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Ángel
Manuel Rodríguez
What
did Paul mean when he said that at the end "the Son himself will be made subject
to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all" (1
Cor. 15:28)?*
In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul is responding
to those who maintained that there is no resurrection from the dead.
His central argument is that "if Christ has not been raised, your faith
is futile; you are still in your sins," and the dead Christians are lost
(verses 17, 18). In verses 20-28, the apostle discusses the theological
consequences and implication of that conclusion.
1. The Resurrection of Jesus as Firstfruits: Paul affirms, "Christ has indeed been
raised from the dead" and calls that event "the firstfruits of
those who have fallen asleep" (verse 20). The resurrection of Jesus
is a harbinger of a future resurrection-harvest and makes that
harvest possible. To illustrate, Paul contrasts the experience
of Adam with that of Jesus. Death came through Adam; life through
Christ. The phrase "in Adam all die" not only means that his descendants
received through him, as their representative, the results of his
sin, but also that they aligned themselves with him (Rom. 5:12).
Those who are "in Christ" are those who have chosen Him. While
the whole human race is by nature and personal choice in Adam,
only those who chose salvation through Christ are in Him and "will
be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22).
2. Order of End-time Events: Christ's
resurrection assured the resurrection of believers. The next
event is the resurrection of "those who belong to him" (verse
23). This is an interpretation of the previous phrase, "in
Christ all [those who belong to him] will be made alive" (verse
22). They are the harvest of which Christ is the firstfruits.
This event will occur "when he comes."
That resurrection is followed by the "end," the
consummation of God's plan, when Christ's victory
over evil is consummated. The Messianic kingdom will
last until Christ totally defeats those powers. The
phrase "to put . . . under his feet" is a military
phrase, referring to Christ's victory over the enemy.
Paul does not detail how and when this will happen-whether
in conjunction with or some time after the return
of Christ. John's scenario fits well into Paul's
summary. In that case the "end" will include the
millennial reign of Christ (Messianic kingdom) followed
by the total extermination of the wicked and of death
itself (Rev. 20).
3. "That God May Be All in All": At the close of the cosmic conflict everything will be brought
into subjection to the Son of God; the saved
as well as the wicked will acknowledge the
love and justice of God (Phil. 2:10, 11). Cosmic
harmony will be a reality, the goal of the
plan of salvation will be achieved, and the
Son will hand over the kingdom to the Father.
God had entrusted to Him the responsibility
to restore the human race to its original state
of perfection; and the Son, through the redemptive
power of His blood, accomplished the task (cf.
Col. 1:19, 20). Everyone will be under submission
to the Son. It is this redeemed world that
Jesus gives back to the Father. Now even the
Son is subjected to Him.
The kingdom of the Son, so to speak,
merges into the cosmic
kingdom
of
God
. This subordination of the Son refers
to a functional submission and not a description of inner-Trinitarian relationships (cf. John
1:14; 17:5). As God-incarnate the Son voluntarily submitted
Himself to the Father (cf. Matt.
26:39), He was enthroned in the heavenly
temple as Savior and King, and He
is mediating for us in the heavenly
sanctuary (1 Tim. 2:5). At the end
of the cosmic conflict the exalted
Lord will place Himself under the
Father. God will be the sovereign
Lord of the universe. Notice that
the passage does not say, "that the Father may
be all in all," but "that God may
be all in all." As part of the Godhead
Christ participates in the absolute
sovereignty of God, but as the incarnate
God He continues to voluntarily submit
to the Father. This means that throughout
eternity Jesus will remain human.
Redeemed humanity voluntarily submitted
to God, and now Jesus, who belongs
to that humanity, will do the same.
That submission is part of His eternal
sacrifice on our behalf.
*Texts in this column are quoted from
the New International Version.
4/14/05
Copyright © Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists®
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