Christ” (v. 16; see 1 Cor. 15:18), so that Paul is emphasizing the relationship these deceased believers have with Jesus even in death (NIV: “those who have fallen asleep in him”; REB: “those who died as Christians”; NKJV: “sleep in Jesus”). Yet the preposition dia with the genitive normally expresses agency so that its claimed use here to express the idea of a relationship with Jesus would be highly unusual. Furthermore, if this truly were Paul’s intention, he could have easily expressed this with