He Must Reign. Amen and Amen
I Corinthians 15:20-18

Easter, April 20, 2003
by C. W. Powell

²⁰ But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. ²¹ For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³ But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. ²⁴ Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. ²⁸ And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

That there will be a resurrection from the dead is demonstrated by the resurrection of Christ, of which Paul recounts the evidence in the first part of this chapter. The Apostles were not false witnesses of Christ and the message that overthrew paganism and dramatically transformed the world is not based upon false witness. The effect of the message depends upon the truth of the message, for we are not following cleverly formulated myths and dreams. Sin is not subdued by myths and dreams, but by the power of the message of Christ. He is our life and our joy. We live and rejoice in Him, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Man, in his arrogance and drive to be as God, thinks that he can change reality by his own creativity. He thinks that he can change stones into bread by the power of his faith and energy. When Christ rejected this temptation by quoting Moses: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God." It is true that God can make stones into bread, water into wine, and worlds out of nothing; but Jesus would remind us that man’s will and word does not control the universe. It is the will and word of God that controls all things, even the very life of man.

We do not control the world by our will to life, but rather the world is ruled by Jesus Christ, who arose from the dead-it is His resurrection that brings to pass all things for His glory. This is the them of the passage that is before us this Easter Sunday, April 20, 2003. But let us look at the words.

Vs. 20. Christ is risen from the dead. He is the first fruits. Two ideas are here: In Israel the first fruit of the field was offered to God in order to recognize that all things come from God and that more was to come from His kind and benevolent hand. Also, the offering of the first fruits dedicated all that followed to God and purified the fruit of the field that had been cursed by sin. So, the resurrection of Christ sanctifies and justifies all those who are in Christ and guarantees that all those in Him will be raised from the dead.

Vs. 21-22. Here is federal theology, more fully explained in Romans 5. Adam represented all mankind, and all came under the curse of sin and death because of Adam’s sin. "All die" doesn’t mean all without exception, because Enoch and Elijah did not die; neither will those die who are on the earth at the second coming of Christ. What "all die" does mean is that all came under the curse because of Adam’s sin, and are dead in trespasses and in sins, until they are born again by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. But Christ was not under this curse, although he is a true son of Adam.

Just as Adam represented his seed and brought the curse upon them because of his disobedience, so Christ represents his seed-all those given to Him by the Father, and gives life and forgiveness to them. "All" here means all that are in Jesus Christ. That "all" is limited to His people is proved by the words of Christ in John 6, in which some come forth to a resurrection of life, the rest to a resurrection of damnation. This verse presents the principle of federal headship, without which the whole bible becomes incomprehensible.

Vs. 23. God is a God of order. The order of the resurrection is according to His own will and purpose. Why did not all the righteous dead arise at His resurrection? Why must we lie in the grave until the resurrection of the last day? Why don’t we get the all the fruit of His resurrection now? Because God has many things to teach us, that can only be learned with patience and suffering. Sis is to be subdued in us; the purposes of grace are to be worked out in the history of the world; principalities, and powers, and authorities, must be subdued to Christ in His own time and His own way. Everything has its own order. "Those who are Christ’s at His coming" explains the meaning of the "all" in verse 22. All that are Christ’s will be raised from the dead, in the resurrection of life. Those who are not Christ’s will abide in the congregation of the dead, and will be raised to the resurrection of damnation, according to Christ Himself.

Vs. 24-26. There are several things in this verse:

The time of Christ’s reign as Mediator is now. His reign does not involve peace without conflict, but it involves conflict and conquest. Failure to understand that has lead to a denial of Christ’s present kingdom, both in pre-millennialism and in dispensationalism. "Prophet, Priest, and coming King" is what they say. He isn’t king yet, but will be king when He comes again. This passage refutes that.

We are involved in this reign and this dominion. [see Psalm 149, which expresses Christ’s kingdom in Old Testament imagery.] This is the second mistake you can make; to think that Christ’s kingdom is an earthly kingdom, and that it advances by war and conquest.

His kingdom is not of the earth-either in power, authority, or means. Our weapons are not carnal, but are mighty through God. See II Cor. 10:3-6:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

The resurrection is not the beginning of Christ’s reign as Mediator, but the end. He returns and the dead are resurrection at the end of His reign as Mediator. During His reign between His first and second coming, He puts down all rule and authority-not that He eliminates them, but subdues them to Himself. The authorities on the earth, religious, family, state, etc., are brought into subjection to Him, as the hearts of men are change and subdued to the Gospel. It may seem that things are in an unending state of flux and rebellion during the short time we are on the earth, but everything is moving toward one certain and final purpose: the subjection of everything to Jesus Chirst as the Last Adam. This is fully set out in Ephesians 1:18-23:

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.

And Philippians 2:7-11:

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The last enemy to be subdued is death itself, when the dead are raised. The second death has no power on those who are in Jesus Christ. We are all subject to the first death, because of Adam’s sin and the power of Adam’s sin is not fully broken in us. But those who are in Christ have nothing to fear from the second death. The second death is described in Revelation 21:6-8:

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

VS. 27-28. All things are put under the feet of Christ. It is interesting that this is a quotation of Psalm 8:

⁴ What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? ⁵ For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. ⁶ Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field....

Again, we need to understand federal headship. The first Adam lost this dominion because of sin, and the work of his hands was cursed. Thorns and thistles grew up; his children rebelled against him; all things became out of joint; the animals were wild and bloody; men were worse than the animals and killed each other, stealing, and assaulting, and defrauding one another. Sin and misery that covered the earth is certainly not the picture of Psalm 8.

But Hebrews 2:5-9, tells the rest other story. What man lost in the First Adam, he gains in the Last Adam:

For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

Psalm 8 is speaking of the world to come-of the glory of the new heavens and the new earth in which righteousness dwells. I would not miss it for the world. Don’t you miss it either.

"That God will be all in all": Even the authority of the Mediator is delivered by to God the Father. Jesus Christ gives an account of the work of redemption and grace. This does not speak of Christ as to His essence as God, for He always is One with the Father; but it speaks of His work as the Last Adam. All things begin in God, and all things end in God.