That God May Be All in All

Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. [Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.] And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

1 Corinthians 15:22-28

This passage speaks of the end of the reign and priesthood of Christ. Jesus Christ, all of humanity, and the entire universe of created things will be “all in all”, one with God.

The passage says, “Then the end will come…” (v24) – where there is an end, there is no everlasting.

Christ must reign “until” (v25) – tells us His reign will end.

Christ hands over the kingdom to the Father – again, bringing His reign and priesthood to an end. Whatever is happening here, the mediatorial role of Christ is no longer necessary. The impact of this event is such that every individual, every being, every part of creation assumes it’s place in the whole, referred to as God being all in all.  This passage, in effect, nullifies the idea of scriptural “forever” and “everlasting”. These concepts are rarely if ever mentioned in the original. There is nothing in the biblical narrative that points to anything beyond this event. That narrative speaks only about the time leading up to and including the end of the ages.

Whatever comes next is a complete unknown – it is beyond the end of the “ages to come” and, therefore, beyond the scope of the Bible narrative. While conceptually speaking there is, there is no biblical “forever” or “everlasting”. This is important to remember.