Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 15:25
For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
25. For he must reign ] i.e. Christ as Man and Mediator. For at present we can only discern God through the medium of Christ’s Humanity. Cf. St Joh 12:45; Joh 14:9. In the end, we shall be able to ‘see Him as He is,’ 1Jn 3:2. For the present He must reign in His Church, in His sacraments and ordinances, in His ministers, ecclesiastical and secular (Rom 13:4; Rom 13:6), all of them (see last note) the reflex of His power as He sits at God’s Right Hand.
till he hath put all enemies under his feet ] Either (1) the Father, Who put all things under His Son, or (2) Christ, Who puts all things under His own feet. The analogy of Psa 110:1 (cf. St Mat 22:44) would cause us to suppose the former; the grammatical construction, as well as the course of the argument, the latter. The enemies are all who ‘oppose and exalt themselves above all that is called God or an object of worship’ (2Th 2:4), and therein especially pride of rank, wealth, intellect, reason, whatever casts off or disowns the universal empire of God. Cf. Eph 1:21-22; Php 2:10; Php 3:21 (in the Greek); Heb 1:4. “This passage,” says Cyril of Jerusalem, “no more implies a cessation of the reign of Christ than the words ‘from Adam until Moses’ (Rom 5:14) imply a ‘cessation of sin after Moses.’ ”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For he must reign – It is fit, or proper ( dei), that he should reign until this is accomplished. It is proper that the mediatorial kingdom should continue till this great work is effected. The word must here refers to the propriety of this continuance of his reign, and to the fact that this was contemplated and predicted as the work which he would accomplish. He came to subdue all his enemies; see Psa 2:6-10; or Psa 110:1, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Paul, doubtless, had this passage in his eye as affirming the necessity that he should reign until all his foes should be subdued. That this refers to the Messiah is abundantly clear from Mat 22:44-45.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Co 15:25
For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet.
The reign of Christ
This world is His battlefield now; and when this conflict is at an end there will be an end to something else, He shall reign till–, and no longer.
I. Who are Christs enemies?
1. All those agencies in the world which are opposed to God. Christ is on the throne for God; so that whatever in evil spirits, in bad men, in society, in institutions, habits, experiences, is warring against God, is against Christ, and He is against it.
2. All those agencies in the world which are against us. He is on the throne for us. Our cause is His. Every evil which injures or threatens us.
(1) All our intellectual enemies–ignorance or error.
(2) All our moral enemies–sin in every form.
(3) All our physical enemies–pain, sickness, disease, death–all these are included among Christs enemies.
3. We may answer the question by referring to Christs life in the flesh. He came here to do battle; and all His life He was engaged in the conflict, attacking–not men; He never touched a man in any way but to bless him–but He was in conflict with all the powers of evil of which men were the instruments and victims. And the battle is still the same. Through His true people He is now carrying on the war with ignorance, unrighteousness, pain. And we may be sure that He will be victorious, not only because it is said in the Bible, and we therefore believe it, but because it is God that is engaged in the conflict.
II. What should be our supremest cares in reference to this great conflict?
1. To be ourselves delivered. We must each ask himself, will He put my enemies under His feet? It depends on whether you will let Him undertake for you. Your faith must lay hold of His strength.
2. To take our part in it on His side. In this great conflict there is no neutrality. And for what reasons should it be our great care to range ourselves in this battle on His side? Because–
(1) It is an honourable service. Frenchmen speak with no unnatural pride of having served under the Great Napoleon. Something of the lustre of the name and achievements of the great captain is reflected in his humblest follower. And so it is in the spiritual conflict.
(2) Christ has a claim upon our service. It is our cause that He is contending for, and it cost Him His life.
(3) It is a strife for goodness and human happiness.
(4) There is victory with that side.
3. To engage ourselves in that part of the field where spiritual evils are the enemies combated against. Noble is it to follow Christ in the war He waged with physical evils; but the noblest work is to spread Christs truth, for where that is spread all evils diminish. And further, what is the life of the body compared with the life of the soul? (D. Thomas, B.A.)
Christs conquests
This world is a vast stage erected for the display consummation of a mighty design by the power of the Lord Jesus. Scripture has distinctly affirmed that all things were created by Him and for Him. The world was made for Jesus; and man, the most distinguished of its tenants, was called into existence chiefly that he might add to the Mediators glory. In His glory the eternal blessedness of millions is involved; and the consummation of His mighty work will be the seal and fulness of the felicity of the redeemed. Now in the management of this stupendous design, the Mediator is pursuing His way to the glory which awaits Him through the midst of foes. There are foes in whose destruction we may not be able to trace any of that consolation which it is the apostles object to afford. The priests and Scribes of Israel constituted themselves His personal enemies, and the stone which the builders rejected has fallen upon them and crushed them to powder; but our comfort or advantage appears to be this, that the enemies rather of the Saviours cause than of His person are spoken of; and with that cause Jesus has so entirely identified Himself, that He reckons hostility to it as hostility against Himself. There is–
I. Satan, who from the first has evinced himself the foe of the cause of Jesus. But his power is day by day contracting; and one by one are his strongholds wrested out of his hands. His most formidable opposition was his personal struggle with the Saviour, in which he enjoyed a momentary triumph; but it was a triumph which placed a lever underneath the foundations of his throne. The gospel of which that days achievement forms both the power and the theme, has gone forth under the sanction of the Redeemers command, over those tracts and territories where the god of this world had long held unbroken sway. And the means by which the Saviour has enlarged His kingdom are marvellous. Satan, as he was upon the day of the worlds redemption, is defeated with his own weapons. Though covetousness may have sent ships to far distant shores, and rapine may have subjugated one country to another, and injustice may have torn the slave from kindred and from home–still see we not, that in more territories being laid open to the inroads of the gospel, and other influences being brought to bear upon benighted lands, that Satan has been foiled by superior wisdom, and the empire of the Mediator increased by his defeated policy!
II. Corruption in the hearts of Gods believing people. The Mediators most glorious title is the King of Saints; and that which chiefly prevents Him from being so now, in the fulness and majesty of the expression, is the existence of that secret and unholy principle in the hearts of Christians. But this corruption under the laws of the Mediators reign is destined at length to be totally dethroned. The work of subduing it is one of mystery and time, and for the subduing of it Jesus has a train of instrumentalities at His disposal. By troubles, trials, disappointments, the hand of illness and bereavements. In every child of God it is daily waxing more feeble, which shows that, ultimately, it must be utterly extinguished, for Jesus must reign, etc.
III. The ungodly. These may not all take Paine for their text-book, or Voltaire for their leader; but yet from the circumstance of their being unconverted; they must be reckoned among His enemies. The carnal mind is enmity against God–They that are in the flesh cannot please God. Now such the Mediator will put under His feet. Contrary to the usual course of His government, He will do little towards effecting this object here. But, while an enemy remains unpunished, the throne of the Mediator must stand.
IV. Death. The trophy and the triumph of the Satanic hosts. It was among the firstfruits of their victory. But in the arrangements of the Mediators rule this enemy is destined for destruction! Even now is his power abridged, and his strength much departed from him; for Jesus has gone down into deaths domains, and, in the dark seclusion of the tomb, passed through a conflict with him, from which He has returned a conqueror! And this victory He perpetuates in the persons of the members of His kingdom; for there is not one of them who feels not that death, though he may awe, can no longer terrify. Even upon this world, death to them has ceased to be an enemy; but oh! if we would see him, not simply shorn of his strength, but stripped of his existence, we must throw forward our glance to the resurrection morning. That hour shall see all enemies subdued. (Dean Boyd.)
The victories of Christianity
How real was the faith of St. Paul! Only some twenty years had passed since the Crucifixion. The memory of it was fresh; the shame and stigma recent. Nevertheless, the apostle declares his faith not only in the resurrection of Jesus, but in His universal dominion. The vividness and reality of the apostles faith was common to all the Christians of that first age, and is very quickening and reassuring to ours. When St. Paul wrote these words the believers were but a handful. As yet they had mastered no stronghold of the enemy. In but three or four of the great cities of the world they had barely effected a lodgment. At Rome they had scarcely as yet been heard of. And yet says the apostle, He must reign, etc. The apostles great word is now in course of fulfilment. Though even yet we by no means see all things put under Christ, still the pledge has been already afforded of victory in every kind and over every form of opposition. We have but to pursue the advantages we have gained.
I. The earliest triumphs of Christianity over idolatry are the pledge to us of her ultimate victory over every form of heathenism.
1. The two great historical triumphs were–
(1) Over classic paganism and other old-world idolatries. When Paul and Barnabas set forth from Antioch on the first missionary advance, the whole world was wholly given to idolatry. Heaven, earth, ocean, and the great underworld teemed with divinities. Idolatry coloured all life, embraced every relation of being, held all things whatsoever under its spell and its thraldom. How wonderful an undertaking, then, was it for the obscure missionaries to set forth upon their errand! Can we wonder greatly that John and Mark shrank back from such an enterprise? And what must have been the courage and faith of Paul when, in the renowned eve of Greece, he stood up, without a friend or comrade, to challenge alike philosophers and idolaters? or when he undertook at Corinth–the lascivious and the worldly–to preach Christ and Him crucified, as Wisdom, Righteousness, and Sanctification, and Redemption? or when he planted himself at Ephesus, where all the inhabitants were fanatics in their worship of their great goddess? But the word of God everywhere grew mightily and prevailed. And so with the other Christian pioneers. The work spread and leapt from province to province, from shore to shore, from age to age. About the beginning of the second century, Pliny wrote that in Bithynia the new faith had so spread that the temples were everywhere deserted. Half a century later Justin Martyr testifies that there was no nation in whose language prayers and thanksgivings were not offered to God in the name of Jesus. Yet a little later–Tertullian grandly boasts that, though but a people of yesterday, the Christians had filled every place except the heathen temples. For three centuries did the Roman State keep up a relentless persecution, but all in vain. At length, Diocletian having exhausted in vain all the resources of power and cruelty, the Christian Church came forth finally victorious.
(2) Scarcely, however, was this struggle over before another began. After the destruction of the Western Empire by the barbarian invaders, Christianity had to address itself anew to the task of conquering the conquerors of the world. But the Northern tribes in succession came within the pale of Christian profession. The Christian faith survived the wreck of all things else. A deep, dense night rested upon the face of the mingled nations. But the Spirit of God in the midst of the thick darkness was moving upon the chaotic waters, and by the results, when the curtain began to lift, we know that the work was going on. The victory over the Northern barbarians won Europe for Christ, and we inherit its results in the purer, more vigorous and enlightened Christianity of to-day.
2. These things being so, how can we doubt what the results must be of the contest now being waged by Christianity against heathenism? The Christianity of the present day is in all respects superior to that of the age of Constantine, and to that which overcame the heathenism of the Goth, the Teuton, and the Kelt.
(1) How then can the heathenism of India and China withstand it? As a matter of fact, the progress of Christianity in some parts of India, and especially in Ceylon, during the last forty years has been such as to demonstrate that in less time than it took for our holy religion to vanquish Roman idolatry the heathenism of India shall yet yield to the power of Christs gospel. As for China, we have hardly taken hold of its fringe, but we have already seen enough to prove that the power of Christianity needs only to be faithfully applied by an adequate missionary force, and China, like all the world besides, must yield to the gospel.
(2) As for the barbarian idolatries of to-day, we have evidence all the world over how surely and swiftly they are vanquished by the word of Christ. The negro race has already largely yielded to the truth. New Zealanders and American Indians, Fijian and Burmese have accepted the faith of Jesus. Everywhere the like result must follow.
II. In the past successes of Christianity we have a pledge of the triumph of free and pure Christian faith over Popish tyranny and corruption.
I. Popery proper, the special creation of the Roman Ecclesiastical Court and Empire, is a priestly growth and usurpation. It is a selfish corruption–and throughout there has been a struggling protest against it. There has been a lay mind in continual revolt, and many even among the priesthood abhor the yoke by which they are bound. The pretensions of the Papacy are doubtless as arrogant and as blasphemous as ever. But this is perfectly consistent with the real weakening of the Roman power. Pius IX could not enact the part of a Hildebrand, though he did summon a so-called OEcumenical Council. He could claim for himself infallibility, but he could not set his foot upon the neck of princes nor cast an interdict over an empire. He could not even prevent his holy city from being wrested from his hands and made the capital of a free kingdom. The Pope is no longer the great Potentate of the world.
2. The effect of the Vatican Council has been to produce alienation in the minds of the noblest among those who felt the spell and attraction of a Church so ancient, so vast, and in many respects so grand in its memories and its achievements.
3. Immense was the power of the Papacy, forty years ago, over every Catholic country of Europe. Now there is scarcely one land in which religion is not, at least professedly, free, and the gospel of Christ in its purity is not more or less preached.
4. Now if the Christianity of the fourth century prevailed to subdue the Imperial heathenism of Rome, much more shall the purer, more powerful, and better organised evangelical Christian life and truth of to-day prevail over this Papal heathenism. What is needed is that the truth and the falsehood should be distinctly defined and discriminated, that the gospel should be known as gospel, and the heathen superstition discerned as heathen superstition. If we cannot yet say that Babylon is fallen–though assuredly some of its grandest towers have been overthrown never to be restored–we may at least be confident that the politico-ecclesiastic power of Rome is now at an end, and that she can no longer, as in the past, cause the nations to drink of the mingled cup of her abominations.
III. The past victories of Christianity over heathen and sceptical philosophy are the pledge of its future triumphs. It is often said that science is the great enemy of faith. But science, as such, has nothing to say as to the contents of Revelation or the articles of our faith. Its proper sphere lies wholly apart. Some of the profoundest men of science have found no incompatibility whatever between their science and the faith of a Christian. It remains, accordingly, that the sources of scepticism must be in what are called philosophical doubts or in historical criticism.
1. Whether Atheistic or Pantheistic in its form, Philosophical Scepticism can never extensively prevail. It has many times striven to assert itself against the Christian faith, but always only to be defeated. Of old the philosophy of Epicurus and his school was overborne by the living witness of Christianity. The philosophers, whether Stein or Platonic, could not arrest the triumphant progress of St. Paul. The Pantheistical Neo-Platonism of Alexandria did its utmost to oppose the power of Christianity, but in the end was entirely overthrown. In modern times Hume found his subtlety vain against the rising tide of evangelical faith and power. The infidelity of France was rebuked and put to shame by the horrors of the French Revolution, so manifestly the fruit of French infidelity. And to-day what is the weight, the force, of speculative philosophy in comparison of the living powers and forces of Christianity, which were never so mighty as they are at this present time?
2. As to historical criticism, the essential arguments on behalf of Christianity to-day are the same as those which triumphed in the last century. The forms of objection are, doubtless, varied, and the details differ, but the nature of them is essentially the same, and the answer is essentially the same. The victory won in the last century will not be lost in this. And to-day the vaunting foes of Christianity are boldly met, and the battle is turned to the gate. Never was there so goodly a company of Christian believers gathered from every rank of life, and including not only men of ordinary capacity and of average character and influence, but the highest intellects and the most influential personalities in the land. (J. H. Rigg, D.D.)
Good news for loyal subjects
Must is for the king; and concerning King Jesus there is a Divine necessity that He must reign. He was once the King of misery–in that kingdom He reigned supreme. That thorn-crown is pre-eminent in the sorrows which it signifies. To-day He is the King of glory, enthroned far above all principalities and powers. He must reign because He is God. The Lord reigneth must ever stand a truth. He must reign as man; for the Lord has made a covenant with David that of his seed there should sit upon the throne of Israel for ever a King to rule in righteousness, and Jesus of Nazareth is that King. He must reign also as the Mediator. At this time the sovereignty of the world is committed to His keeping, the headship of His Church, the government of providence, the ruling of heaven, and earth, and hell, as the mediatorial monarch.
I. What are thy reasons for this must? The lamb as seen by John had seven horns of power, and here are seven reasons why he should possess the throne for ever.
1. His empire in itself is such as to ensure perpetuity. There have been many empires of which men said that if they were overthrown, the very pillars of the earth would be removed; yet in due time they were swept away. Christ must reign because–
(1) His reign over the human mind is based upon truth. At one time Plato reigned supreme over thoughtful minds; then Aristotle; but another philosophy supplanted him, to be in its turn subverted by the next. Things which were accounted sure and wise are now ridiculed. And why? Because these systems of philosophy and thought have not been based upon truth. But the truth which Jesus taught, reads as if it were delivered but yesterday. Christianity is as suitable to the nineteenth century as to the first.
(2) His dominion over human hearts is based upon love. Napoleon said at St. Helena:–My empire has passed away. I founded it upon the sword, and it is gone. Jesus Christ established an empire upon love, and it will last for ever. His person is the incarnation of love, His teachings are the doctrines of love, His precepts are the rule of love, His Spirit is the creator of love, His whole religion is saturated with love, and because of this His kingdom cannot be moved.
(3) It is the one great remedy which this sad woe-begone world requires. The world is like the troubled sea that cannot rest, and there is but one foot which can tread its waves, and but one voice which can say, Peace, be still. Jesus is the true liberator of captive nations. The agonising groans of earth demand the sovereignty of Jesus, and therefore we believe that He must reign, for God will yet give His creature what it needs. His Father decrees it. Up till now God has maintained the throne of His Son. Read Psa 2:1-12 and see.
3. Divine justice demands it. The Father promised that He should be a leader and a commander of the people, and determined as the result of His humiliation that He should mount to a superior throne as the Son of man and the Son of God. Shall God belie His word?
4. It is inwrought into the order of providence. A few months ago the trees were bare; but it was in the order of providence that there should be a spring, and here it is. We cannot say that in any one day it seemed to make any great advance. Even when the days lengthened we saw no great progress, but, surely and steadily the veins of the trees were filled with sap and the buds first swelled and then revealed their glories. So Christs reigning is woven into the warp and woof of providence, and though He has not yet drawn all men unto Him, it is coming.
5. The Holy Spirit has been given to the Church to subserve this glorious end. He can soften the most obdurate, He can turn to kindness the most cruel, and lead into light the most darkened. Now, the possession of the Holy Spirit is the Churchs treasury. Here is her battleaxe, and here are her weapons of war. You who preach Christ, or teach Him in the school, do not become discouraged under difficulties, when you recollect that you are workers together with God.
6. Christ is naturally the chief of the human race. He is the chief among ten thousand and the altogether lovely. There is none to rival Him.
7. The power to reign belongs to Him. All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, saith He, and teach all nations. Jesus Christ is no puny pretender to the throne, nor a rightful owner without power to win His own, but as His cause is good, His arm is strong. Ours is no desperate warfare, but a royal crusade, in which every soldier is even now a priest and a king, and is on the way to the banquetting-halls where men feast with God, and Jesus for ever and ever wears the fadeless diadem.
II. The encouragement to be gathered from this must. If Christ must reign, then–
1. All our enemies shall be subdued,
(1) Now, you are called to fight daily with sin, and here is your consolation, Jesus must reign. The Christ in you must bruise Satan under your feet. He shall put His foot on the neck of my pride, and shall command my every thought and wish. Where I cannot rule, Jesus can. Jesus has made us kings and priests that we may reign over the triple monarchy of our nature–spirit, soul, and body, and that, by our self-conquest, He may be undisputed sovereign of the Isle of Man. Corruption is very strong, but Christ is stronger.
(2) When the last enemy appears in view, it shall only be an opportunity for new triumphs, when the Lord of life shall reveal Himself with renewed splendour.
2. Our efforts are, after all, not in vain. If Christ must reign, then every soldier who fights for Christ is contributing to the victory, and every one who in any way advances the cause is working with sure and great results.
3. What becomes of us is of no consequence at all. If He will only take me into the royal galley, and let me pull till I have no more life left, I will be satisfied, if I may but row my Lord towards His throne, and have but the smallest share in making Him glorious in the eyes of men and angels. What cares my heart for herself if she may but see Jesus set on high? How this ought to inspirit all of you who grow downhearted about the cause of Christ! Do you not believe in the gospel as the power of God?
III. An admonition.
1. Jesus must reign. You have been opposing Him, have you? You are kicking against the pricks with naked feet: you are stumbling upon this stone, and you will be broken; and if the stone shall take to rolling down, like a massive rock, on you, it will grind you to powder.
2. If Jesus Christ must reign, then you who have never submitted yourselves to Him to accept Him as your monarch, will find His reign as terrible as it is sure. He will reign over you, either by your own consent or without it. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 25. For he must reign, c.] This is according to the promise, Ps 110:1: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” Therefore the kingdom cannot be given up till all rule and government be cast down. So that while the world lasts, Jesus, as the Messiah and Mediator, must reign and all human beings are properly his subjects, are under his government, and are accountable to him.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
God hath so decreed, (and what he hath said must come to pass), that Christ should, as Mediator, exercise a Kingdom and government in the world, until he haith subdued all the enemies of his gospel and people; all those who have said, he shall not rule over them; the whole world that lieth in wickedness, the devil, and all his instruments: this he proveth from the words of the psalmist, Psa 110:1.
The term until doth not signify the determination of Christs kingdom then, though his mediatory kingdom on earth will then be determined. He shall still reign, but not as now, in the midst of his enemies, and in the exercise of his kingdom in the conquest and subduing of them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. mustbecause Scriptureforetells it.
tillThere will be nofurther need of His mediatorial kingdom, its object having beenrealized.
enemies under his feet(Luk 19:27; Eph 1:22).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For he must reign,…. That is, Christ must reign; he is set as King over God’s holy hill of Zion; he is King of saints; he is made and declared to be both Lord and Christ; he is exalted at the right hand of God as a Prince, where he sits and rules and reigns; and his sitting at God’s right hand is here explained by his reigning, for reference is had to Ps 110:1 he must reign because it is the unalterable will, and unchangeable decree and purpose of God, that he should reign; and because he has promised it, and prophesied of it; and because the state and condition of his people require it, who otherwise could not be saved, nor dwell safely: and so he must and will,
till he hath put all enemies under his feet; and made them his footstool; meaning either all the elect of God, who in a state of nature are enemies in their minds, by wicked works, to himself and to his Father; whom he conquers by his grace, subdues their rebellious wills, of enemies makes them friends, brings them to his feet, and to a subjection to his sceptre, to his Gospel and ordinances; and he must reign till he has brought every elect soul into such an obedience to himself: or rather antichrist and his followers, and all wicked and ungodly men, with Satan and his angels; who will be destroyed with the breath of his mouth, and the brightness of his coming; and will be cast down by him into hell, and there be ever objects of his wrath and vengeance: and till all this is done he must reign; not that he shall cease to reign afterwards, but that he shall reign notwithstanding these enemies of his and his people, who would not have him to reign over them; and will reign until they are subdued or destroyed; and when they are entirely vanquished and overcome, who can doubt of his reigning then? or what, or who will there be to hinder it? The Alexandrian copy, and others, read, “his enemies”; and so do the Syriac and Ethiopic versions.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Till he hath put ( ). Second aorist active subjunctive of , “till he put” (no sense in saying “hath put,” merely effective aorist tense for climax. (), (), () all are used for the same idea of indefinite future time.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “For he must reign,” (dei gar auton) “Because it becomes him” (basileuein) “to reign,” infinitive of progressive action. To fulfill His prophetic plan, will, or purpose with the Father, He must yet reign on the earth, 2Sa 7:12-16; Luk 1:31-32; Rev 11:15.
2) “Till he hath put all enemies under his feet.” (achri ou the pantas tous echthrous hupo tous podas autou) “Until he places all of the enemies of him under his feet or rule.” Psa 110:1; Mat 22:44; Heb 2:7-10. Every foe under our Lord’s universal charter of reign must one day bow to Him, Rom 14:14; Rev 5:5-12.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
25. For he must reign He proves that the time is not yet come when Christ will deliver up the kingdom to the Father, with the view of showing at the same time that the end has not yet come, when all things will be put into a right and tranquil state, because Christ has not yet subdued all his enemies. Now that must be brought about, because the Father has placed him at his right hand with this understanding, that he is not to resign the authority that he has received, until they have been subdued under his power. And this is said for the consolation of the pious, that they may not be impatient on account of the long delay of the resurrection. This statement occurs in Psa 110:1
Paul, however, may seem to refine upon the word until beyond what the simple and natural meaning of the word requires; for the Spirit does not in that passage give intimation of what shall be afterwards, but simply of what must be previously. I answer, that Paul does not conclude that Christ will deliver up the kingdom to the Father, on the ground of its having been so predicted in the Psalm, but he has made use of this quotation from the Psalm, for the purpose of proving that the day of delivering up the kingdom had not yet arrived, because Christ has still to do with his enemies. Paul, however, explains in passing what is meant by Christ’s sitting at the right hand of the Father, when in place of that figurative expression he makes use of the simple word reign.
The last enemy — death We see that there are still many enemies that resist Christ, and obstinately oppose his reign. But death will be the last enemy (54) that will be destroyed. Hence Christ must still be the administrator of his Father’s kingdom. Let believers, therefore, be of good courage, and not give up hope, until everything that must precede the resurrection be accomplished. It is asked, however, in what sense he affirms that death shall be the last enemy (55) that will be destroyed, when it has been already destroyed by Christ’s death, or at least, by his resurrection, which is the victory over death, and the attainment of life? I answer, that it was destroyed in such a way as to be no longer deadly to believers, but not in such a way as to occasion them no uneasiness. The Spirit of God, it is true, dwelling in us is life; but we still carry about with us a mortal body. (1Pe 1:24.) The substance of death in us will one day be drained off, but it has not been so as yet. We are born again of incorruptible seed, (1Pe 1:23,) but we have not yet arrived at perfection. Or to sum up the matter briefly in a similitude, the sword of death which could penetrate into our very hearts has been blunted. It wounds nevertheless still, but without any danger; (56) for we die, but by dying we enter into life. In fine, as Paul teaches elsewhere as to sin, (Rom 6:12,) such must be our view as to death — that it dwells indeed in us, but it does not reign
(54) “It may not be improper to remark that there is an inaccuracy in our common version, which so vitiates its application that it does not seem to sustain the conclusion to which the Apostle had arrived. It was his purpose to establish the perfection of our Savior’s conquest, the advancement of his triumphs, and the prostration of all enemies whatever beneath his power. Now to say that ‘the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death,’ by no means affords a proof of this position. Though death might be destroyed, and be the last enemy that shall be destroyed, it would not thence appear but that other enemies might remain not destroyed. But the proper rendering is, ‘Death, the last enemy, should be destroyed.’” — R. Hall’s Works, (Loud. 1846,) volume 6. — Ed.
(55) “ Ultimum vero seu novissimum hostem cur vocat? Chrysostomus putat, quia ultimo accessit. Primus fuit Satan, solicitaris hominem ad pecca-tum. Alter voluntas hominis, sponte se a Deo avertens. Tentius pecca-tum. Quartus denique mors, superveniens peccato. Sed baud dubie Apostolus novissimum vocat duratione, respectu aliorum externorum hos-tium Ecclesiae, quos Christus in fine abolebit omnes. Postremo et mor-tem corporalem pellet, suscitando omnes ex monte: ut hoc mortale induat immortalitatem; ” — “ But why does he call it (death), the latest or last enemy? Chrysostom thinks, because it came last. The first was Satan tempting man to sin. The second — man’s will, voluntarily turning aside from God. The third — sin. Then at length the fourth — death, following in the train of sin. There can be no doubt, however, that the Apostle calls it the last in respect of duration, in relation to the other external enemies of the Church, all of which Christ will in the end abolish. Last of all, he will drive away the death of the body, by raising up all from death, that this mortal may put on immortality.” Fareus in loc. — Ed.
(56) “ Mais c’est sans danger de mort;” — “But it is without danger of death.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(25) He must reign.It is a moral consequence. God must triumph, and so the Son must reign and conquer till that triumph be complete. Some suggest that the force of these words is that He must reign, &c., because it has been prophesied (Ps. ex.); but the more obvious truth is that it was prophesied because it is morally necessary.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. For Assigns Scripture proof of this abolition. He, Christ, must reign from his accession to the end above mentioned. The quotation is from Psa 110:1, in which “Jehovah says to my Jehovah, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” With this compare our notes on Mat 28:18, and Act 1:1, showing Christ’s investiture with this kingdom at his ascension in accordance with Dan 7:13.
Put all enemies under his feet As their organisms in the last verse were to be abolished, so their persons it is that are put down. The figure is taken from the custom of ancient conquerors placing their feet upon the head of the conquered. See note on Act 2:35. It indicates not the conversion, but the powerful subjection, of incorrigible enemies.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘For he must reign, until he has put all his enemies under his feet.’
For Christ having taken His throne after His resurrection, has continued His reign, and must go on reigning until the final defeat of all His enemies both in Heaven and earth. And once they are under His feet as a result of His second coming, when all rule and authority and power has been abolished, then He will hand the crown to His Father.
‘Rule and authority and power’ indicates all that is in rebellion against God, all who have chosen to be independent of Him and establish themselves over against Him, whether Satan, his minions in the heavens, or his dupes on earth. All are to be ‘put under His feet’. This idea, related to Kingship, comes from Psa 110:1 compare Mat 22:44, revealing Jesus Christ as the greater David, God’s Anointed, and Php 2:10 as taken from Isa 45:23.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Co 15:25-28 . Establishment of the fact that Christ will not deliver up the kingdom until after the doing away of every dominion, etc. (1Co 15:25-27 , down to ), but that then this abdication will assuredly follow (1Co 15:27-28 ).
For He must (it is necessary in accordance with the divine counsel) reign (wield the Messianic government) until , etc. The emphasis of the sentence as it advances falls on this until , et.
. . .] words taken from Psa 110:1 , a Messianic psalm, according to Christ Himself (Mat 22:43 f.), which Paul does not quote, but appropriates for himself. The subject to is not God (so even Hofmann), but Christ (so Rckert, de Wette, Osiander, Neander, Ewald, Maier, comp. already Chrysostom), which is necessarily required by the preceding , and by in 1Co 15:24 , to which . . . corresponds. [54] Not till 1Co 15:27 does God come in as the subject without violence and in harmony with the contex.
indicates the terminus ad quem of the dominion of Christ, after which epoch this dominion will have ceased; see on 1Co 15:24 . The strange shifts which have been resorted to in order to maintain here the subsequent continuance of the rule of Christ ( was added to the Nicene Creed in opposition to Marcellus in the second Oecumenical Council), may be seen in Estius and Flatt. His kingdom continues, but not His regency , 1Co 15:24 . The seeming contradiction to Luk 1:33 (Dan 7:14 ) is got rid of by the consideration that the government of Christ lasts on into the , and that after its being given over to the Father, the kingdom itself will have its highest and eternal completion (1Co 15:28 ); thus that prophecy receives its eschatological fulfilment.
[54] We are not, however, on this account to write instead of . ; the pronoun has proceeded from the standpoint of the writer.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
Ver. 25. Till he hath put ] And after too, but, 1. Without adversaries; 2. Without any outward means and ordinances.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
25 .] See on the last verse: this is the divine appointment with regard to the mediatorial kingdom, that it should last till , and only till, all enemies shall have been subdued to it.
, viz. Christ , not the Father , as Beza, Grot., Est., Billr., al.: it is parallel with , and included in the mediatorial acts of Christ, who in His world’s course goes forth , Rev 6:2 . It is otherwise with , 1Co 15:27 ; see there.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Co 15:25 sustains the representation of the just given by prophetic words of Scripture ( cf. 1Co 15:3 f.): “For He must needs reign, until He has put all the enemies underneath His feet”. Not till every enemy of God is vanquished can Christ’s existing kingdom reach its end. P. is thinking of the culmination, not the cessation, of Christ’s kingship (see note on , 1Co 15:24 ). is added to the text of the Psalmist, as if to say: “ Every one of the foes proscribed in the Messiah’s charter must submit, before He can present to His Father a perfect kingdom”; see parls., for other applications of this cardinal O.T. dictum. On , see note to 1Co 8:2 . radically “up to,” rather than “until, (the time at) which” in later Gr [2377] takes sbj [2378] of future contingency dispensing with (Wr [2379] , p. 371) .The words of Psa 110 . are freely adapted: gets its subject from , viz. Christ not God , as imported by Est., Bz [2380] , Bg [2381] , Hf [2382] , Gd [2383] , to suit the Ps.; it is parl [2384] in tense-construction to (1Co 15:24 , see note).
[2377] Greek, or Grotius’ Annotationes in N.T.
[2378]
[2379] Winer-Moulton’s Grammar of N.T. Greek (8th ed., 1877).
[2380] Beza’s Nov. Testamentum: Interpretatio et Annotationes (Cantab., 1642).
[2381] Bengel’s Gnomon Novi Testamenti.
[2382]
[2383] F. Godet’s Commentaire sur la prem. p. aux Corinthiens (Eng. Trans.).
[2384] parallel.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
under. App-104. It is God Who puts all enemies under Christ’s feet. The fifth quotation of Psa 110:1. Compare Mat 22:44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
25.] See on the last verse:-this is the divine appointment with regard to the mediatorial kingdom,-that it should last till, and only till, all enemies shall have been subdued to it.
, viz. Christ, not the Father, as Beza, Grot., Est., Billr., al.: it is parallel with , and included in the mediatorial acts of Christ, who in His worlds course goes forth , Rev 6:2. It is otherwise with , 1Co 15:27; see there.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Co 15:25. , He must) for it has been foretold.-, He) Christ.-, reign) , reign Thou in the midst of Thy enemies, Psa 110:2.- , until) There will be no further need of the mediatorial reign.-, He hath put) viz. the Father.-, all) Paul brings in this, to prepare for a transition to what follows.- , enemies) bodily and spiritual, supply His, from that expression, His feet, to wit, the Sons: but it is now elegantly elliptical; since Christ has long ago destroyed these enemies, in so far as they were the enemies of Christ; He will destroy them [their destruction is still future], in so far as they are our enemies. The remaining part of His victory bears the same relation to His triumph already achieved, as any frontier or corner does to the whole extent of any human monarchy which has been subdued.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Co 15:25
1Co 15:25
For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.-Jesus Christ must rule and reign here on earth till he has put down and destroyed all powers and dominions of earth. Everything exercising rule and authority and dominion under the evil one is an enemy of God, and Jesus Christ must reign until all have been destroyed. He reigns in his church; and his church is his kingdom established by God, which shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (Dan 2:44). All the kingdoms, and institutions on earth shall be broken in pieces and destroyed, then shall he deliver up to God his redeemed kingdom, out of which everything built up under the dominion of the devil has been destroyed.
Since Christs mission-the mission of his kingdom-is to put down and destroy all these kingdoms, and to destroy everything that exercises rule, authority, or power on earth, how can the servants of Christ and the subjects of his kingdom enter into, strengthen, and build up that which Christ and his kingdom are commissioned to destroy?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Psa 2:6-10, Psa 45:3-6, Psa 110:1, Mat 22:44, Mar 12:36, Luk 20:42, Luk 20:43, Act 2:34, Eph 1:22, Heb 1:13, Heb 10:12, Heb 10:13
Reciprocal: Num 24:19 – Of Jacob Deu 33:7 – and be thou Jos 10:28 – them 2Sa 22:48 – that bringeth 1Ki 5:3 – put 1Ch 17:10 – Moreover 1Ch 17:12 – I will 2Ch 10:16 – David Psa 16:5 – thou Psa 18:39 – subdued Psa 21:8 – General Psa 47:3 – our feet Psa 71:24 – for they Psa 72:5 – as long Psa 89:33 – Nevertheless Isa 9:6 – the government Eze 34:24 – a prince Dan 2:35 – and filled Dan 2:44 – break Dan 7:9 – till Mic 5:9 – hand Mat 11:27 – are Mar 16:19 – and sat Luk 1:33 – he Luk 19:12 – to Joh 5:27 – hath Joh 17:2 – As Phi 3:21 – the working Col 1:18 – in all Heb 1:2 – appointed Heb 1:8 – for Heb 2:8 – but Heb 10:29 – trodden Rev 6:2 – and he went
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Co 15:25-26. When Jesus came from the dead to die no more, he annulled death or gave it the “death stroke” (2Ti 1:10). However, not until every human being has been brought back to life, will it be a fact that death is destroyed; Jesus must, be king until the great event is accomplished. This does not contradict the statement that He will give up his kingdom “at his coming,” for all of the mentioned events, the coming of Jesus. the resurrection of the dead and the transfer of the kingdom to his Father, will take place “in a moment” (verse 52). After the dead have all been raised to die no more (as to bodily death), the triumph will be complete, and Jesus will then be qualified to relinquish the kingdom to God who shall continue to reign endlessly, thus putting the final fulfillment to the prediction that the kingdom of “the God of Heaven” shall “stand for ever” (Dan 2:44).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Co 15:25. For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. The must here seems a predictive must, as if he had said Psa 110:6 must be fulfilled; though there is a deeper necessity still, in the nature of the thingGod cannot let His enemies for ever prevail. The He is not God the Father (as Bera, Bengel, and others take it), but Christtill He has subjugated all the enemies of His authority (as Chrysostom and the best modern interpreters hold).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
1Co 15:25-27. For he must reign Because so it is written, Psa 110:1; till he God the Father; hath put all enemies under his feet That is, till he hath utterly subdued them to Christ, that he may destroy them. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death That enemy which continues, in some measure, to hold the subjects of Christ under his dominion, even when the temptations of the world, and the malice of Satan, can hold them no longer, and when every remainder of corrupt nature and human infirmity has long since ceased in the perfect holiness of the intermediate state. Macknight, who renders this verse, the last enemy, death, shall be destroyed, observes, that the common version of this passage implies that there are some enemies who shall not be destroyed, which is wrong: for all enemies shall be destroyed, 1Co 15:25. Nor is it true in every sense, that because death is called the last enemy, it is to be last destroyed: for if the destruction of death is to be accomplished by the resurrection, the devil and his angels, and wicked men, are to be judged and punished after the dead are raised. In Chrysostoms opinion, death is called the last enemy, because he entered into the world after the devil and sin entered. For Satan brought in sin, and sin brought forth death. There is a sense, however, in which it may be affirmed that death is the last enemy that is destroyed; for when Christ engaged these enemies, he first conquered Satan, namely, in his temptation, then sin in his death, and lastly, death in his resurrection. In the same order he delivers all the faithful from them, yea, and destroys their power. Death he so destroys, that it shall exist no more; sin and Satan, so that they shall no more hurt his people. For he hath put all things under his feet Agreeably to what is said, Psa 8:6. But As is sufficiently evident; when he saith all things are put under him In the last-mentioned passage, and as is implied in many others; he The Father; is excepted, who did put all things under him This declaration concerning the Fathers not being subject to the Son, was intended to prevent us from interpreting what is said of the extent of the Sons dominion, in such a manner as to fancy that he is in any respect superior to the Father.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vv. 25. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet.
Paul cites the well-known words of Psa 110:1 : The Lord said unto my Lord: Sit Thou at My right hand till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool. The Divine necessity expressed by He must follows from this promise of Jehovah to the Messiah.
The emphasis in the saying quoted is put by Paul on the till; for the object of the quotation is to justify the terms of 1Co 15:24 : when He shall have put down. According to this Divine declaration, the reign of the Messiah on the throne of the Father must last till there be no longer any enemy left capable of separating God and man. Then this reign will cease. It has therefore for its essential object the carrying out of this judgment on the opposing powers which still remain after the Advent. The subject of the verb put is, according to some, God, as in the Psalm (Beza, Grotius, Bengel, Holsten); according to others, Christ Himself (Chrysostom, Rckert, de Wette, Meyer, Hofmann, Edwards). The latter rest their view on the fact, that it is the reigning Christ who must act. But, even if it is God who fights, Christ is not therefore inactive; God acts with Him and by Him. If the after is unauthentic, we cannot well think of any other feet than those of Him who is the subject of the verb; in this case Christ is the subject. As the till indicates the certainty of victory, the , if it is authentic, expresses the uncertainty of the moment when the struggle shall cease.
At what time does the apostle make the kingdom of Christ, of which he here speaks, begin? It seems at first sight as if it could be no other than the date of the ascension. But would the idea of a purely spiritual reign, such as that which began with the ascension of Jesus, harmonize with a context like this, where the external and universal fulfilment of the Divine plan is in question? Is it not more natural to take the term in its full sense, at once spiritual and external, as in 1Co 15:50? Comp. also 1Co 6:10; Eph 5:5; Gal 5:21, then the prayer: Thy kingdom come, and the words of the Apocalypse 1Co 12:10 : I heard a voice saying: The kingdom of God is come. The reign begins, according to Luk 19:15, when Jesus, after receiving the kingship in heaven, returns to the earth to exercise it. It is the coming of Jehovah in the person of the Messiah, promised by the prophets, and which Jesus called His Advent. We must therefore regard the reign of Christ as the whole state of things which follows the Advent, and which will last till the epoch called the end. It is the whole interval between the time when He shall appear visibly as king, and that when He shall cease to be so (1Co 15:28); and as among the ancients reigning meant judging, and judging reigning, so the Saviour’s reign here consists of judgment.
The till setting a limit to Christ’s reign, it has been asked if there was not a contradiction between these words and those of Isa 9:6 and Luk 1:33, where it is said, that of His kingdom there shall be no end. This question has been variously answered (see Meyer). It seems to me that the simplest solution is this: Christ’s kingdom in these prophetic sayings is confounded with that of God, which He is commissioned to establish. The distinction between the two is a new revelation whereby the apostle gives precision and completeness to the prophetic revelations. What remains true in these is, that Christ has no successor; for God cannot be regarded as the successor of the Messiah.
Christ’s victory, to be complete, must reach to the last enemy, and that even in the external and bodily domain.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. [Eph 1:20-22; Mat 28:18; 1Pe 3:22]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
25. It behooves him to reign, till He may put all enemies under His feet.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies {k} under his feet.
(k) Christ is considered here as he appeared in the form of a servant, in which respect he rules the Church as head, and that because this power was given to him from his Father.