Friday, May 2, 2014
1 Corinthians 15:24-28 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For "He has put all things under His feet." But when He says "all things are put under Him," it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
THE LAST ENEMY TO BE DESTROYED IS DEATH
When Christ Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He had conquered sin and death. While people still die, for believers death is now the doorway to eternal life. When Christ returns, His return will mark the end of death once and for all for it will be on that Day that Christ will raise all of His people bodily from the dead and gather them into life everlasting.
Until that Day comes Christ has been, and is, busy gathering His people into His kingdom to the glory of God. On the Last Day the Son will deliver that kingdom to the Father, and on that day, "every knee [will] bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10f). Whether they want to or not, all the enemies of Christ, including Satan and his followers, will be forced to acknowledge Christ as Ruler over all things with, again, death being the last enemy who shall be rendered absolutely powerless.
There is, of course, one exception to all things being put under Christ. "... when He says 'all things are put under Him,' it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all."
As we know, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are equal in all ways. We know from Scripture that "... all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father" (John 5:23). So how can the Apostle say that the Son will be subject to the Father? As true God the Son is equal to the Father and reigns with Him as the one God. But as the God-Man, who took on human flesh and blood and became one of us, He can place Himself under His Father, "That God may be all in all."
That is the order of our salvation, from start to finish. When man fell for Satan's temptation, the devil thought man was finished. God had other plans. When Christ died on the cross, His enemies thought that He was finished -- but death was only temporary for Christ. He rose from the dead. When the believer in Christ dies, it may seem that he is finished; but God has other plans for us.
Our end? We don't have one. Death is only a temporary end, for, "now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep." Because He lives, we shall live also!
Then sing your hosannas and raise your glad voice;
Proclaim the blest tidings that all may rejoice.
Laud, honor, and praise to the Lamb that was slain;
In glory he reigns, yes, and ever shall reign.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 198:5)
