1 Corinthians 15:28

1 Corinthians 15:28. And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all all things in all persons.

Note. To those who deny the supreme Divinity of Christ, this ultimate subjection of the Son to the Father involves no difficulty; it is to them only a confirmation of their view of His Person. But to those who find the supreme Divinity of Christ in every account of His work, and who cannot rest on a Saviour without absolutely Divine properties, the following remarks may prove helpful. This “delivering up of the kingdom” must be (1) that He is to “give an account of His stewardship” to Him who entrusted Him with it. It would seem a fitting thing that in some formal, august style His intromissions should be subjected to public inspection, that judgment should be passed upon His fidelity and success, and that the whole work to which He was appointed should (so to speak) be taken off His hand, with a “Well done, good and faithful Servant!” But (2) the “delivering up of the kingdom” will not, it seems, be so “the end” of the kingdom as that the Son's connection with it shall altogether cease. For then, how should it be called “the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”? and how is it that in those Apocalyptic scenes which depict the eternal state “the Lamb” is introduced as exercising active functions, “in the midst of the throne” “feeding and leading” the redeemed “to living fountains of waters” (Revelation 7:17), as “the Lamb” from which shines “the glory of God” over the new Jerusalem to lighten it (Revelation 21:23), and as having His “throne” as “the Lamb” along with God's throne, there (Revelation 22:3)? The kingdom itself, then, and Christ as the principle of all its highest activities, is never to disappear if anything certain can be gathered from these disclosures. But (3) all that is preparatory and provisional will undoubtedly be merged in the consummated and enduring state of the kingdom, and the great Gatherer in and Perfecter of the redeemed will have no more to do of that nature. He surrenders, therefore, the seals of office; and as He was “exalted to be a Prince and Saviour” for all saving purposes, He will, when these ends have been fully achieved, “be subjected unto Him that did subject all things unto Him,” and, as the grand result, GOD, in the most absolute sense Father, Son, and Holy Ghost will be all in the entire new creation. But since “here we see through a glass darkly,” with what caution and reverence should one venture to speak on such high themes!

After this digression, the apostle returns to his argument on the resurrection, beginning with six objurgatory verses.