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No.5.
"That God may be all in all"
(I Cor. 15: 28).
pp. 49 - 53
Continuing our study of I Cor. 15:, we give the structure of verses 24-28:
A | 15: 24-. The end.
B | a | -24-. WHEN He delivers up the kingdom.
b | -24. WHEN He abolishes all rule.
c | 25-. FOR He must reign.
d | -25. Till all enemies under His feet.
That
d | 26. The last enemy; death abolished.
c | 27-. FOR He hath put all things under His feet.
b | -27. WHEN The one exception.
a | 28-. WHEN The Son Himself subjected.
A | -28. That God may be all in all.
The goal is nothing less than that God may be all in all.
We were warned that the words "Then cometh the end" meant sequence, `afterwards',
not immediacy, and now we see that there are certain things that must be accomplished
before the end is reached.
The reader will discover that there is a background of war in connection with every
phase of the kingdom in the Scriptures. Passing a mass of detail concerning the kingdom
of Israel, we find that "an enemy" is present in the record of the mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven (Matt. 13: 25, 39), the preaching of the kingdom of God was associated with
authority over the power of the enemy (Luke 10: 9, 19), and the translation of the Church
of the One Body from the authority of darkness "into the Kingdom of His dear Son"
(Col. 1: 13) shows that the Mystery itself is no exception to the rule. The reign of Christ
must continue until "all enemies" are completely subdued, and when this is achieved, the
purpose of His reign and of His kingdom is attained. To perpetuate that aspect of
kingship would be undispensational in the first degree, for it is evident from the teaching
of Scripture that just as neither Priesthood, Temple, Altar or Sacrifice would ever have
been introduced had there been no sin, so Kingship, Crown, Throne and Scepter would
have found no place in the present creation had there been no enemy in view. The
kingdom that will be delivered up at the end of the ages, will be the Mediatorial kingdom
of the great King-Priest after the order of Melchisedec, Who, it should be noted, appears
on the page of Scripture when Abraham was returning "from the slaughter of the kings"
(Heb. 7: 1), a comment that is as inspired as the rest of the epistle, and intentionally
links this King-Priest with war. Such is one aspect of the goal of the ages, the bringing in
of perfect peace, by the subjugation of every man, that God may be all in all
(I Cor. 15: 28).