5:10a

He died for us: In the Greek text this phrase is closely connected to 5:9b. It explains more clearly the phrase “through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

for us: Paul said that Jesus died in order to benefit believers in some way. In this case, 5:10b–c gives the benefit: “so that…we may live together with Him.”

5:10b

so that: This translates a conjunction that indicates one of the purposes for which Jesus died (5:10a), that is, that all believers will be able to live with Jesus forever.

whether we are awake: In this context, being are awake refers not to “being alert” (5:6b) but to being alive at the time when Jesus comes again.

or asleep: Paul was once more using sleep as a euphemism for “death,” as he did in 4:13a, 4:14b, and 4:15c.

5:10c

we may live together with Him: Commentators do not agree about which word together should be connected with. There are two possible interpretations:

(1) It is connected with the phrase with Him and means that believers will live in heaven together with Christ. This seems to be what all English versions follow.

(2) It is connected with the verb live and means “together with each other.” That is, the two groups of believers, those who are still alive when Jesus returns and those who have already died but whom God will resurrect, will together go and be with Jesus.

The first option is the most natural way to understand the Greek grammatical construction here. So it is recommended that you follow it (1).

Paul does not say where the believers will live with Jesus. The important point is that wherever Jesus is, on earth or in heaven, the believers will be with him.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.