Lessons #545 and 546
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +
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Resurrection Related Matters (1 Cor 15:20-28)
…23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he “has put everything 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. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
The message of this section of 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 that we have been considering for some time is that Christ’s resurrection ensures orderly future resurrection and successful conclusion of God’s plan in relationship to creation. In our last study, we began to consider the third concern of the section we are studying, which is the order of resurrection as given in verses 23-28. We noted that Christ who is in a class by Himself being God man was the first to resurrect from the dead. The second class that would be resurrected consists of all believers in Christ that comprise of OT and NT believers as we demonstrated in our last study as we considered the clause of verse 23 those who belong to him. We also indicated that although Apostle Paul did not in our passage mention the third class or group that would experience resurrection but that the third group will comprise of all unbelievers since creation of the world. This aside, in keeping with the order in resurrection, the apostle ends his consideration of the order of resurrection with a series of events that would end human history. These various events that conclude human history are given in 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. The first of the events concerns two actions to be taken by Christ described in verse 24. The second concerns the rule of Christ until He subdues all enemies stated in verse 25. The third is the destruction of death given in verse 26. The fourth is Christ’s subjugation of everything except the One who delegated Him as described in verse 27. The fifth and final event in verse 28 is the Son being subject to the One that delegated Him for a purpose.
We begin our study this morning with the two actions that Christ will take that are described in verse 24. Before the apostle stated the two actions Christ will take, he conveyed that what he was about to write are actions that would take place following the event of resurrection probably of believers. Our assertion is based on the word then that begins verse 24. The word “then” is translated from a Greek adverb (eita) that pertains to being next in order of time and so means “then, next/after that” as the word is used to describe what the Lord Jesus did during the celebration of His last Passover with His disciples following His getting up from the table and tying a towel around His waist in preparation for washing the disciples’ feet as we read in John 13:5:
After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Here the translators of the NIV used the meaning “after that” to translate our Greek word. But they used the meaning “then” to indicate that Eve was created after Adam according to 1 Timothy 2:13:
For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
Our Greek word may also serve as a transition word to mark an addition to something just stated so may mean “furthermore/moreover, then” as the word is used by the human author of Hebrews to supply additional argument in support of God’s discipline of His children as recorded for us in Hebrews 12:9:
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:24, the Greek word is used with the meaning “then” to indicate that what Apostle Paul was about to state in verse 24 follow in order of time.
The word “then” in the clause of 1 Corinthians 15:24 Then the end will come raises the question of whether it implies an interval of time between the resurrection of believers and the end. Those with a Premillennial view (the view that based on Revelation 20:1-6 that Christ will have an extended rule on earth following his second coming) answer that it implies that the word “then” allows a span of time so that the millennial rule of Christ would take place. Those with the Amillennial view (i.e., no millennial reign of Christ) answer, based on the word “then”, that there is no interval between the resurrection of believers and the end. In fact, they say that the reign of Christ concludes when His people are raised from the dead and Christ immediately turns the kingdom over to the Father. A commentator with this second view goes on to say that the resurrection of believers and unbelievers takes place at the same time based on John 5:29:
and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.
The context of this verse is not concerned with sequence in resurrection but with a general statement regarding the concept of resurrection so it cannot be used to convincingly support the argument that there is no interval between the resurrection of believers and the end. That aside, it is difficult based on word “then” to know if the apostle had in mind an interval between resurrection and the end or not or whether he was being logical about end time events without giving all the details. Nonetheless, because the apostle did not discuss the resurrection of unbelievers in verse 23, it is probably that he was not concerned with all the details of the events that would take place before the end but to make the point that the final events of conclusion of human history are associated with the second coming of Christ. This means that the Holy Spirit did not bring to his mind the information at the time of his writing that was revealed later to Apostle John who wrote to indicate that the resurrection of believers and unbelievers would be separated by a substantial span of time as implied in Revelation 20:5–6:
5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
In any case, Apostle Paul introduced what should follow in time after resurrection events as the conclusion of human history. It is this that he stated in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:24 Then the end will come. The expression “will come” of the NIV is inserted since there is no verb in the Greek but such expression is implied although the Greek literally reads then the end.
The word “end” is translated from a Greek word (telos) with several meanings. The word may refer to a point of time marking the end of a duration hence means “termination, cessation, end” as it is used to describe Christ as it relates to the Law in Romans 10:4:
Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Law here refers to Mosaic law; so, to say that Christ is the end of the law means that He is the goal and termination of the law so that since the law was perfectly fulfilled in Christ, it is no longer to be regarded as a means of acquiring good standing or righteous status before God. That aside, the point is that the Greek word translated “end” here in Romans has also the sense of “termination” or “cessation.” It is in the sense of “termination” or “cessation” that Apostle Peter used our Greek word for the termination of all activities of this planet in 1 Peter 4:7:
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.
The Greek word translated “end” in our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:24 may refer to the last part of a process and so means “close, conclusion.” It is in this sense that the word is used to reference last things in the prediction of the Lord Jesus recorded in Luke 21:9:
When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
The word is used as a reference to end of life on this planet, as with that of the Lord Jesus before He departed from this earth, as in John 13:1:
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
The clause he now showed them the full extent of his love is more literally loved them to the end. The end here refers to the end of the life of Jesus on earth. To convey this understanding, the UBS handbook on John’s Gospel suggests that the literal phrase to the end could be translated fully as “to the end of his life.” Under the general meaning of last part of a process, the word in some context may mean “finally”, as in 1 Peter 3:8:
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.
The Greek word translated “end” may refer to revenue obligation and so may mean “tax, custom duties” as Apostle Paul used it to describe what believers should do about general indebtedness in Romans 13:7:
Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
The word revenue refers to “custom duties,” that is, probably the reason the translators of the Authorized Version used the word “custom” in their translation. The word may mean “goal, outcome.” It is in the sense of “goal” that the word is used in 1 Timothy 1:5:
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
The word is used with the meaning “outcome” to question about the fate of unbelievers as stated in 1 Peter 4:17:
For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:24, the word has the sense of “final stage,” that is, the concluding parts of an event or occurrence. So, it refers to the end of human history or the conclusion of God’s plan for humanity.
The timing of the final stage in God’s plan for human history is introduced with the word when that is translated from a Greek particle (hotan) that denotes time. If the point of time is roughly to or overlaps with another point of time it may be translated “when” as it is used to describe what would happen to believers when Christ returns according to Colossians 3:4:
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
When time involved is linked to a specific event it could mean “as soon as” as in the use of the word by Apostle Paul to describe when Titus should come to him based on the event of the arrival of one of the members of his team as we read in Titus 3:12:
As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.
The word may mean “whenever” as it is used in James to describe the time believers should rejoice instead of being depressed as we read in James 1:2:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.
The word may mean “after” as that is the sense the word is used by Apostle Paul in his instruction to the Colossians regarding the circulation of his epistle to them to the church in Laodicea as stated in Colossians 4:16:
After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:24, the word is used with the meaning of “when” to describe a time that is roughly simultaneous to the final stage or conclusion of human history.
The time Apostle Paul had in mind is defined by two actions that the Lord Jesus Christ would take. The first action is Christ’s delivering sovereignty to God the Father. It is this that is stated in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:24 when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father.
The expression “hands over” is translated from a Greek word (paradidōmi) that may mean “to betray” as it is used in Jesus’ statement regarding the arrangements to hand Him over to the Jewish religious authorities as recorded in Matthew 20:18:
“We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death.
The word may mean “to hand down” as in the charge against Stephen as we read in Acts 6:14:
For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”
The word may mean “to commit” as it is used to describe the action of the church in Antioch when they sent Paul and Barnabas on a missionary trip as we read in Acts 14:26:
From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.
The word may mean “to entrust” as Apostle Paul used it to describe obedience of the Roman believers regarding the teaching they received as stated in Romans 6:17:
But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.
The word may mean “to pass on to another what one knows, of oral or written tradition” with various nuances. Thus, the word means “to pass down” as Apostle Paul used it to describe the gospel message he passed on to the Corinthians, according to 1 Corinthians 15:3:
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
This meaning of “to pass down” is also used to describe the commands of the Lord as Apostle Peter use it to warn against backsliding spiritually as conveyed in 2 Peter 2:21:
It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:24, the word is used in the sense of “to deliver,” that is, to surrender someone or something to another; especially to an authority.
Interestingly, Apostle Paul used the Greek verb that we said has the sense of “to deliver” in what is known in the Greek as a present subjunctive. One could argue that the apostle probably used the present subjunctive because of the Greek adverb (hotan) translated “when” at the beginning of the clause of 1 Corinthians 15:24 when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father we are considering. The delivery of sovereignty to God the Father is certain to occur in the future so one would wonder why the apostle used the present subjunctive. It is not like it is grammatically wrong to use an indicative (a mood in Greek for presentation of certainty) with the Greek word translated “when” for we see the present indicative used in reporting the instruction of the Lord Jesus about forgiveness of someone who has wronged an individual before praying as we read in Mark 11:25:
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
The word “stand” is in indicative mood although the word “when” used is translated from the Greek word used in 1 Corinthians 15:24. The Lord Jesus was certain that His disciples would pray and so He laid the condition that must be met before they prayed. This being the case, we would have expected Apostle Paul to use the present indicative in the clause we are considering but he used a present subjunctive. A subjunctive mood is a grammatical form used in the Greek normally to present a verbal action as being probable or intentional. It is also known that a subjunctive mood in the Greek is used for volitional notions. It is this later usage that is probably the reason the apostle used the present subjunctive mood instead of the indicative. A present tense in the Greek may be used when an action is certain to occur in the future so that it is conveyed as if it were already taking place at the time of writing. Therefore, the apostle’s use of present tense in the Greek word translated he hands over in 1 Corinthians 15:24 may have been to express his certainty of what he wrote that Christ would do in the future. However, he used the subjunctive mood to convey that the handing over or delivery in view is intentional or voluntary on the part of God the Son to God the Father in keeping with the internal functioning of the Godhead. This is important to ward off any kind of notion that by God the Son delivering sovereignty to the Father it must be because He was not of equal standing with the Father as God. So, we believe that the apostle used the grammatical form he used to ward off all kinds of conjectures that people may have on reading what he wrote in the clause of 1 Corinthians 15:24 when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father.
The word “kingdom” is translated from a Greek word (basileia) with two categories of meanings. It refers to the act of ruling and so means “kingship, royal power, royal rule.” This meaning is reflected in the Parable of Ten Minas where a prince went to a distant country to receive royal power or kingship in Luke 19:12:
He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.
The verbal phrase to have himself appointed king is more literally to receive for himself a kingdom which is an idiom that means to become a king; hence, the sense is that of receiving royal power or royal rule. Another meaning of the Greek word refers to the territory ruled by a king, hence means “kingdom.” This meaning is reflected in Jesus’ predictions of events leading to the end of time in Luke 21:10:
Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
This second meaning of a territory does not apply in the phrase kingdom of God when used of God; instead, it is the first meaning of royal rule or royal power that is applicable. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:24, the word has the sense of “sovereignty,” that is, royal authority to exercise dominion over a region.
The target of delivery of “sovereignty” is described in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:24 God the Father. Literally, the Greek reads the God and Father. The word “and” is translated from Greek conjunction (kai) that has several usages but, in this phrase, it is used to explain further the member of the Godhead the apostle meant so that it may be expanded as the God, that is, the Father. Thus, the translation God the Father is proper.
The delivery of sovereignty to God the Father is concerned with a specific authority of Christ as it relates to redemption that involves defeat of forces of darkness and not to His status or even His overall function as God. There are several facts that support this assertion. First, Christ is God as it is clearly stated in John 1:18:
No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
The phrase God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side is translated in the 2011 edition of the NIV as the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father similar to the translation of the NET. So, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is God. Second, Jesus Christ indicated that He came into the world under the authority of God the Father as recorded, for example, in John 5:43:
I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.
The word “name” is translated from a Greek word (onoma) that here has the sense of authority that is the reason the TEV rendered the phrase my Father’s name as my Father’s authority. Third, before Jesus died on the cross, the Holy Spirit through Apostle John informed us that Jesus was aware that the Father had put all things under His control or authority as we read in John 13:3:
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.
The word “put” is translated from a Greek word (didōmi) that is related to the Greek word translated “hands over” in 1 Corinthians 15:24. After His resurrection, Jesus declared that all authority has been given to Him according to Matthew 28:18:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
It seems that to ensure we do not misunderstand this declaration to mean He is not equal to the Father, He immediately introduced the baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Thus, that Jesus Christ received all authority does not convey any inequality in the Godhead. Fourth, Christ as the greater son of David has an eternal sovereignty in accordance with the promise given to David in 2 Samuel 7:13:
He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
The word “kingdom” is translated in the Septuagint with the same Greek word translated “kingdom” in 1 Corinthians 15:24 and so the sense of the promise is that Christ’s sovereignty is eternal as also confirmed in Daniel 7:14:
He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
If the sovereignty of Christ described in verse 14 of Daniel 7 as the “son of man” is everlasting, then it must mean that whatever was handed over to God the Father could not possibly end the sovereignty of the Son. Thus, putting these facts together leads to the conclusion that what Jesus Christ delivers to the Father does not affect His status as God but His function in redemption. God is sovereign so each member of the Godhead is sovereign. Hence, what Christ delivered or handed over to God the Father is that authority related to redemption which would be fully completed when all forces of darkness have been rendered inactive. Having said this, we have to admit that it is beyond our full comprehension at this point regarding the internal workings of the Godhead as it relates to sovereignty that will be handed over to God the Father.
The sovereignty to be delivered to God the Father would occur only after the second action of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is rendering ineffective or powerless all hostile created, supernatural beings that exercise authority as stated in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 15:24 after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
The word “destroyed” is translated from a Greek word (katargeō) that has several meanings. It may mean “to use up, to waste” as it is used to describe the uselessness of the unproductive fig tree that use up the soil in a parable of Jesus Christ in Luke 13:7:
So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
The Greek word may mean to cause the release of someone from an obligation hence “to be released, to be discharged” as in the release of a woman from marriage bond at the death of the husband in Romans 7:2:
For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
It may mean to cause something to lose its power or effectiveness, that is, “to invalidate, make powerless” as it is used to indicate that the law did not invalidate God’s covenant with Abraham in Galatians 3:17:
What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.
The expression does not set aside may be translated does not invalidate. The Greek word may mean “to abolish, wipe out, set aside” as it is used in connection with the offense of the cross in Galatians 5:11:
Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:24 the sense is “to inactivate,” that is, “to cause something to become inactive, inoperative.” Hence, the apostle began to mention what would be rendered inoperative or cause to become inactive.
The first mentioned entity that would be rendered inoperative is given in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:24 all dominion. The word “dominion” is translated from a Greek word (archē) with various shades of meaning. It refers to human rulers that the Lord warned the disciples that they would be brought before them in Luke 12:11:
“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say,
Of course, it is the same human rulers that the Holy Spirit commands believers to be subject to in Titus 3:1:
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,
The Greek word is used for supernatural beings in Ephesians 6:12:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
The phrase flesh and blood is a reference to humanity so the rulers in question are not humans but supernatural. The Greek word also means “power” or “authority” that belongs to a governor or a human ruler in Luke 20:20:
Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.
The word “power” of the NIV is translated “authority” in many English versions while the word “authority” is rendered “jurisdiction.” The word may mean “first” as John used it to describe the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine in John 2:11:
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
The word may mean “elementary” as the human author of Hebrews used it to describe teachings that new converts should be given about Christ in Hebrews 6:1:
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God…
The word may mean “positions of authority” as it is used by Jude to describe certain fallen angels according to Jude 6:
And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:24, the word has the sense of “a ruler,” that is, “a person who rules or commands; especially understood as having primacy of authority.” By the way, it is worthy of note that Apostle Paul used our Greek word with the meaning “ruler” four times in his epistles as reflected in the NIV but only once that he used it clearly as a reference to human rulers in the passage we cited previously, that is, Titus 3:1:
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good.
In one passage, the translators of the NIV translated the word “demons,” that is, in Romans 8:38:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers.
The phrase nor demons is translated nor heavenly rulers in some English versions such as the NET and the TEV.
The second entity that would be rendered inoperative is described with the word authority of 1 Corinthians 15:24. The word “authority” is translated from a Greek word (exousia) that can mean “power”, as it is used in describing the goal of Apostle Paul’s missionary activities that involves rescuing Gentile unbelievers from the grip of Satan as stated in Acts 26:18:
to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
The word can mean authority, so it is used for human authority in Romans 13:1:
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God
And it is used for supernatural authority in the passage we cited previously, that is, Ephesians 6:12:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
The word may mean “control” as it is used as it is used by Apostle Paul to describe a strong-willed person that has resolved not to marry as stated in 1 Corinthians 7:37:
But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing.
The word may mean “right” as Apostle Paul used it to indicate that he had the right of support from the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 9:12:
If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?
But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
The word may mean “charge” as it is used in the reward given to faithful servants in the Parable of Minas in Luke 19:17:
“‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
The word has the meaning “jurisdiction” in Luke 23:7:
When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:24, the word has the sense of “bearer of authority” that refers to a supernatural ruler who exercises authority over others.
The third entity that would be rendered inoperative is described with the word power of 1 Corinthians 15:24. The word “power” is translated from a Greek word (dynamis) from where we derive our English word “dynamite”; it basically means “power.” The word may refer to special enablement or strength that the Lord Jesus promised the disciples would receive to help them be His witnesses as we read in Acts 1:8:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The word can refer to the power that works wonders as the power associated with Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry as Apostle Peter stated in Acts 10:38:
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
Power may be understood in a general way of the potential for functioning in some way. It is in this way that the word is used in characterizing the gospel in Romans 1:16:
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
When the Greek word is used in the plural the word predominantly means “miracles” as that done by God through Apostle Paul as stated in Acts 19:11:
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:24, the word has the sense of a supernatural being, that functions in a remarkable manner hence “power.”
The three Greek words we examined have the common meaning of “power” indicating that they are synonymous with each other and refer to the same created supernatural beings although some commentators take these as reference to imperial power or powers of political institutions related to emperor of Rome. To prove our point that these refer to created supernatural beings, we need to consider another passage where our three Greek words are used with a fourth Greek word not used in our passage. The passage is Ephesians 1:21:
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
The word “dominion” here in Ephesians 1:21 is translated from a different Greek word than used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:24. It is translated from a Greek word (kyriotēs) that may mean “ruling power, lordship, dominion” or “power” as it is used in a passage in Colossians that we will get to shortly. That the three Greek words used in 1 Corinthians 15:24 and the fourth used in Ephesians 1:21 are synonymous to each other is evident in Colossians 1:16:
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
In this passage the word “or” (Greek eite) is used to indicate that the four words used are synonymous with one another. Of course, the difference between Colossians 1:16 and Ephesians 1:21 is that Greek word (dynamis) rendered “power” is replace by the Greek word (thronos) rendered “thrones.” Thus, the four Greek words used in Ephesians 1:21 convey the sense of power or authority. Since the four Greek words used convey the sense of authority, a question arises as to why the apostle needed to list synonymous words that refer to authority or power. The answer is probably because the apostle recognized that there were supernatural beings with different ranks with respect to authority although he did not give the list in any particular order of rank. Nonetheless, some interpreters hold that the list given in Ephesians 1:21 indicates rank in descending order among the supernatural beings but such a view is invalidated by the fact that the list given in Colossians 1:16 follows a different order from either that given in Ephesians 1:21 or in 1 Corinthians 15:24. Thus, it is better to consider the synonyms as conveying supernatural beings with different ranks in their authority but without any reference to the order of their ranks in the list given either in Ephesians 1:21 or 1 Corinthians 15:24. The apostle was probably reflecting the Jewish belief of the existence of angels with different ranks although he mentioned only four ranks with the understanding that there were more as implied in the next clause of Ephesians 1:21 every title that can be given. The Jews believed that God delegated authority over nations to angels so that power struggles between these angels affect what happens in the nations as deduced from the book of Daniel, specifically, Daniel 10:13, 20:
13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
20 So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come.
This aside, the three Greek words we have considered is also joined by a Greek conjunction (kai) that has various usages but in 1 Corinthians 15:24 it is used as a marker of connection between words. The apostle used it probably to indicate the Greek words are related in some fashion that should be determined by the words used, as we have stated. The point is that the three Greek words used tell us the apostle was concerned with the same created, supernatural beings described using related words that speak to rank among the created supernatural beings.
Be that as it may, the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:24 all dominion, authority and power is qualified in the Greek with the word “all.” The word “all” is translated from a Greek word (pas) that has different meanings. Often, when we encounter the word “all” in the English, we are prone to think in terms of absolute totality but that is not always the case. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:24, the word is used with the sense of “every” to emphasize the individual members of the class of created supernatural beings that are hostile to God. This meaning is reflected in many of our English versions such as the ESV, the NRSV, the ISV, and many others. We are certain that the apostle meant created supernatural beings firstly because what Christ would do to them, that is, to cause them to cease having any power while they suffer eternally in hell in accordance with the description by the Lord Jesus concerning Satan as we read in Matthew 25:41:
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Secondly, the apostle lumped these created supernatural beings into what he described as forces of darkness in the passage we cited previously, that is, Ephesians 6:12:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
In any event, the second action of the Lord Jesus as human history ends is to cause the created supernatural beings that are hostile to God to become powerless and to be consigned to eternal suffering. Anyway, there is more but we are out of time so let me end by reminding you of the message of 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 that we have been considering for some time is that Christ’s resurrection ensures orderly future resurrection and successful conclusion of God’s plan in relationship to creation.
08/11/23