view being that Paul received from Jesus personally all that Jesus had previously delivered to the Twelve; and that here is a statement Paul included in his writings, but which was not included in any of the writings of the other apostles which have come down to us. There were countless sayings of Jesus that were not preserved for posterity (John 21:25). In any event, the statement Paul here gave is absolutely authentic.

That we that are alive ... Paul used the editorial "we," not meaning at all that he personally intended to survive to the Second Advent; but, as in Lightfoot's paraphrase, "When I say `we,' I mean those who are living, those who survive to that day."[29] Nothing could be more flimsy than the postulations of scholars built upon Paul's famous "we." It was his constant habit to identify himself with the readers, even those involved in sin (Hebrews 2:3; 6:3). Here Paul identified himself with those who would survive to the Second Advent, but on other occasions he identified himself with those who would rise from the dead (1Cor. 6:14,2 Corinthians 4:14). Deductions based on Paul's "we" are most undependable. See "Speedy Return of Christ" under 1 Thessalonians 1:10.

As noted above, it is clear that the resurrection of unbelievers is not under consideration in this passage. As Hendriksen put it:

Anyone can see that the apostle is not drawing a contrast between believers and unbelievers, as if, for example, believers would rise first, and unbelievers a thousand years later![30]

Shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep ... This flatly answered the question that was troubling the Thessalonians. There is no disadvantage to those who die before the coming of the Lord; as a matter of fact, having already undergone the necessary change that must come to all, they are a step nearer the resurrection and shall therefore "rise first" as Paul would say a moment later. Here it is presented negatively. The living shall not precede the dead saints in receiving the glory the Lord has prepared for them.

[28] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 86.

[29] Ibid., p. 87.

[30] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 115.