Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For, “He put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when he says, “All things are put in subjection”, it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all things to him. When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all.
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1 Corinthians 15:24-28 sits inside this longer paragraph.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s, at his coming. Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For, “He put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when he says, “All things are put in subjection”, it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all things to him. When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all.
Parallel Translations
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Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
For, “He put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when he says, “All things are put in subjection”, it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all things to him.
When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all.
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Then cometh the ende when he hath delivered vp the kyngdome to God the father when he hath put doune all rule auctorite and power.
For he must raygne tyll he have put all his enemyes vnder his fete.
The last enemye that shalbe destroyed is deeth.
For he hath put all thinges vnder his fete. But when he sayth all thinges are put vnder him it is manyfest that he is excepted which dyd put all thinges vnder him.
When all thinges are subdued vnto him: then shall the sonne also him selfe be subiecte vnto him that put all thinges vnder him that God maye be all in all thinges.
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Then shalbe the end, when he hath deliuered vp the kingdome to God, euen the Father, when he hath put downe all rule, and all authoritie and power.
For he must reigne till hee hath put all his enemies vnder his feete.
The last enemie that shalbe destroyed, is death.
For he hath put downe all things vnder his feete. (And when he saith that all things are subdued to him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put downe all things vnder him.)
And when all things shalbe subdued vnto him, then shall the Sonne also himselfe be subiect vnto him, that did subdue all things vnder him, that God may be all in all.
Cross-references (64)
- 2 Timothy 1:10 (v26) but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light…
- Psalms 8:6 (v27) You make him ruler over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet:
- 1 Corinthians 15:55 (v26) “Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?”
- Revelation 21:4 (v26) He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The…
- Revelation 20:14 (v26) Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
Show all 58 cross-references
- Daniel 7:27 (v24) The kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole sky, will be given to the people of the saints of the Most…
- Hebrews 2:8 (v27) You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that he subjected all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to…
- Matthew 28:18 (vv24, 27) Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
- Isaiah 25:8 (v26) He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord Yahweh will wipe away tears from off all faces. He will take the reproach of his people away…
- Daniel 7:14 (v24) Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an…
- Psalms 110:1 (v25) Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
- Hebrews 2:14 (v26) Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might…
- Colossians 3:11 (v28) where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, or free person; but Christ is all,…
- 1 Corinthians 3:23 (v28) and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
- Hebrews 10:12-13 (v25) but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God, from that time waiting until his enemies are…
- Matthew 11:27 (vv24, 27) All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the…
- Hosea 13:14 (v26) I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them from death! Death, where are your plagues? Sheol, where is your destruction?…
- Luke 20:36 (v26) For they can’t die any more, for they are like the angels, and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.
- Ephesians 1:23 (v28) which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
- John 13:3 (vv24, 27) Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and was going to God,
- Isaiah 9:7 (v24) Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold…
- Matthew 22:44 (v25) ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?’
- Philippians 3:21 (v28) who will change the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working by which he is able even to…
- Ephesians 1:22 (vv25, 27) He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly,
- Hebrews 1:13 (vv25, 27) But which of the angels has he told at any time, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?”
- Psalms 2:6-10 (v25) “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.” I will tell of the decree: Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your…
- Daniel 2:44 (v24) “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to…
- 1 Timothy 6:15 (v24) which in its own times he will show, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
- John 3:35 (vv24, 27) The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.
- Matthew 24:13 (v24) But he who endures to the end will be saved.
- John 14:28 (v28) You heard how I told you, ‘I go away, and I come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said ‘I am going to my…
- 1 Corinthians 11:3 (v28) But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
- Luke 10:22 (v24) Turning to the disciples, he said, “All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is, except the Father, and…
- 1 Corinthians 12:6 (v28) There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all.
- Revelation 19:11-21 (v28) I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes…
- Psalms 45:3-6 (v25) Strap your sword on your thigh, mighty one: your splendor and your majesty. In your majesty ride on victoriously on behalf of truth,…
- Matthew 13:41-43 (v28) The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do…
- Mark 12:36 (v25) For David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of…
- Acts 2:34 (v25) For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand
- Psalms 2:8-9 (v28) Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You shall break them…
- Psalms 18:39 (v28) For you have armed me with strength to the battle. You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
- Psalms 18:47 (v28) even the God who executes vengeance for me, and subdues peoples under me.
- Psalms 21:8-9 (v28) Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you. You will make them as a fiery furnace in the…
- Daniel 2:40-45 (v28) The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, it…
- Matthew 10:22 (v24) You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved.
- Luke 20:42-43 (v25) David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your…
- Philippians 2:9-11 (v27) Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,…
- 1 Peter 3:22 (v27) who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him.
- Daniel 12:9 (v24) He said, “Go your way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.
- Daniel 12:13 (v24) “But go your way until the end; for you will rest, and will stand in your inheritance at the end of the days.”
- 1 Peter 4:7 (v24) But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.
- Revelation 1:18 (v27) and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
- Daniel 2:34-35 (v28) You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.…
- Daniel 12:4 (v24) But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many will run back and forth, and knowledge will be…
- Romans 8:38 (v24) For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
- Hebrews 10:12 (v27) but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God,
- Revelation 20:2-4 (v28) He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand…
- Revelation 20:10-15 (v28) The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be…
58 distinct cross-references across this passage (64 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (22 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 28 All his enemies which shall be spoiled of all…
All his enemies which shall be spoiled of all the power they have.
The shutting up and finishing of all things.
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The fourth argument, wherewith also he confirmeth the others, hath a most sure ground, to wit, because that God must reign. And this is the manner of his reign, that the Father will be showed to be King in his Son who was made man, to whom all things are made subject (the promiser only except) to the end that the Father may afterward triumph in his Son the conqueror. And he maketh two parts of this reign and dominion of the Son, wherein the Father’s glory consisteth: to wit, the overcoming of his enemies (whereof some must be deprived of all power, as Satan and all the wicked, be they never so proud and mighty, and others must be utterly abolished as death) and a plain and full delivery of the godly from all enemies, that by this means God may fully set forth the body of the Church, cleaving fast to their head Christ, his kingdom and glory as a king in his subjects. Moreover he putteth the first degree of this kingdom in the resurrection of the Son, who is the head: and the perfection, in the full conjunction of the members with the head, which shall be in the latter day. Now all these tend to this purpose, to show that unless the dead do rise again, neither the Father can be King above all, neither Christ be Lord of all: for neither should the power of Satan and death be overcome, nor the glory of God be full in his Son, nor his Son in his members.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv24–28 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have…
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.
Ver. 24. Delivered up the kingdom] Not his essential kingdom, as God, by his economical, as Mediator.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv24–28 Then cometh the end; the end of all the…
Then cometh the end; the end of all the miseries and afflictions which believers meet with in this life, or the end of all our preaching and ministry, the end of the world, or the end of man; or rather, (as the next words seem to interpret it), the end of that mediatory kingdom of Christ, which he now administereth instead of his Father, and shall manage to the end of the world.
When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father: Christ shall then deliver up those keys of life, and hell, and death to his Father, yet shall not Christ’s kingdom cease (for the prophet saith, Isa 9:7, that of it there shall be no end): Christ’s essential kingdom, which is his dominion, which he hath and exerciseth over all created beings, together with his Father, and the Holy Spirit, (all being but one Divine essence), that shall hold and abide for ever; but his mediatory kingdom, by which he ruleth over his church in the midst of his enemies, that shall cease, and be delivered up unto the Father. So that Christ’s delivering up the kingdom to his Father, proveth no inferiority of Christ to his Father, more than his Father’s committing that mediatory kingdom to him can prove his Father’s not reigning, or inferiority to him, which it certainly doth not. It signifieth only the ceasing of that dispensation, or Christ’s exercise of his mediatory kingdom on earth, in the rule and government of the church, and subduing his and his people’s enemies.
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When he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power; then shall all rule and authority of kings and princes of the earth cease, and all the ministration of good angels, and power of evil angels; so shall all ministrations and governments in the church militant here on earth, and all those that are the enemies of the church shall be subdued and brought under.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv26–27 Observe here, 1. What sin had subjected the human…
Observe here, 1. What sin had subjected the human nature to, and that is, death; sin brought mortality into our natures, and the wages of sin is death.
Observe, 2. That death is an enemy to humanity, an enemy to the whole race of mankind, both to body and soul, to the righteous and to the wicked; to the body, by turning that which is the glory of the creation in a moment into rottenness and putrefaction; to the soul, by occasioning its separation from the body, towards which it has so strong and affectionate an inclination and desire, as its old companion.
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Death is also an enemy to the righteous, as it blunts the edge of his desires after heaven, and abates that joy which he should have in the believing thoughts and apprehensions of heaven; and it is an enemy to the wicked, as it is a passage to everlasting misery, by their falling immediately into the hands of the living God, from whose mouth they receive a final sentence to depart accursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
Observe, 3. That this enemy is the last enemy; it is so to the children of God; when they have overcome death, they have overcome all their enemies at once, and especially their worst enemy, sin, which they could never overcome before fully.
Blessed be God, though death came into the world by sin, yet sin shall go out of the world by death.
Note, 4. This last enemy shall be destroyed, by losing its sting that it cannot annoy, by losing its terror that it cannot amaze, by losing its power that it cannot destroy; and by losing its very being, it shall be finally abolished and destroyed, by a resurrection from the dead.
Note, 5. The destroyer of death, this last enemy, is Christ, I will ransom them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death. Hos 13:14. Christ has conquered death meritoriously by his satisfaction, victoriously by his satisfaction, victoriously by his resurrection.
6. The scope and drift of the apostle’s argument in this assertion: and that is, to prove the necessity of his resurrection. The argument lies thus: Christ must reign till all his enemies are destroyed; but death is one of these enemies, the last of them which keeps the believer’s body from union with his soul, and from communion with Christ: therefore death must be destroyed; and there is no other way to destroy death but by a resurrection from the dead, which is the truth our apostle strongly proves throughout this chapter.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv24–28 For he must reign,.... That is, Christ must reign;…
For he must reign,.... That is, Christ must reign; he is set as King over God's holy hill of Zion; he is King of saints; he is made and declared to be both Lord and Christ; he is exalted at the right hand of God as a Prince, where he sits and rules and reigns; and his sitting at God's right hand is here explained by his reigning, for reference is had to Psa 110:1 he must reign because it is the unalterable will, and unchangeable decree and purpose of God, that he should reign; and because he has promised it, and prophesied of it; and because the state and condition of his people require it, who otherwise could not be saved, nor dwell safely: and so he must and will,
till he hath put all enemies under his feet; and made them his footstool; meaning either all the elect of God, who in a state of nature are enemies in their minds, by wicked works, to himself and to his Father; whom he conquers by his grace, subdues their rebellious wills, of enemies makes them friends, brings them to his feet, and to a subjection to his sceptre, to his Gospel and ordinances; and he must reign till he has brought every elect soul into such an obedience to himself: or rather antichrist and his followers, and all wicked and ungodly men, with Satan and his angels; who will be destroyed with the breath of his mouth, and the brightness of his coming; and will be cast down by him into hell, and there be ever objects of his wrath and vengeance: and till all this is done he must reign; not that he shall cease to reign afterwards, but that he shall reign notwithstanding these enemies of his and his people, who would not have him to reign over them; and will reign until they are subdued or destroyed; and when they are entirely vanquished and overcome, who can doubt of his reigning then? or what, or who will there be to hinder it? The Alexandrian copy, and others, read, "his enemies"; and so do the Syriac and Ethiopic versions.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv24–28 Then - After the resurrection and the general judgment.…
Then - After the resurrection and the general judgment. Cometh the end - Of the world; the grand period of all those wonderful scenes that have appeared for so many succeeding generations. When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to the Father, and he (the Father) shall have abolished all adverse rule, authority, and power - Not that the Father will then begin to reign without the Son, nor will the Son then cease to reign. For the divine reign both of the Father and Son is from everlasting to everlasting. But this is spoken of the Son's mediatorial kingdom, which will then be delivered up, and of the immediate kingdom or reign of the Father, which will then commence. Till then the Son transacts the business which the Father hath given him, for those who are his, and by them as well as by the angels, with the Father, and against their enemies. So far as the Father gave the kingdom to the Son, the Son shall deliver it up to the Father, John xiii, 3. Nor does the Father cease to reign, when he gives it to the Son; neither the Son, when he delivers it to the Father: but the glory which he had before the world began, John xvii, 5; Heb. i, 8, will remain even after this is delivered up. Nor will he cease to be a king even in his human nature, Luke i, 33. If the citizens of the new Jerusalem" shall reign for ever," Rev. xxii, 5, how much more shall he?
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv24–28 Verse 24. When he shall have delivered up the…
Verse 24. When he shall have delivered up the kingdom] The mediatorial kingdom, which comprehends all the displays of his grace in saving sinners, and all his spiritual influence in governing the Church.
All rule, and all authority and power.] Αρχην - εξουσιαν - και δυναμιν. As the apostle is here speaking of the end of the present system of the world, the rule, authority, and power, may refer to all earthly governments, emperors, kings, princes, c. though angels, principalities, and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, and all spiritual wickedness in high places, may be also intended. Our Lord Jesus is represented here as administering the concerns of the kingdom of grace in this lower world during the time that this Divine economy lasts; and when the end-the time determined by the wisdom of God, comes, then, as there is no longer any need of this administration, the kingdom is delivered up unto the Father: an allusion to the case of Roman viceroys or governors of provinces, who, when their administration was ended, delivered up their kingdom or government into the hands of the emperor.
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The apostle may refer, also, to an opinion of the ancient Jews, that there should be ten kings who should have the supreme government of the whole world: the first and last of which should be GOD himself; but the ninth should be the Messiah; after whose empire the kingdom should be delivered up into the hands of God for ever. See the place in Schoettgen on this verse, and on Lu 1:33.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 28 1Co 15:24. Then — After the resurrection and the…
1Co 15:24. Then — After the resurrection and the general judgment; cometh the end — Of the world, the grand period of all those wonderful scenes that have appeared for so many succeeding generations; when he shall — Publicly and solemnly; have delivered up — Greek, οταν παραδω, when he shall deliver up; the mediatorial kingdom to God, even the Father — By whose commission he had held it, and to whose glory he had always administered it; when he shall have put down — Οταν καταργηση, when he shall have destroyed all adverse rule, authority, and power — That had opposed itself to his government, and shall have triumphed over all the efforts which either men or devils could ever make against his dominion. This mediatorial kingdom which Christ will deliver up, is represented, Mat 28:18, to be his possessing all power in heaven and in earth; “that is, power over angels as well as over men. This kingdom our Lord received in the human nature, as the reward of his humiliation, and was solemnly installed in it after his resurrection, when he ascended into heaven, and was invited by God to sit at his right hand till he should make his enemies his footstool. Further, because it is said, Col 1:17, He is before all things, and by him all things consist; and because we are told, Heb 1:3, that the Son, while he spake the gospel, upheld all things by the word of his power; it is believed, that besides the mediatorial kingdom which the Son administered in the human nature, and which he will deliver up to the Father after the judgment, he possessed the government of the universe from the beginning, in his character as Creator: and that, after the mediatorial kingdom is delivered up, the kingdom which he holds as Creator, will remain with him as from the beginning. So that after the judgment, the righteous shall enter still into the everlasting kingdom of Jesus Christ, as they are represented to do, 2Pe 1:11.” — Macknight. Indeed, the divine reign, both of the Father and the Son, is from everlasting to everlasting. And only so far as the Father gave the kingdom to the Son, shall the Son deliver it up to the Father, Joh 13:3. Nor does the Father cease to reign when he gives it to the Son, neither the Son when he delivers it to the Father; but the glory which he had before the world began, (Joh 17:5; Heb 1:8,) will remain even after that is delivered up. Nor will he cease to be a king even in his human nature, Luk 1:33. If the citizens of the New Jerusalem shall reign for ever, (Rev 22:5,) how much more shall he!
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv24–28 Then cometh the end - Then is the end;…
Then cometh the end - Then is the end; or then “is” the consummation. It does not mean that the end, or consummation is to “follow” that event; but that this “will” be the ending, the winding up, the consummation of the affairs under the mediatorial reign of Christ. The word “end” (τέλος telos) denotes properly a limit, termination, completion of anything. The proper and obvious meaning of the word here is, that then shall be the end or completion of the work of redemption. That shall have been done which was intended to be done by the incarnation and the work of the atonement; the race shall be redeemed; the friends of God shall be completely recovered; and the administration of the affairs of the universe shall be conducted as they were before the incarnation of the Redeemer. Some understand the word “end” here, however, as a metaphor, meaning “the “last,” or the rest of the dead;” but this is a forced and improbable interpretation. The word end here may refer to the end of human affairs, or the end of the kingdoms of this world, or it may refer to the ends of the mediatorial kingdom of the Redeemer; the consummation of his special reign and work resulting in the surrender of the kingdom to the Father. The connection demands the last interpretation, though this involves also the former.
When he shall have delivered up - (παραδῷ paradō). This word means properly to give “near, with,” or “to” anyone; to give over, to deliver up - Robinson. It is applied to the act of delivering up “persons” to the power or authority of others, as e. g. to magistrates for trial, and condemnation, Mat 5:25; Mar 15:1; Luk 20:20; to lictors, or soldiers, for punishment Mat 18:24; or to one’s enemies, Mat 26:15. It is applied also to persons or things delivered over or surrendered to do or suffer anything, Act 15:26; 1Co 13:3; Eph 4:19. It is also applied to persons or things delivered over to the care, charge, or supervision of anyone, in the sense of giving up, entrusting, committing, Mat 11:27; Mat 25:14; Luk 4:6, Luk 4:10, Luk 4:22. Here the obvious sense is that of surrendering, giving back, delivering up, rendering up that which had been received, implying that an important trust had been received, which was now to be rendered back. And according to this interpretation, it means:
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That the Lord Jesus had received or been entrusted with an important power or office as mediator; compare the note on Mat 18:18.
(2)That he had executed the purpose implied in that trust or commission; and,
That he was now rendering back to God that office or authority which he had received at his hands.
As the work had been accomplished which had been contemplated in his design; as there would be no further necessity for mediation when redemption should have been made, and his church recovered from sin and brought to glory; there would be no further need of that special arrangement which had been implied in the work of redemption, and, of course, all the entrustment of power involved in that would be again restored to the hands of God. The idea, says Grotius, is, that he would deliver up the kingdom as the governors of provinces render again or deliver up their commission and authority to the Caesars who appointed them. There is no absurdity in this view. For “if” the world was to be redeemed, it was necessary that the Redeemer should be entrusted with power sufficient for his work. When that work was done, and there was no further need of that special exercise of power, then it would be proper that it should be restored, or that the government of God should be administered as it was before the work of redemption was undertaken; that the Divinity, or the Godhead, as such, should preside over the destinies of the universe. Of course, it will not follow that the Second Person of the Trinity will surrender “all” power, or “cease” to exercise government. It will be that power only which he had as Mediator; and whatever part in the administration of the government of the universe he shared as divine before the incarnation, he will still share, with the additional “glory” and “honor” of having redeemed a world by his death.
The kingdom - This word means properly dominion, reign, the exercise of kingly power. In the New Testament it means commonly the reign of the Messiah, or the dominion which God would exercise through the Messiah; the reign of God over people by the laws and institutions of the Messiah; see the note on Mat 3:2. Here it means, I think, evidently, dominion in general. It cannot denote the peculiar administration over the world involved in the work of mediation, for that will be ended; but it means that the empire, the sovereignty, shall have been delivered up to God. His enemies shall have been subdued. His power shall have been asserted. The authority of God shall have been established, and the kingdom, or the dominion, shall be in the hands of God himself; and he shall reign, not in the special form which existed in the work of mediation, but absolutely, and as he did over obedient minds before the incarnation.
To God - To God “as” God; to the Divinity. The Mediator shall have given up the special power and rule as Mediator, and it shall be exercised by God as God.
Even the Father - And (καὶ kai) the Father. The word “Father,” as applied to God in the Scriptures, is used in two senses - to designate “the” Father, the first person of the Trinity as distinguished from the Son; and in a broader, wider sense, to denote God as sustaining the relation of a Father to his creatures; as the Father of all. Instances of this use are too numerous to be here particularly referred to. It is in this latter sense, perhaps, that the word is used here - not to denote that the second person of the Trinity is to surrender all power into the hands of the first, or that he is to cease to exercise dominion and control; but that the power is to be yielded into the hands of God as God, that is, as the universal Father, as the Divinity, without being exercised in any special and special manner by the different persons of the Godhead, as had been done in the work of redemption. At the close of the work of redemption this “peculiar” arrangement would cease; and God, as the universal Father and Ruler of all, would exercise the government of the world; see, however, see the note on 1Co 15:28.
When he shall have put down - When he shall have “abolished,” or brought to nothing, all that opposed the reign of God.
All rule ... - All those mighty powers that opposed God and resisted his reign. The words used here do not seem intended to denote the several departments or forms of opposition, but to be general terms, meaning that whatever opposed God should be subdued. They include, of course, the kingdoms of this world; the sins, pride, and corruption of the human heart; the powers of darkness - the spiritual dominions that oppose God on earth, and in hell; and death and the grave. All shalt be completely subdued, and cease to interpose any obstacles to the advancement of his kingdom and to his universal reign. A monarch reigns when all his enemies are subdued or destroyed; or when they are prevented from opposing his will, even though all should not voluntarily submit to his will. The following remarks of Prof. Bush present a plausible and ingenious view of this difficult passage, and they are, therefore, subjoined here. “If the opinion of the eminent critic, Storr, may be admitted, that the kingdom here said to be delivered up to the Father is not the kingdom of Christ, but the rule and dominion of all adverse power - an opinion rendered very probable by the following words: “when he shall have “put down” (Greek: “done away, abolished”) all rule, and all authority and power,” and 1Co 15:25, “till he hath put all “enemies” under his feet” - then is the passage of identical import with Rev 11:15, referring to precisely the same period: “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of the world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever. It is, therefore, we conceive, but a special mode of denoting the “transfer,” the “making over” of the kingdoms of this world from their former despotic and antichristian rulers to the sovereignty of Jesus Christ, the appointed heir and head of all things, whose kingdom is to be everlasting.
If this interpretation be correct, we are prepared to advance a step further, and suggest that the phrase, “he shall have delivered up” (Greek, παραδῷ paradō), be understood as an instance of the idiom in which the verb is used without any personal nominative, but has reference to the “purpose of God as expressed in the Scriptures;” so that the passage may be read,” Then cometh the end (that is, not the close, the final winding up, but the perfect development, expansion, completion, consummation of the divine plans in regard to this world), when the prophetic announcements of the Scriptures require the delivering up (that is, the making over) of all adverse dominion into the hands of the Messiah, to whose supremacy we are taught to expect that everything will finally be made subject” - “Illustrations of Scripture.” A more extended examination of this difficult passage may be seen in Storr’s Opuscula, vol. i. pp. 274-282. See also Biblical Repository, vol. 3:pp. 748-755.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv24, 28 Afterwards the end; i.e. after the general resurrection of…
Afterwards the end; i.e. after the general resurrection of all, will be the end of the world. Then Christ shall deliver up his kingdom, as to this world, over all men, over the devil and his apostate angels, signified by principalities and powers; not but that Christ, both as God and man, shall reign for all eternity, not only over his elect but over all creatures, having triumphed by his resurrection over the enemy of mankind, the devil, over sin, and over death, which is as it were the last enemy of his elect. At the general resurrection, Christ will present these elect to his heavenly Father, as the fruits of his victory over sin and death; and though as man he came to suffer and die, and was also made subject to his eternal Father, yet being God as well as man, he is Lord of all, and will make his faithful servants partakers of his glory in his heavenly kingdom. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv24–28 Then--after that: next in the succession of "orders" or…
Then--after that: next in the succession of "orders" or "ranks."
the end--the general resurrection, and final judgment and consummation (Mat 25:46).
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delivered up . . . kingdom to . . . Father--(Compare Joh 13:3). Seeming at variance with Dan 7:14, "His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away." Really, His giving up of the mediatorial kingdom to the Father, when the end for which the mediatorial economy was established has been accomplished, is altogether in harmony with its continuing everlastingly. The change which shall then take place, shall be in the manner of administration, not in the kingdom itself; God shall then come into direct connection with the earth, instead of mediatorially, when Christ shall have fully and finally removed everything that severs asunder the holy God and a sinful earth (Col 1:20). The glory of God is the final end of Christ's mediatorial office (Phi 2:10-11). His co-equality with the Father is independent of the latter, and prior to it, and shall, therefore, continue when its function shall have ceased. His manhood, too, shall everlastingly continue, though, as now, subordinate to the Father. The throne of the Lamb (but no longer mediatorial) as well as of God, shall be in the heavenly city (Rev 22:3; compare Rev 3:21). The unity of the Godhead, and the unity of the Church, shall be simultaneously manifested at Christ's second coming. Compare Zep 3:9; Zac 14:9; Joh 17:21-24. The oldest manuscripts for "shall have delivered up," read, "delivereth up," which suits the sense better. It is "when He shall have put down all rule," that "He delivereth up the kingdom to the Father."
shall have put down all rule--the effect produced during the millennary reign of Himself and His saints (Psa 110:1; Psa 8:6; Psa 2:6-9), to which passages Paul refers, resting his argument on the two words, "all" and "until," of the Psalmist: a proof of verbal inspiration of Scripture (compare Rev 2:26-27). Meanwhile, He "rules in the midst of His enemies" (Psa 110:2). He is styled "the King" when He takes His great power (Mat 25:34; Rev 11:15, Rev 11:17). The Greek for "put down" is, "done away with," or "brought to naught." "All" must be subject to Him, whether openly opposed powers, as Satan and his angels, or kings and angelic principalities (Eph 1:21).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv24–28 24. Then cometh the end—The end of the mediatorial…
24. Then cometh the end—The end of the mediatorial and probationary kingdom of the Messiah; that is, its restoring by Christ to the Father. This is the result of the completed judgment of both the righteous and the unrighteous. The words afterward and then, which mark the second and third of the points of succession, are in Greek επειτα and ειτα, which furnish no indication of the length of interval between the points. As the apostle was not given to know the length of time between Christ’s resurrection and second advent, nor between that advent and the end, he gives no measurement. Personally, he may have believed it possible that the three events were with little or no interval; and the revelation vouchsafed here to him, affirms nothing as to time. But many commentators hold that there are two bodily resurrections; one of the righteous and the other of the wicked, a thousand years apart; so that the end, the third point, is at least that length of period from the parousia. The only authority for this opinion is Rev_20:5, which, however, describes a resurrection of “souls,” not of bodies. The same two resurrections are shadowed by John in his gospel, Joh_5:25-29. There is nothing here to show any length of interval between the advent and the end, or to show that there is more than a one twofold resurrection at that advent. And such is the doctrine of Matthew 24, 25, and of Joh_5:28-29, as well as of the Apostles’ Creed just quoted, and, we may add, of all the confessions of faith of the great Churches of Christendom. The parousia or advent of this verse is identical with the “great white throne” of Rev_20:11.
The kingdom—The rule of the Son, as bringing to order the rebellion of the world, is well compared by Grotius to the vice-royalty of a king’s son, sent forth to subdue an insurgent province. When every enemy is subdued, he returns to the capital, gives up his commission, resigns his foreign viceroyalty, and resumes his royal place at the royal right hand; and the king is all-ruling in all things, owing to the harmony restored.
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To God, even the Father—Literally, to the God and Father.
Put down—A bad rendering for καταργηση, which means nullify, abolish, or put out of existence, not the persons of his enemies, but their organic rule, authority, and power.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv24–28 24. Then cometh the end] The end, the completion,…
24. Then cometh the end] The end, the completion, that is, of the present order of things, when sin and death cease to be, and ‘the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ,’ Rev_11:15.
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father] The passage suggests to us the idea of a prince, the heir-apparent of the kingdom, going out to war, and bringing the spoils and trophies of his conquest to his father’s feet. Such an idea must have recurred with fresh vividness to the minds of the early Christians a few years afterwards, when they saw Titus bringing the spoils of the holy city of the old covenant, the ‘figure of the true,’ to his father Vespasian, and must have led them to look forward with eager expectation to the time when types and shadows should have their end, and the kingdom be the Lord’s, and He the governor among the people. At the Last Day, Christ as man shall receive the submission of all God’s enemies, and then lay them, all His triumphs, all those whom He has delivered captive from the hand of the enemy, at His Father’s feet. “Not,” says Estius, “that Christ shall cease to reign,” for ‘of His kingdom there shall be no end,’ St Luk_1:33 (cf. Dan_7:14; Heb_1:8; Heb_2:8), but that He will, by laying all His conquests at His Father’s feet, proclaim Him as the source of all authority and power. There were certain heretics, the followers of Marcellus of Ancyra, who taught that Christ’s kingdom should come to an end, holding the error of the Sabellians that Christ was an emanation from the Father, and would be finally reabsorbed into the Father’s personality. It is supposed that the words, “Whose kingdom shall have no end,” were inserted in the Nicene Creed at the Council of Constantinople, a. d. 381, with a view to this error. The words, God, even the Father, are perhaps best translated into English by God the Father. So Tyndale renders.
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when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power] Put down, literally, brought to an end. See ch. 1Co_13:10. All rule, that is, all exercise of authority save his own; princehead, Wiclif; all authority, that is, the right to exercise dominion; all power (virtus, Vulg.; vertu, Wiclif, see note on ch. 1Co_1:18), that is, all the inherent faculty of exercising authority. For earthly relations, such as those of father, magistrate, governor, prince, are but partial types and manifestations of the Divine Headship. Even Christ’s Humanity is but the revelation and manifestation of the Being of God. But ‘when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.’ Such human relations shall cease, for they shall be no more needed. Cf. Col_2:10.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 27, 28 (24) All rule and all authority and power.—Not only…
(24) All rule and all authority and power.—Not only hostile rule and authority and power, but all intermediate rule of any sort, good and bad. The direct government by God of all creatures is to be at last attained. All the interventions of authority and power which the fall of man rendered necessary will be needless when the complete triumph of Christ comes in. Thus Humanity, having for ages shared the condition of fallen Adam, will be finally restored to the state of unfallen Adam. Man will see God, and be ruled by God face to face.
(24-28) When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father.—The Apostle carries on the thought of a triumph which the use of the word “troop” in the previous verse had commenced or suggested. There rises before the prophetic vision of St. Paul the final triumph of Christ over all evil, over all power, and the Son giving up to the Father (not His humanity, which is “for ever and ever”—Luk_1:32-33) the kingdom of this world, which in His humanity He conquered for the Father as well as for Himself. He will, the moment He becomes conqueror, sit down with the Father on His throne. Christ laying the spoils of a conquered world at the foot of the throne of the Father, shows, by that supreme act of self-sacrifice, that in His office as Redeemer He came, not to do His own will, but the will of the Father. In this sense the Son Himself, as Redeemer, is “put under Him”—God is all in all. We must clearly remember that the Apostle is here speaking of the Son as Redeemer, and is not penetrating into the deeper mysteries of the relation of the Persons in the Godhead. (See Joh_17:5; Heb_1:8.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv24–28 The end. That "end of all things," beyond which…
The end. That "end of all things," beyond which the vision of Christian eschatology does not look. When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God. The "kingdom" delivered up is not that of the coequal Godhead, but the mediatorial kingdom. The Divine kingdom "shall have no end", (Luk_1:33, etc.) and "shall not pass away". (Dan_7:13) But the mediatorial kingdom shall end in completion when the redemptive act has achieved its final end. When he shall have put down; rather, shall have annulled or abolished. All rule. Because then "the kingdoms of the world" shall all "have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ". (Rev_11:15)
Vers. 24-28.
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Christ resigning his administration.
cometh the end," etc. By the "end" here, I presume, is to be meant the redemptive reign of Christ. It means that when Christ, in the exercise of his mediatorial government, has subjugated all the powers of moral evil, he will deliver up his commission to God, who will then be acknowledged as the absolute Ruler of all. The following are some of the truths that the passage suggests:
I That THE GOVERNMENT OF OUR WORLD IS ADMINISTERED BY CHRIST. The New Testament is full of the doctrine that Christ reigns over our world. This doctrine explains several otherwise inexplicable things in the history of man.
1. The perpetuation of the human race on the earth. Death was threatened on Adam the same day on which he should sin. He sinned, and died. not that day, but lived for centuries, and became the father of an immense and ever multiplying family. And why? The Biblical doctrine of mediation is the only principle that explains it.
2. The coexistence of sin and happiness in the same individual. Under the government of absolute righteousness, we should antecedently expect that such an association would never exist. We are told that there is perfect happiness in heaven, and we can understand it, because perfect holiness is there. But here there are sin and happiness, comparative holiness and great suffering. The mediative government is the only principle that explains this.
3. The offer of pardon and the application of remedial influences to the condemned and corrupt. Under a righteous government how is this to be explained? It is explicable only on the ground that "he is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour," etc.
II That Christ conducts the government of our world IN ORDER TO PUT DOWN ALL HUMAN EVILS. There are two classes of evil referred to here.
1. Moral. "All rule, all authority and power." Sinful principles are the moral potentates of this world. Christ"s government is to put them down from governments, Churches, books, hearts, etc.
2. Physical. "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Death is the totality of physical evils. Christ will destroy this.
III That when these evils are entirely put down, CHRIST WILL RESIGN HIS ADMINISTRATION INTO THE HANDS OF THE EVERLASTING FATHER. The time will come when moral evil shall be entirely exterminated from the earth, and when death shall be swallowed up in victory. Christ, having finished the work that was given him to do, resigns his office. "Then cometh the end.
IV That when Christ shall have resigned his administration, GOD "WILL BE ALL IN ALL." What does this mean?
1. He will treat all men after this on the ground of their own moral merits. From the Fall up to this period, he had treated them on the ground of Christ"s mediation; but now, the mediation removed, each man shall reap the "fruit of his own doings.
2. All men after this will subjectively realize the absolute One as they have never before. The atmosphere of their nature purified, he shall appear within them as the central orb, making the finite manifest and glorious in the conscious light of the Infinite.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 28 For He must reign, till He hath put all…
1Co_15:25
For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet.
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The reign of Christ
This world is His battlefield now; and when this conflict is at an end there will be an end to something else, He shall reign till--, and no longer.
I. Who are Christs enemies?
1. All those agencies in the world which are opposed to God. Christ is on the throne for God; so that whatever in evil spirits, in bad men, in society, in institutions, habits, experiences, is warring against God, is against Christ, and He is against it.
2. All those agencies in the world which are against us. He is on the throne for us. Our cause is His. Every evil which injures or threatens us.
(1) All our intellectual enemies--ignorance or error.
(2) All our moral enemies--sin in every form.
(3) All our physical enemies--pain, sickness, disease, death--all these are included among Christs enemies.
3. We may answer the question by referring to Christs life in the flesh. He came here to do battle; and all His life He was engaged in the conflict, attacking--not men; He never touched a man in any way but to bless him--but He was in conflict with all the powers of evil of which men were the instruments and victims. And the battle is still the same. Through His true people He is now carrying on the war with ignorance, unrighteousness, pain. And we may be sure that He will be victorious, not only because it is said in the Bible, and we therefore believe it, but because it is God that is engaged in the conflict.
II. What should be our supremest cares in reference to this great conflict?
1. To be ourselves delivered. We must each ask himself, will He put my enemies under His feet? It depends on whether you will let Him undertake for you. Your faith must lay hold of His strength.
2. To take our part in it on His side. In this great conflict there is no neutrality. And for what reasons should it be our great care to range ourselves in this battle on His side? Because--
(1) It is an honourable service. Frenchmen speak with no unnatural pride of having served under the Great Napoleon. Something of the lustre of the name and achievements of the great captain is reflected in his humblest follower. And so it is in the spiritual conflict.
(2) Christ has a claim upon our service. It is our cause that He is contending for, and it cost Him His life.
(3) It is a strife for goodness and human happiness.
(4) There is victory with that side.
3. To engage ourselves in that part of the field where spiritual evils are the enemies combated against. Noble is it to follow Christ in the war He waged with physical evils; but the noblest work is to spread Christs truth, for where that is spread all evils diminish. And further, what is the life of the body compared with the life of the soul? (D. Thomas, B.A.)
Christs conquests
This world is a vast stage erected for the display consummation of a mighty design by the power of the Lord Jesus. Scripture has distinctly affirmed that all things were created by Him and for Him. The world was made for Jesus; and man, the most distinguished of its tenants, was called into existence chiefly that he might add to the Mediators glory. In His glory the eternal blessedness of millions is involved; and the consummation of His mighty work will be the seal and fulness of the felicity of the redeemed. Now in the management of this stupendous design, the Mediator is pursuing His way to the glory which awaits Him through the midst of foes. There are foes in whose destruction we may not be able to trace any of that consolation which it is the apostles object to afford. The priests and Scribes of Israel constituted themselves His personal enemies, and the stone which the builders rejected has fallen upon them and crushed them to powder; but our comfort or advantage appears to be this, that the enemies rather of the Saviours cause than of His person are spoken of; and with that cause Jesus has so entirely identified Himself, that He reckons hostility to it as hostility against Himself. There is--
I. Satan, who from the first has evinced himself the foe of the cause of Jesus. But his power is day by day contracting; and one by one are his strongholds wrested out of his hands. His most formidable opposition was his personal struggle with the Saviour, in which he enjoyed a momentary triumph; but it was a triumph which placed a lever underneath the foundations of his throne. The gospel of which that days achievement forms both the power and the theme, has gone forth under the sanction of the Redeemers command, over those tracts and territories where the god of this world had long held unbroken sway. And the means by which the Saviour has enlarged His kingdom are marvellous. Satan, as he was upon the day of the worlds redemption, is defeated with his own weapons. Though covetousness may have sent ships to far distant shores, and rapine may have subjugated one country to another, and injustice may have torn the slave from kindred and from home--still see we not, that in more territories being laid open to the inroads of the gospel, and other influences being brought to bear upon benighted lands, that Satan has been foiled by superior wisdom, and the empire of the Mediator increased by his defeated policy!
II. Corruption in the hearts of Gods believing people. The Mediators most glorious title is the King of Saints; and that which chiefly prevents Him from being so now, in the fulness and majesty of the expression, is the existence of that secret and unholy principle in the hearts of Christians. But this corruption under the laws of the Mediators reign is destined at length to be totally dethroned. The work of subduing it is one of mystery and time, and for the subduing of it Jesus has a train of instrumentalities at His disposal. By troubles, trials, disappointments, the hand of illness and bereavements. In every child of God it is daily waxing more feeble, which shows that, ultimately, it must be utterly extinguished, for Jesus must reign, etc.
III. The ungodly. These may not all take Paine for their text-book, or Voltaire for their leader; but yet from the circumstance of their being unconverted; they must be reckoned among His enemies. The carnal mind is enmity against God--They that are in the flesh cannot please God. Now such the Mediator will put under His feet. Contrary to the usual course of His government, He will do little towards effecting this object here. But, while an enemy remains unpunished, the throne of the Mediator must stand.
IV. Death. The trophy and the triumph of the Satanic hosts. It was among the firstfruits of their victory. But in the arrangements of the Mediators rule this enemy is destined for destruction! Even now is his power abridged, and his strength much departed from him; for Jesus has gone down into deaths domains, and, in the dark seclusion of the tomb, passed through a conflict with him, from which He has returned a conqueror! And this victory He perpetuates in the persons of the members of His kingdom; for there is not one of them who feels not that death, though he may awe, can no longer terrify. Even upon this world, death to them has ceased to be an enemy; but oh! if we would see him, not simply shorn of his strength, but stripped of his existence, we must throw forward our glance to the resurrection morning. That hour shall see all enemies subdued. (Dean Boyd.)
The victories of Christianity
How real was the faith of St. Paul! Only some twenty years had passed since the Crucifixion. The memory of it was fresh; the shame and stigma recent. Nevertheless, the apostle declares his faith not only in the resurrection of Jesus, but in His universal dominion. The vividness and reality of the apostles faith was common to all the Christians of that first age, and is very quickening and reassuring to ours. When St. Paul wrote these words the believers were but a handful. As yet they had mastered no stronghold of the enemy. In but three or four of the great cities of the world they had barely effected a lodgment. At Rome they had scarcely as yet been heard of. And yet says the apostle, He must reign, etc. The apostles great word is now in course of fulfilment. Though even yet we by no means see all things put under Christ, still the pledge has been already afforded of victory in every kind and over every form of opposition. We have but to pursue the advantages we have gained.
I. The earliest triumphs of Christianity over idolatry are the pledge to us of her ultimate victory over every form of heathenism.
1. The two great historical triumphs were--
(1) Over classic paganism and other old-world idolatries. When Paul and Barnabas set forth from Antioch on the first missionary advance, the whole world was wholly given to idolatry. Heaven, earth, ocean, and the great underworld teemed with divinities. Idolatry coloured all life, embraced every relation of being, held all things whatsoever under its spell and its thraldom. How wonderful an undertaking, then, was it for the obscure missionaries to set forth upon their errand! Can we wonder greatly that John and Mark shrank back from such an enterprise? And what must have been the courage and faith of Paul when, in the renowned eve of Greece, he stood up, without a friend or comrade, to challenge alike philosophers and idolaters? or when he undertook at Corinth--the lascivious and the worldly--to preach Christ and Him crucified, as Wisdom, Righteousness, and Sanctification, and Redemption? or when he planted himself at Ephesus, where all the inhabitants were fanatics in their worship of their great goddess? But the word of God everywhere grew mightily and prevailed. And so with the other Christian pioneers. The work spread and leapt from province to province, from shore to shore, from age to age. About the beginning of the second century, Pliny wrote that in Bithynia the new faith had so spread that the temples were everywhere deserted. Half a century later Justin Martyr testifies that there was no nation in whose language prayers and thanksgivings were not offered to God in the name of Jesus. Yet a little later--Tertullian grandly boasts that, though but a people of yesterday, the Christians had filled every place except the heathen temples. For three centuries did the Roman State keep up a relentless persecution, but all in vain. At length, Diocletian having exhausted in vain all the resources of power and cruelty, the Christian Church came forth finally victorious.
(2) Scarcely, however, was this struggle over before another began. After the destruction of the Western Empire by the barbarian invaders, Christianity had to address itself anew to the task of conquering the conquerors of the world. But the Northern tribes in succession came within the pale of Christian profession. The Christian faith survived the wreck of all things else. A deep, dense night rested upon the face of the mingled nations. But the Spirit of God in the midst of the thick darkness was moving upon the chaotic waters, and by the results, when the curtain began to lift, we know that the work was going on. The victory over the Northern barbarians won Europe for Christ, and we inherit its results in the purer, more vigorous and enlightened Christianity of to-day.
2. These things being so, how can we doubt what the results must be of the contest now being waged by Christianity against heathenism? The Christianity of the present day is in all respects superior to that of the age of Constantine, and to that which overcame the heathenism of the Goth, the Teuton, and the Kelt.
(1) How then can the heathenism of India and China withstand it? As a matter of fact, the progress of Christianity in some parts of India, and especially in Ceylon, during the last forty years has been such as to demonstrate that in less time than it took for our holy religion to vanquish Roman idolatry the heathenism of India shall yet yield to the power of Christs gospel. As for China, we have hardly taken hold of its fringe, but we have already seen enough to prove that the power of Christianity needs only to be faithfully applied by an adequate missionary force, and China, like all the world besides, must yield to the gospel.
(2) As for the barbarian idolatries of to-day, we have evidence all the world over how surely and swiftly they are vanquished by the word of Christ. The negro race has already largely yielded to the truth. New Zealanders and American Indians, Fijian and Burmese have accepted the faith of Jesus. Everywhere the like result must follow.
II. In the past successes of Christianity we have a pledge of the triumph of free and pure Christian faith over Popish tyranny and corruption.
I. Popery proper, the special creation of the Roman Ecclesiastical Court and Empire, is a priestly growth and usurpation. It is a selfish corruption--and throughout there has been a struggling protest against it. There has been a lay mind in continual revolt, and many even among the priesthood abhor the yoke by which they are bound. The pretensions of the Papacy are doubtless as arrogant and as blasphemous as ever. But this is perfectly consistent with the real weakening of the Roman power. Pius IX could not enact the part of a Hildebrand, though he did summon a so-called OEcumenical Council. He could claim for himself infallibility, but he could not set his foot upon the neck of princes nor cast an interdict over an empire. He could not even prevent his holy city from being wrested from his hands and made the capital of a free kingdom. The Pope is no longer the great Potentate of the world.
2. The effect of the Vatican Council has been to produce alienation in the minds of the noblest among those who felt the spell and attraction of a Church so ancient, so vast, and in many respects so grand in its memories and its achievements.
3. Immense was the power of the Papacy, forty years ago, over every Catholic country of Europe. Now there is scarcely one land in which religion is not, at least professedly, free, and the gospel of Christ in its purity is not more or less preached.
4. Now if the Christianity of the fourth century prevailed to subdue the Imperial heathenism of Rome, much more shall the purer, more powerful, and better organised evangelical Christian life and truth of to-day prevail over this Papal heathenism. What is needed is that the truth and the falsehood should be distinctly defined and discriminated, that the gospel should be known as gospel, and the heathen superstition discerned as heathen superstition. If we cannot yet say that Babylon is fallen--though assuredly some of its grandest towers have been overthrown never to be restored--we may at least be confident that the politico-ecclesiastic power of Rome is now at an end, and that she can no longer, as in the past, cause the nations to drink of the mingled cup of her abominations.
III. The past victories of Christianity over heathen and sceptical philosophy are the pledge of its future triumphs. It is often said that science is the great enemy of faith. But science, as such, has nothing to say as to the contents of Revelation or the articles of our faith. Its proper sphere lies wholly apart. Some of the profoundest men of science have found no incompatibility whatever between their science and the faith of a Christian. It remains, accordingly, that the sources of scepticism must be in what are called philosophical doubts or in historical criticism.
1. Whether Atheistic or Pantheistic in its form, Philosophical Scepticism can never extensively prevail. It has many times striven to assert itself against the Christian faith, but always only to be defeated. Of old the philosophy of Epicurus and his school was overborne by the living witness of Christianity. The philosophers, whether Stein or Platonic, could not arrest the triumphant progress of St. Paul. The Pantheistical Neo-Platonism of Alexandria did its utmost to oppose the power of Christianity, but in the end was entirely overthrown. In modern times Hume found his subtlety vain against the rising tide of evangelical faith and power. The infidelity of France was rebuked and put to shame by the horrors of the French Revolution, so manifestly the fruit of French infidelity. And to-day what is the weight, the force, of speculative philosophy in comparison of the living powers and forces of Christianity, which were never so mighty as they are at this present time?
2. As to historical criticism, the essential arguments on behalf of Christianity to-day are the same as those which triumphed in the last century. The forms of objection are, doubtless, varied, and the details differ, but the nature of them is essentially the same, and the answer is essentially the same. The victory won in the last century will not be lost in this. And to-day the vaunting foes of Christianity are boldly met, and the battle is turned to the gate. Never was there so goodly a company of Christian believers gathered from every rank of life, and including not only men of ordinary capacity and of average character and influence, but the highest intellects and the most influential personalities in the land. (J. H. Rigg, D.D.)
Good news for loyal subjects
Must is for the king; and concerning King Jesus there is a Divine necessity that He must reign. He was once the King of misery--in that kingdom He reigned supreme. That thorn-crown is pre-eminent in the sorrows which it signifies. To-day He is the King of glory, enthroned far above all principalities and powers. He must reign because He is God. The Lord reigneth must ever stand a truth. He must reign as man; for the Lord has made a covenant with David that of his seed there should sit upon the throne of Israel for ever a King to rule in righteousness, and Jesus of Nazareth is that King. He must reign also as the Mediator. At this time the sovereignty of the world is committed to His keeping, the headship of His Church, the government of providence, the ruling of heaven, and earth, and hell, as the mediatorial monarch.
I. What are thy reasons for this must? The lamb as seen by John had seven horns of power, and here are seven reasons why he should possess the throne for ever.
1. His empire in itself is such as to ensure perpetuity. There have been many empires of which men said that if they were overthrown, the very pillars of the earth would be removed; yet in due time they were swept away. Christ must reign because--
(1) His reign over the human mind is based upon truth. At one time Plato reigned supreme over thoughtful minds; then Aristotle; but another philosophy supplanted him, to be in its turn subverted by the next. Things which were accounted sure and wise are now ridiculed. And why? Because these systems of philosophy and thought have not been based upon truth. But the truth which Jesus taught, reads as if it were delivered but yesterday. Christianity is as suitable to the nineteenth century as to the first.
(2) His dominion over human hearts is based upon love. Napoleon said at St. Helena:--My empire has passed away. I founded it upon the sword, and it is gone. Jesus Christ established an empire upon love, and it will last for ever. His person is the incarnation of love, His teachings are the doctrines of love, His precepts are the rule of love, His Spirit is the creator of love, His whole religion is saturated with love, and because of this His kingdom cannot be moved.
(3) It is the one great remedy which this sad woe-begone world requires. The world is like the troubled sea that cannot rest, and there is but one foot which can tread its waves, and but one voice which can say, Peace, be still. Jesus is the true liberator of captive nations. The agonising groans of earth demand the sovereignty of Jesus, and therefore we believe that He must reign, for God will yet give His creature what it needs. His Father decrees it. Up till now God has maintained the throne of His Son. Read Psa_2:1-12 and see.
3. Divine justice demands it. The Father promised that He should be a leader and a commander of the people, and determined as the result of His humiliation that He should mount to a superior throne as the Son of man and the Son of God. Shall God belie His word?
4. It is inwrought into the order of providence. A few months ago the trees were bare; but it was in the order of providence that there should be a spring, and here it is. We cannot say that in any one day it seemed to make any great advance. Even when the days lengthened we saw no great progress, but, surely and steadily the veins of the trees were filled with sap and the buds first swelled and then revealed their glories. So Christs reigning is woven into the warp and woof of providence, and though He has not yet drawn all men unto Him, it is coming.
5. The Holy Spirit has been given to the Church to subserve this glorious end. He can soften the most obdurate, He can turn to kindness the most cruel, and lead into light the most darkened. Now, the possession of the Holy Spirit is the Churchs treasury. Here is her battleaxe, and here are her weapons of war. You who preach Christ, or teach Him in the school, do not become discouraged under difficulties, when you recollect that you are workers together with God.
6. Christ is naturally the chief of the human race. He is the chief among ten thousand and the altogether lovely. There is none to rival Him.
7. The power to reign belongs to Him. All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, saith He, and teach all nations. Jesus Christ is no puny pretender to the throne, nor a rightful owner without power to win His own, but as His cause is good, His arm is strong. Ours is no desperate warfare, but a royal crusade, in which every soldier is even now a priest and a king, and is on the way to the banquetting-halls where men feast with God, and Jesus for ever and ever wears the fadeless diadem.
II. The encouragement to be gathered from this must. If Christ must reign, then--
1. All our enemies shall be subdued,
(1) Now, you are called to fight daily with sin, and here is your consolation, Jesus must reign. The Christ in you must bruise Satan under your feet. He shall put His foot on the neck of my pride, and shall command my every thought and wish. Where I cannot rule, Jesus can. Jesus has made us kings and priests that we may reign over the triple monarchy of our nature--spirit, soul, and body, and that, by our self-conquest, He may be undisputed sovereign of the Isle of Man. Corruption is very strong, but Christ is stronger.
(2) When the last enemy appears in view, it shall only be an opportunity for new triumphs, when the Lord of life shall reveal Himself with renewed splendour.
2. Our efforts are, after all, not in vain. If Christ must reign, then every soldier who fights for Christ is contributing to the victory, and every one who in any way advances the cause is working with sure and great results.
3. What becomes of us is of no consequence at all. If He will only take me into the royal galley, and let me pull till I have no more life left, I will be satisfied, if I may but row my Lord towards His throne, and have but the smallest share in making Him glorious in the eyes of men and angels. What cares my heart for herself if she may but see Jesus set on high? How this ought to inspirit all of you who grow downhearted about the cause of Christ! Do you not believe in the gospel as the power of God?
III. An admonition.
1. Jesus must reign. You have been opposing Him, have you? You are kicking against the pricks with naked feet: you are stumbling upon this stone, and you will be broken; and if the stone shall take to rolling down, like a massive rock, on you, it will grind you to powder.
2. If Jesus Christ must reign, then you who have never submitted yourselves to Him to accept Him as your monarch, will find His reign as terrible as it is sure. He will reign over you, either by your own consent or without it. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv24–28 24. Then cometh the end. The end follows soon…
24. Then cometh the end. The end follows soon after the resurrection of the saints. When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God. See verse 28. When Christ's work is accomplished he places all in the Father's hands.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv24–28 1Co 15:24-28
END OF THE MEDIATORIAL KINGDOM
1Co 15:24-28
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24. “Then cometh the end,” i. e., the end of time and the mediatorial kingdom, this being the only one that will ever have an end. “When He may deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when He may destroy all government, all authority and power,” i. e., all governmental authority antagonistic to God. When a human province revolted, the emperor always sent out a proconsul with an army to put down the rebellion, the former preparing to furnish the latter all of the men and money he needed until the work was done. When the news of the Fall reached Heaven, all the golden harps were hung on weeping willows, and Heaven turned into a Bochim of weeping over the loss of this world; no finite power was adequate to the emergency. Behold, the glorified Son espouses the lost cause! The news thrills all Heaven with unutterable surprise and shakes all Hell with unspeakable consternation. Then and there was inaugurated the mediatorial kingdom for the restoration of this lost world. Under this kingdom is every soul from righteous Abel to the last one that will be saved in the nick of time, when Gabriel is lifting the trumpet to roar the judgment blast. What is time? It is that portion of eternity which measures the duration of the mediatorial kingdom. Before the fall eternity was revolving its mighty course while millions of worlds sped their flight around the Throne of God. The revolt supervened and the Son of God came down from the Throne, mediatorial King, to put down the rebellion and expurgate sin from the universe. The mediatorial kingdom will sweep on through the Millennium from the simple fact that it includes the theocracy, which is the culmination of it. Hence salvation will continue through the Millennium down to the end of time.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv24–28 Then cometh the end [the apostle does not mean…
Then cometh the end [the apostle does not mean to say that this end comes immediately after the resurrection, but that it is next in order of great events, so far as humanity is concerned], when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power .
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v24 Kingdom (N.T.), Summary: See "Kingdom (O.T.)" Gen 1:26-28. (See…
kingdom
Kingdom (N.T.), Summary: See "Kingdom (O.T.)" Gen 1:26-28. (See Scofield "Zec 12:8"). Kingdom truth is developed in the N.T. in the following order:
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(1) The promise of the kingdom to David and his seed, and described in the prophets 2Sa 7:8-17,; Zec 12:8 enters the N.T. absolutely unchanged. Luk 1:31-33. The King was born in Bethlehem; Mat 2:1; Mic 5:2 of a virgin.; Mat 1:18-25; Isa 7:14.
(2) The kingdom announced as "at hand" (See Scofield "Mat 4:17"), by John the Baptist, by the King, and by the Twelve, was rejected by the Jews, first morally, See Scofield "Mat 11:20", and afterward officially Mat 21:42; Mat 21:43 and the King, crowned with thorns, was crucified.
(3) In anticipation of His official rejection and crucifixion, the King revealed the "mysteries" of the kingdom of heaven, (See Scofield "Mat 13:11") to be fulfilled in the interval between His rejection and His return in glory Mat 13:1-50.
(4) Afterward He announced His purpose to "build" His church Mat 16:18 another "mystery" revealed through Paul which is being fulfilled contemporaneously with the mysteries of the kingdom. The "mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" and the "mystery" of the church Eph 3:9-11 occupy, historically, the same period, i.e, this present age.
(5) The mysteries of the kingdom will be brought to an end by "the harvest" Mat 13:39-43; Mat 13:49; Mat 13:50 at the return of the King in glory, the church having previously been caught up to meet Him in the air 1Th 4:14-17.
(6) Upon His return the King will restore the Davidic monarchy in His own person, re- gather dispersed Israel, establish His power over all the earth, and reign one thousand years Mat 24:27-30; Luk 1:31-33; Act 15:14-17; Rev 20:1-10.
(7) The kingdom of heaven (See Scofield "Mat 3:2") thus established under David’s divine Son, has for its object the restoration of the divine authority in the earth, which may be regarded as a revolted province of the great kingdom of God See Scofield "Mat 6:33". When this is done (1Co 14:24; 1Co 14:25) the Son will deliver up the kingdom (of heaven), Mat 3:2 to "God, even the Father," that "God" (i.e. the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) "may be all in all" (1Co 14:28). The eternal throne is that "of God, and of the Lamb" Rev 22:1. The kingdom-age constitutes the seventh Dispensation, See Scofield "Eph 1:10".
Then cometh Then, finally, when he delivers up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he has done away with every rule, and every authority and power (for he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet), the last enemy, death, is destroyed.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv24, 27 General Information:
General Information:
Here the words "he" and "his" refer to Christ.
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he will abolish all rule and all authority and power
"he will stop those people who rule, who have authority, and who have power from doing what they are doing"
until he has put all his enemies under his feet
Kings who won wars would put their feet on the necks of those whom they had defeated. AT: "until God has completely destroyed all of Christ's enemies" (See: Idiom)
The last enemy to be destroyed is death
Paul speaks of death here as if it were a person whom God will kill. AT: "The final enemy that God will destroy is death itself" (See: Active or Passive and Personification)
translationWords
kingdom
God the Father
rule
authority
power
reign
adversary
die
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv24, 25, 27 15:24-28 Christ is the Lord of all things, even…
15:24-28 Christ is the Lord of all things, even death itself. Nevertheless, he remains subordinate to God his Father.
15:24 The phrase every ruler and authority and power refers to spiritual powers who oppose Christ (cp. Rom 8:38; Eph 1:21; Col 2:10, 15; 1 Pet 3:22).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.