1 Corinthians 15:25 Commentary and Bible Study

Christ must reign. The ‘must’ is very emphatic in the original Greek. God has determined it. God, in the eternal counsel before the world was created – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – determined every step, that Christ would come and represent them and represent the human race; that God, his way of salvation would be carried out and fulfilled.He is reigning now, and then in that day when he returns, all his enemies will be no more. As a Christian you have enemies: the devil, his demons, people who persecute you or dislike you, for Christ's sake. They will be no more. Then also, there are enemies of the truth. They too will be put under Christ’s feet: theological liberals, people who teach works religion instead of grace, cynics, doubters, opponents of the inspired Bible, all the enemies of the church. ‘The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death’, and that is the greatest enemy because of sin. Death is personified in this passage. It is fanciful to credit it with a mind, but as soon as it is personified you can grasp so much more what it is and what it does. Death is the judgment of God and it is an implement in his hand. Yes, it is a separating implement and nothing negative will exist in heaven, so God will remove it, for it will have served its purpose. Why is it called the last enemy? Is this chronological language? That is difficult to establish, but it is the most obdurate, the harshest, and the most implacable enemy. We all die in the body; death is irresistible; we cannot stop it; you cannot appeal to it or negotiate with it. In the Book of Job it is called the king of terrors. It is without pity, without mercy. It takes young as well as old, prematurely ending young lives, full of promise. It separates those who love each other deeply, and who have spent a lifetime growing to depend on each other. It leaves widows without support when they are at their most vulnerable. Medical help can delay it but not remove it. It brings about the decay of the body, so that the body which was loved becomes an object of disgust. It offers no hint of future reuniting, and seems to leave us without hope. The grave is silent and tells us nothing about where those who have died are now. No one has ever heard any message back from the dead, yet some try so hard to convince themselves that they have. It is the subject of fascination and dread of the poets because it reduces life to absurdity. But death itself will die. That last enemy will also be destroyed: no more parting, no more sickness leading to death, no more decay, no more tokens of death.