4:13 asleep. Death for a Christian is considered as merely being asleep (note John 11:11-14). The sleep, however, applies only to the body, for the soul and spirit are with the Lord (II Corinthians 5:8).

4:13 no hope. The Christian’s unique “hope,” one that cannot be shared by non-Christians, is the return of Christ for His own, as He had promised. That will be the great resurrection day when living believers will be reunited with all their loved ones who have died. This great event, in fact, is called the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13. See also I John 3:2-3; I Peter 1:13). They had this promise “by the word of the Lord” (I Thessalonians 4:15) Himself (John 14:2-3).