44 The Goal of History: Christ’s Reign and the End of Death (1 Corinthians 15:20-28)

Krisan Marotta: You're listening to the Wednesday in the Word podcast, and I'm glad you are. I'm Krisan Marotta, and this is my podcast about what the Bible means and how we know. We're studying 1 Corinthians 15, verses 20 through 28 today. This is the 44th talk in my series on 1 Corinthians. Lecture notes for today's talk are on the link below the podcast. And you can also find those notes on my website, wednesdayintheword.com slash 1 Corinthians 44. Lecture notes contain everything I mentioned in the talk today, plus a helpful outline so you don't have to take notes. And while you're on the website, you can find previous talks in this series and lots of helpful information on how to improve your Bible study. There is no charge, no spam, no ads, I don't ask for donations, there's no clickbait, there's just lots of Bible study. Well, we are in the last section of the book of 1 Corinthians, and in this section, Paul is addressing the fact that some folks in the Corinthian church claim there is no resurrection from the dead. And you'll remember that a large part of this letter is Paul answering questions that the Corinthians have asked him. And with this particular issue, we don't know whether they asked him a question and he's responding to it or whether he just heard this view was infecting the church and he decided to talk about it. In either case, some in Corinth are teaching there is no resurrection from the dead and that we have no hope of a physical bodily resurrection after we die. I suspect this is probably the same group that has been causing the strife and divisions in the church and challenging Paul's authority, but we don't know for sure. We looked at the first part of his response in the last podcast. Paul started his argument by saying we know there is a resurrection because Jesus was raised from the dead. A large number of people saw him, including the apostles and including Paul himself, and many of the eyewitnesses are still alive at the time Paul's writing this letter, and they can verify that Jesus was raised from the dead. Then he confronted them with their inconsistency and the fact that they claim to believe and accept the gospel as taught by the apostles, and yet they deny the resurrection. He says basically if there's no hope of resurrection from the dead, then Jesus was not resurrected either, and we are all still dead in our sins. His death accomplished nothing for us, and there's no point in being a Christian. So Paul just finished saying for the sake of argument, let's assume Christ was not raised, and if he was not raised, then no one who dies will be raised, and we are foolish to believe this gospel and are to be pitied. Now he's going to pull back that false argument and say, But we know Christ was raised. I'm going to read the whole section and then we'll go back and look at the parts. So this is first Corinthians chapter fifteen, starting in verse twenty, going to twenty-eight. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order, Christ at the first fruits, after that those who are Christ at his coming. Then comes the end when he hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when he has 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 has put all things in subjection under his feet, but when he says all things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is accepted who put all things in subjection to him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all. So Paul just finished saying, For the sake of argument, let's assume Christ was not raised, and now he's pulling back, he starts this, but now Christ has been raised. So he's abandoning the false assumption that he used for the sake of argument, and he's going on saying, But now Christ has been raised, and what does that mean? So let's go back to 1520. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. That phrase those who are asleep is just a nice kind of polite way of saying those who have died. And this idea of first fruits comes from the harvest, the initial results of the harvest. In the Old Testament sacrificial system, the first fruits belong to God. You didn't take care of yourself first, and then if there was anything left over, give that to God. It was the other way around. The first part of the harvest went to God. So you gave the first fruits to God because it's a symbolic picture of the fact that you trust God and believe He will provide for you with the rest of the harvest. Sometimes we see this word first fruits used in contexts that emphasize the fact that something has been dedicated to God or set aside for God's use. And sometimes we see it in a context that emphasizes the first aspect, and I think that latter is what we see here. Christ is the first part of that harvest. He is the first of the human beings who will be resurrected from the dead, and we can trust that God will resurrect the rest of his people. So Jesus was the first and the rest of the harvest is to come. The issue that the Corinthians are challenging is whether each believer will be resurrected from the dead. And Paul has been talking about Christ's resurrection because God vindicated Jesus' claim and confirmed that Jesus was in fact the Messiah through the resurrection. And that resurrection of Jesus is the first fruit of the harvest. He is the first of the dead to be resurrected, and we can trust that God will resurrect the rest of us. What Christ did was meant to be the first fruits of the harvest of the many who will ultimately follow him into new life. This idea that Christ was raised and he is the forerunner who will bring all his people to life after death is fundamental to the gospel. That's what Paul's going to go on to argue. Let's look at twenty through twenty-two. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep, for since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead, for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. Now this could seem like something abstract, like Paul has just gone into some abstract esoteric theology, but I think Paul is spelling out the big picture here. This is what God is doing in history, and why this perspective on denying the resurrection makes no sense. Overall, the gospel is about what God is doing in relationship to death. The author and the creator of the universe, the sovereign God is telling this story in history. And one way to summarize this story is that it is ultimately about two men, Adam and Jesus. When Adam sinned, it affected all his descendants. We all live in a world of sin, futility, and death because our father, the first of us, Adam, rebelled against God, and God withheld eternal life from him and his descendants. Human existence as we know it is a result of Adam's choice. We inherited a world where we struggle and we die because our forefather rebelled and sinned against God. The wages of his rebellion is death and all of humanity shares in it. Now I purposely decided not to go into the debate over the nature of original sin because it's just too far off the point of this chapter. I think Paul's main point is fairly obvious, and that is all of humanity lives in a world with death because our forefather Adam rebelled against God, so death came into the world by this one man. But thankfully, he's not the only man in this story that God is telling. There's another man in this story, and that man brings resurrection from the dead. Jesus lived a life of obedience to God, and he offered his life to God on our behalf. By dying in our place, he made it possible for his people to live even though they die. Death will not ultimately conquer those who follow Jesus because we will be rescued from death and resurrected to life. So both of these men had a huge effect on us. Adam created the problem of sin and death we all now live with, and Jesus solved that problem that Adam created. Jesus solved the problem of death, and we his people will be raised from death. That's the story God is telling. Now, you Corinthians think you're so smart that you have this more sophisticated intellectual approach that doesn't include a resurrection, but you can't throw out the resurrection. If you throw that out, you throw out everything because resurrection is central to the story. Death came into the world through Adam, and death is going out of the world through Christ. This is what God is doing in history. If you throw out the resurrection, you've thrown out the plot. This is like trying to rewrite the Harry Potter stories without magic. It's plot essential. You're telling a different story now. Human life was destroyed by Adam and will be rescued by Christ. That's plot essential. If you set aside resurrection, you miss the point. And Paul's going to go on to focus on the end of the story. Where is all this history going? How does it all turn out? The whole story is going to end with the resurrection of God's people. The gospel will be fulfilled and the promises of God realized when the resurrection happens and God establishes his kingdom with Christ ruling over it. Look at twenty three and twenty four. But each in his own order, Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ at His coming. Then comes the end when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has established all rule and all authority and power. Now in one sense, Paul says something very simple here, but it's also a very profound point. He says first Christ is raised, that's already happened, then we will be raised when he returns. So Christ came first, we're going to follow, and then comes the end. Now the end is not the end as in final, this is end as in goal or culmination. The end is in crossing the finish line and reaching that which you were striving for. That's the connotation of this word end. It's reaching a goal. So say you decide to build a house, and it takes months of design and planning and building, and there are setbacks along the way, and then one day you reach the end. You get the keys, you open the door, and you walk in. In one sense, that's the end. It's the end of the building process, but it's the goal of building the house. You have now arrived at the purpose of all that work. That's what this Greek word implies. This is the end as in having arrived at the goal or the culmination. So first Jesus rose from the dead, then he returns and raises his people from the dead, and now we have arrived at the goal, the culmination of history. It's the end of this age, but it's the goal of this age and the start of a new age. He adds this phrase when he has abolished all rule and all authority and power, and that's a little tricky. How are we to understand this? Well, if you consider the world as it stands, we find a whole lot of evil in it. And much of that evil comes from people in power who are abusing that power. And I mean power from presidents and dictators and premieres down to the heads of corporations, to the heads of cities, to the heads of families, to the heads of tribes. Any place large or small where you find power, you find the people in power selfishly inflicting evil on those they hold power over. So when is God going to do something about this? When he establishes his kingdom, God will establish his kingdom on earth, not just in theory, but in reality. One day God's will will in fact be done on earth as it is in heaven. God's reign over the world will be perfectly established. No one will be able to stand up and say, Hey, I'm going to do things differently. I'm going to do things my way. What God says and thinks and values will reign supreme. Everything will be done in accordance with the will of God. When we pray for the kingdom to come, we're praying for God to establish His will throughout the world through Christ. We're praying for everything to be made right, and God has promised that He will establish His Messiah as the rightful King over all the earth, and the Messiah will rule with justice and righteousness, and evil, death, and selfishness will be conquered. When that happens, Jesus is going to establish God's kingdom on earth. He will abolish all the old rulers, the old powers, the old authorities. Nothing in creation, and no one will stand in rebellion to God anymore. All the enemies of God will be put down, and God's kingdom will be established on earth. So it seems to me what Paul is saying here is that the world is put under submission to Christ, then Christ turns around and puts himself under submission to the Father, with the result that we have a world under submission to God the Father through Christ. So I would understand this language in fifteen twenty four is that the Father gives Jesus rule and authority over all things, and in return Jesus submits himself and his authority to God. And that's what Paul goes on to describe. Let's bring in twenty five and twenty six. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. Now this language about putting all his enemies under his feet is taken from Psalm one ten. This is one of the Psalms that explicitly talks about Christ, about the Messiah, and I'm going to read the whole thing it's short. It's a Psalm of David. The Lord says to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. The Lord will stretch forth your strong scepter from Zion, saying, Rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people will volunteer freely in the day of your power, in holy array from the womb of the dawn, your youth are to you as due. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand, he will shatter kings in the day of his wrath, he will judge among the nations, he will fill them with corpses, he will shatter the chief men over a broad country. He will drink from the brook by the wayside, therefore he will lift up his head. So we have this language that God the Father is speaking to someone that David calls my Lord, and the New Testament quotes this psalm a lot and applies it to Jesus, and in fact Jesus applies it to himself. There's one point where he's arguing with the Pharisees and he points out, Who is David talking to here? This is King David. Who is King David's Lord? Who's greater than King David? Well it's the coming king, the one who is descended from David, but is superior to David. So God says to this descendant of David, Sit at my right hand, the place that shows you have my authority and approval, and sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool under your feet. So I vanquish them all, and they bow before you like a footstool for your feet. So Jesus' resurrection was his coronation. When God raised Jesus from the dead, he was saying, Truly this Jesus is my Son. This is the one who sits at my right hand and rules over all the earth in my name. The New Testament tells us that we are living in that time where Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God, waiting for the time when God makes all his enemies a footstool for his feet. That is they will bow before him and recognize that he is King of kings and Lord of Lords. So Jesus reigns now, he sits at the right hand of God, but we're waiting for the time when his reign is fully accomplished. We're waiting for the time when God vanquishes all his enemies. So we're living in the period between his coronation and his victory over all the world. And Paul is referring back to Psalm one ten. Christ is reigning now, but we're waiting for that time when his enemies are subdued and his reign is fully established and complete, and the last enemy to be abolished is death. The Psalm specifically talks about overcoming rulers who are opposing God, and I think Paul is taking that language and metaphorically extending it to death. God's going to establish his rule over all the rebel kings of the earth, and the last one of those, metaphorically speaking, is death. There's a sense in which death is an enemy of Christ. Death is part of God's judgments against us for our sin and rebellion, but it is God's enemy in the sense that this is not how life is supposed to be. This is a result of the fall. And God intends to right that wrong, and he's doing it through Christ. Christ is not going to rule over a kingdom of rebels and sinners filled with death and futility and corruption. God intends to abolish all that, to put all those wrongs right, and Christ will rule over a new heaven and earth where sin and death reign no more. So death is in that sense an enemy of God and of his people, and God's going to do away with it just as he does away with all the other enemies of God. Then fifteen twenty seven, for he has put all things in subjection under his feet, but when he says all things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is accepted who put all things in subjection to him. That's a little hard to follow, especially when you're not looking at it visually. But I think Paul is now taking this language from Psalm eight, and he's referring to both these Psalms. In the previous verses he was referring to Psalm one hundred ten, which is clearly Messianic, and now he's referring to Psalm eight to further his point, and it's not immediately obvious that Psalm eight is about the Messiah. I'm going to read all of it, it's a short Psalm as well. It's also a Psalm of David. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, who have displayed your splendor above the heavens. From the mouths of infants and nursing babes you have established strength because of your adversaries to make the enemy and the revengeful cease. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained, what is man that you take thought of him, and the Son of Man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than God, and you crown him with glory and majesty. You make him rule over the works of your hands, you have put all things under his feet, all the sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heaven and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. On first reading it looks like David is reflecting on Genesis one hundred twenty six, where God gives man dominion over the earth. I'll just read that Genesis one hundred twenty six. Then God said, Let us make man in our image according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. And you can see that language reflected in the Psalm. It's this amazing thing that God created mankind in his image, and then gave mankind dominion over his creation, made us just a little lower than the angels ruling over his creation. It sounds like the Psalm is talking about all of mankind. So we have this question is this a psalm about humanity or the Messiah in particular? Well, Paul alludes to this psalm in 1 Corinthians 15 in a context that is clearly about Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul is not talking about the rule of human beings over nature. The context is Jesus being established as king, ruling over all of creation. The author of Hebrews also quotes this Psalm at some length and he applies it to Jesus. So we want to understand Psalm 8, 1 Corinthians 15, and Hebrews in a coherent way where they all work together. They can be emphasizing different aspects of the same concept, but they can't contradict each other. And one possible way of reaching that coherence is understanding that this psalm is about a human being, and Jesus is a human being, so it's about him too. So the psalm is talking about the exalted place that God gave to humanity over his creation, and Jesus is part of humanity after he was incarnated, so that applies to him too. And that's a possible interpretation, a possible way of putting the pieces together. But I think understanding this psalm as being specifically about the Messiah works better in Hebrews and in the way Paul uses it in Corinthians. So without going into too much detail, this is how I'd put it together. Psalm eight is David speaking. David is the king of Israel, the one to whom the promises were made about one of his descendants ruling on his throne forever. And David is reflecting on how gracious it is of God to give mankind this kind of authority. So yes, all humanity are called to be responsible and have dominion over creation, but among humanity God established the throne of David, and God promised that the throne of David would rule over men as they rule over creation. So David is in a unique position. As the king of Israel, David sits in authority over people who have authority over the earth, and he is struck by what God has done for him and how miraculous it is that God would put him, David in this place of honor. Now ultimately, we know that David was just a placeholder on that throne. He was the forefather of the one true king who would come and truly rule on that throne over all mankind. So this Psalm is messianic because it applies to David as king, but it applies to David as king in a small way, and there is a bigger application to the coming Davidic King, the Messiah who will fulfill all the promises. So this Psalm applies to Jesus in an ultimate way. As a man it applies to him as a steward over creation. As a son of David who rules from his throne, it applies to Jesus. And as the Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, it applies to him in the ultimate sense. In twenty seven he says, But when he says all things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is accepted who put all things in subjection to him. So Psalm eight is a Psalm about God subjecting all of creation to a Davidic king, but it's all of creation that has been subject. God did not subject himself to the Davidic King. That's why it's appropriate for Jesus to subject himself to the Father, even though he is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The sovereign God and Father did not give up all his authority to Christ, the Father gave him all of creation. And then twenty eight, when all things are subjected to him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him so that God may be all in all. Alright, the first thing we want to do with this verse is sort out the pronouns. I'm going to read it again trying to make it more clear who the hymns and he's are. When all things are subjected to him, that is Jesus Christ, then the Son Himself, Jesus, will also be subject to the Father, the one who subjected all things to Jesus, so that God may be all in all. Now remember, Paul is arguing this is the culmination of the story. This is the point that all of history is heading toward, and all of human history is moving to this end. God created the world and it was good, then mankind rebelled against him, and sin, death, evil, and futility entered the world, and God has set about making that right. And the gospel is all about the way God intends to resolve this problem of sin, death, and corruption. Jesus was raised from the dead as the first fruits, ultimately his people will be resurrected with him, and Jesus Christ is going to rule over creation under the sovereign authority of God, establishing God's justice and God's righteousness over all. When that happens, death will be conquered. Sin, evil, corruption, futility will be vanquished. All things will be subject to the rule of Jesus Christ. All his enemies will be vanquished, and everything will be put right under the rule of Jesus Christ. When Jesus fully comes into his reign as King of kings, the man Jesus turns around and subjects himself to the Father. He says, I am ruling over all of this for you. You are the one to tell me what this is about, and the result is God will be all in all. So right now there's a sense in which God is not all in all. Yes, he is still sovereign and completely in control of all things, but there's a large chunk of humanity that fails to recognize that. They deny he exists and they refuse to follow him. One day no one's going to have that option. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and He rules with the authority of God the Father. So the world now is not a perfect reflection of the holiness and character of God, but the day is coming when it will be a perfect reflection of His holiness and goodness under the rule of Christ. Everything in creation will reflect the holiness, goodness, and righteous character of God. Ultimately, we are heading to a place where we will live perfected in our humanity under the rule of Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate, and who in turn submits himself to the Father so that the world will be everything that it ought to be, and God will be all in all. Everyone will know him, everyone will recognize him, and we will be like him in his character and holiness. That's the gospel story. That's not just high theology. That's where history is headed. One day that will be reality. And that's why the Corinthians can't reject the idea of resurrection because resurrection is an essential part of how the story ends. You take that out and there's no plot anymore. This becomes a story going nowhere. Without the resurrection, we have lost sight of where God is taking us. Ultimately, the end or the climax of the story is when we live in resurrected bodies, perfect and mature, reflecting the character and the holiness of God under the reign of Jesus Christ who rules under the authority of the Father. Let me just make a few comments to wrap up this section. Paul thinks it's very important that we live in light of this big picture instead of being so constantly focused on the problems of the world here and now. A lot of modern Christianity, especially in America, is focused on social justice causes and fixing the problems of life in this moment. Now there's nothing wrong with loving our neighbors as ourselves, and we're called to do that. But that's not the ultimate purpose of this story. We are not going to redeem the world through our efforts here and now. We're not going to solve the problems of poverty, bigotry, evil, power politics, or any kind of injustice. God has promised there is a solution to those problems, and that solution is the return of Jesus Christ. So we want to make sure we keep our eyes on that prize. Ultimately, we can feed all the hungry in our community, but if we don't tell them about Jesus in the process, we have not really helped them. Social justice that minimizes the cross of Christ and the return of Christ is social reform, but it's not really true justice. Throughout this letter, Paul has been criticizing the Corinthians for being too worldly, for thinking too much about this world and putting too much emphasis on the cares and the problems and the needs in this world. So they're too caught up and overtaken by the cares of this world. I was debating once with a man who was very much taken by emergent theology, and one of his criticisms was he said, Krassan, you're just too pie in the sky. Your Christianity is just too pie in the sky for me. We got to focus on the here and now. Well, I think there is a very real sense in which Christianity is a pie in the sky message. We are looking toward a future when Christ's reign will be established. And that's the point. That is the big picture that puts everything else in perspective. And each of us has this decision to make. We have to decide what we're hoping for. What are we counting on from the gospel? Are we looking to the gospel to make us happy now, to give us an easy life for peace and prosperity now? Do we want a fairy godmother to make us live happily ever after right now? Well, Paul would say that's missing the big picture. The gospel is about where this journey is taking us. So you don't want to get overly focused on the travel plans, you want to focus on the destination. This picture of Christ's current reign and his coming reign is one of the main themes of the New Testament. By rights, Christ is king now. He has secured his place at the right hand of God, but the world does not recognize his authority yet, but we believers do, and one day everyone will recognize it. So we should understand that Jesus has the right to tell me what this life is all about and how I ought to live it. His words are the words I should live by, and right now I face the question of whether I will submit to his rule. I won't submit to him perfectly, but he has that place now. Our great hope as believers is that one day Christ's rule will be made complete and perfect over all the earth. Our great hope is that one day all of Christ's enemies will be subject to him, including death, sin, evil, corruption, and futility. Our hope is that Christ is going to win. Eventually the world will reflect his character and his values, and he will subdue all opposition, including death. And part of the way he's doing that is through the resurrection. Now we live in a world right now where death is inevitable. We can't beat it. We might be able to delay it or postpone it, but for us right now, death is going to win. We can ignore that fact when we're young, but it gets to a point where you start to feel the tug of death. You start losing people you love and your body starts wearing out. That's the natural order of the world we live in. And Paul is saying it's not always going to be that way. It's not supposed to be that way. The day is coming when that will all be changed. Right now we're living in a world where death reigns because we're living under the wrath of God. That's part of the curse. We die because we're not the kind of people we ought to be. Death is part of the consequences of our rebelling against God. Reversing death, bringing us from wrath to peace with God, moving us out from under the curse and back into life without death is the promise of the gospel. The kingdom of God is not the place where we will live forever like this. The kingdom of God is the place where we will live forever with no more death, no more evil or futility or corruption. And resurrection is a central part of that kingdom. We will be raised from the dead to new, perfected, glorified bodies, where we will live under the rule of Christ as He establishes God's justice, peace, and righteousness over the earth. This is what Paul means by God being all in all. One day his reign will be over all and in all and through all. Everything in creation will reflect His will, His values, His holiness, His righteousness and His justice. We will be the kind of people who do in fact love God with all our heart, soul, and body, and we will be the kind of people who love our neighbors as ourselves. Ultimately, when this story comes to its culmination, we will look at everything and see perfectly in it it is an expression of God. And Paul's argument is resurrection has to be true because this is God's story and God is solving the problem of death. God is solving the problem of the fall and the curse, and resurrection is part of the way God's going to solve this problem and establish his rule over all and in all. Resurrection is essential to the way he's going to reflect his rule over all the earth so that we can look at creation and at each other and at ourselves and see that we now reflect the holiness, character, and the will of God, that we belong to him, he is our God, Jesus Christ is our King, and we are his servants. You've been listening to Wednesday in the Word? My mission is to teach you both what the Bible means and how we know. And I really appreciate you listening to the podcast. Please subscribe to it, leave a positive rating or review wherever you listen to your podcast, and most importantly, tell a friend what you learned and where you learned it. I don't accept advertising on my website, I don't ask for donations, but I do love hearing from you about what you learned. So thanks for all the emails and please keep them coming. To find out more to hear previous episodes, go to wednesdayintheword.com. Our theme music is graciously provided by my friend and my favorite musician Reggie Coates. You can find his music on heartfeltmusic.org. Thank you for listening today. I'm Krissan Morata, and I'll see you next week at Wednesday in the Word.