Word of Salvation – Vol.51 No.25 – July 2006

 

He Must Reign

 

A Sermon by Rev John Haverland on 1 Corinthians 15:24-28

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 110; Matthew 13:31-35

 

Theme: Paul describes the present progressive reign of Christ until his return and the final defeat of his enemies so that God may be supreme.

Purpose: To encourage us with the assurance that Christ is reigning and that he will defeat all his enemies at the end.

 

Congregation,

Some years ago J B Phillips, who did a translation of the New Testament, wrote a little paperback with the title, “Your God is Too Small”. He described how our views of God are often too small-minded and too limited. He was right. We often don’t grasp the full extent of the greatness and the sovereignty and the majesty of God. Our views of God are too small, too narrow.

Not only that, but too often we are focussed on minor matters, tiny details, small things, when compared to the overall scheme of what God is doing in the world. To be sure, those details are often important and we do need to get down to the particulars. Yet we also need to be able to see the big picture and view the overall perspective. Sometimes it is good to stand back and take in the broad scope of what God is doing from the beginning to the end. A passage like this gives us such a perspective – a big picture.

In this chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, Paul has described the evidence for the resurrection of Christ and explained that this is the basis for our resurrection. He then looked ahead to the resurrection of believers when Jesus comes again. That prompted him to go on to describe the marvellous scope of Christ’s work in his kingdom, from its beginning to its end. It’s as though Paul got carried away by the greatness of his subject and he couldn’t stop! He had to go on to extol Jesus as King and God the Father as the One who was all in all!

Paul’s great theme here is the kingdom of Christ. As we examine this we will consider:

1. His Present Reign,

2. His Final Victory,

3. His Transfer of the Kingdom.

1. HIS PRESENT REIGN

Sometimes it seems as though Jesus is not King, as though he does not rule. The writer of Hebrews acknowledged this when he wrote: “But we do not yet see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour” (Heb 2:8-9). Paul stated the same truth of faith when he wrote in verse 25: “For he must reign…”.

Our Psalms and hymns confess this: “Christ shall have dominion, over land and sea”; or in the words of another hymn: “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun, does his successive journeys run”. There is a divine necessity about this; this is God’s sovereign plan and purpose – Jesus must reign for this is what God has planned.

Jesus established his kingdom when he came to earth for the first time. John the Baptist announced that the Kingdom of God was at hand and Jesus told the Jews that it had arrived. He set it up in his person and in his ministry. He demonstrated the power of his kingship in driving out demons, healing the sick and overruling the forces of darkness.

In his death on the cross he defeated the forces of evil making a public display of them. In his resurrection he demonstrated that victory over sin and death and Satan by rising from the dead; and then he ascended into heaven to rule over all things from his position of honour at the right hand of God.

God the Father has given Jesus this position of being the King over his kingdom.

He is the Mediator of the New Covenant.

He is the Redeemer of his people and the King of his kingdom.

Throughout this present age – from his first coming to his second – he must reign.

That means that he will extend his kingdom, he will save his elect people from all over the earth, he will gather them into the church, he will rule with justice and righteousness.

“He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet” (vs 25). This describes the progress of his kingdom.

These words look back to Psalm 110: “The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make all your enemies a footstool for your feet.” This was an Old Testament picture of a complete conquest and absolute rule. Jesus has embarked on a career of conquest.

As we noted before, we don’t see that yet, but it is going on. Jesus is ruling and he is defeating his enemies. Sometimes it looks as though evil is winning, but as Christians we don’t believe in a dualism in the universe; we don’t believe that the forces of good and evil are equal and opposite, like the Ying and the Yang. Rather we believe that the Kingdom of Christ is superior and supreme and that Jesus will win.

Jesus himself taught us that in the parables of the kingdom; like the parable of the mustard seed which grew into a large tree; or like the parable of the yeast which worked through the whole dough. Christ is King and he will reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

2. So let’s go from his present reign to consider, secondly, HIS FINAL VICTORY.

This chapter teaches us that we can be absolutely certain of the resurrection of believers at the return of Christ. Paul described that in verse 23 and then wrote: “Then the end will come…” “The end” is the end of this present world, this age we are now in; the end of all things on earth; the end of the kingdoms of this world.

This is where history is going. The Lord Jesus Christ is directing all things to a definite and final conclusion. There is a purpose to everything. History is heading to a specific goal – to an end point.

All the events associated with the return of Christ will occur together at the end. Not all Christians agree with this. Some believers separate out these events over a period of 1000 years. Yet when you compare the biblical passages all these events are associated together – they are all part of the same cluster of events. Jesus will come and believers and unbelievers will be raised from the dead; those believers who are still living will be caught up to meet Christ in the air and will be transformed; Satan will be defeated; Jesus will judge the living and the dead; unbelievers will be sent away to the punishment of hell while believers will be welcomed into the glory and beauty of a new heaven and new earth. These are the events of the end.

At these events of the end Jesus will destroy “all dominion, authority and power.” This is the aim of all battles: to defeat your enemies, to destroy those who oppose you. There are many examples of that in the history of the world and in the Old Testament. The most striking Old Testament example was King David who defeated all his enemies around him. After a long list of David’s conquests the writer of Chronicles says: “So David’s fame spread throughout every land, and the Lord made all the nations fear him” (1 Chron 14:17).

King David was a picture of a greater and more important king – the Lord Jesus Christ, who will also defeat his enemies. Jesus himself had explained that the reason he had appeared was “to destroy the devil’s work” (1 Jn 4:8).

He will destroy “all dominion, authority and power.” This is saying that he will destroy every force that opposes him – humans and demons, kings and rulers, presidents and prime ministers. At the end, Jesus will have complete and final authority over everything. “The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (vs 26).

There is a sense in which Jesus has already defeated death in his own death and resurrection. Paul wrote to Timothy saying that Jesus “has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim 1:10). Death has already been defeated, in principle, at the beginning of Christ’s kingdom.

This is what Jesus did in his resurrection on that Easter Sunday morning. This is the life principle of the kingdom of Christ that we celebrate every Easter, and indeed every Sunday morning.

One commentator suggests that we should celebrate Easter more often, more regularly, because it is crucial to all we believe and confess as Christians.

This is well-expressed in a beautiful poem.

“I heard two soldiers talking
As they came down the hill,
The sombre hill of Calvary,
Bleak and black and still.
And one said, ‘The night is late,
These thieves take long to die.’
And one said, ‘I am sore afraid,
And yet I know not why.’

I heard two women weeping
As down the hill they came,
And one was like a broken rose,
And one was like a flame.
One said, ‘Men shall rue
This deed their hands have done.’
And one said only through her tears,
‘My son! my son! my son!’

I heard two angels singing
Ere yet the dawn was bright,
And they were clad in shining robes,
Robes and crowns of light.
And one sang, ‘Death is vanquished,’
And one in golden voice
Sang, ‘Love hath conquered, conquered all,
O heaven and earth rejoice!'”

Yes, death is vanquished, but we still die. We still die because death in this age is the consequence and the punishment of sin. We still die because the end has not yet come. We are already born again spiritually through the Holy Spirit, but we do not yet have our resurrection bodies. That is still in the future, when Christ comes again.

But one day, the last enemy, death itself, will be destroyed. Death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:14). The proof of this will be the resurrection of believers with their new bodies and their entrance into eternal life. Jesus spoke about that in his ministry when he talked about “those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead”. They will “neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels” (Lk 20:35-36).

At present death touches everyone; in heaven death can touch no one.

This is the great theme of this chapter – the resurrection body of the believers. This is written to encourage us in the present and to give us hope for the future. Jesus will come and we who trust in Christ will be raised. This is what we can look forward to with confidence and expectation.

We have seen that Jesus is presently reigning over all things and that he will win the final victory.

3. Finally we see from this text that Christ will TRANSFER THE KINGDOM.

He will “hand over the kingdom to God the Father” (vs 24).

In verse 27 Paul clarified what he meant when he said that “everything has been put under him”. He wrote: “It is clear that this did not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.” Here we enter the mystery of the Trinity.

The Bible teaches us that there is one God in Three Persons – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. In this Trinitarian relationship there is no one who is “first or last; for they are all three one in truth, in power, in goodness and in mercy” (Belgic Confession Art 8). They are all equally God. They are all equal in status and in their essential being.

But they are different in their roles and their function. They do different things. They perform different tasks. “The Father is the cause, origin and beginning of all things” but he has given His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, all authority in heaven and on earth (Mt 28:18). Jesus has been appointed as King over his kingdom, as Ruler over the world – He is the Lord of all things. Jesus is currently administering everything in this world as the Mediator, but the Father remains over all.

However, when Jesus has completed his task of defeating his enemies and when he has put everything under his feet, and when the end has come, then his work as Mediator will be complete, this task will be done; then he will hand everything back to God the Father.

He will have completed his work, saved his elect people and gathered his church. Having done all he was given to do he can hand it back to the One who gave him this great task.

When there is an election in this country and the sitting government is defeated the prime minister must hand over the authority to rule to the leader who has been voted in. Usually that transfer of power goes smoothly, although sometimes it is done unwillingly and grudgingly. Not so when Jesus hands over the kingdom to God the Father. He will do that gladly, willingly, joyfully. He will gladly “be made subject to him who put everything under him” (vs 28) because there is no competition amongst the Persons of the Trinity. There is no jealousy. They work together in total harmony.

Christ Jesus will do this so that “God may be all in all”.

Some say this reference to “God” here means God the Father; others take this as a reference to all three persons of the Trinity. The previous references to God all refer to God the Father so that is probably the most likely reference. However, it is true that the Triune Godhead will reign over the New Heaven and the New Earth. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit will together rule over all things for all eternity. The Triune God will rule forever in perfect unity of mind and harmony of purpose.

God will be “all in all”.

We should not understand this to teach pantheism where God is somehow merged into his creation or identified with it as is taught in the Eastern religions and in the New Age movement. No, the Bible teaches that there is a clear distinction between God the Creator and his creation. That distinction will be maintained.

Rather this means that God will be supreme everywhere and in every way. He will reign over the New Heaven and the New Earth, over the new creation, over all those who have been saved from all eternity who have been gathered from the entire world and from all of history.

Sometimes we need to stand back and take in this big picture – for our encouragement and for our hope for the future. We need to see what God has done, is doing and will do.

After his resurrection from the dead, Jesus was given a position of all authority. “God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (Eph 1:22-23). This is his present position. He must reign. And he will continue to reign until every enemy is defeated, including that last enemy – death itself.

Then the end will come and we will be raised to eternal glory with our resurrected bodies. Then the kingdom will go to God the Father so that he may be all in all.

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen” (Rom 11:36).