1 Corinthians 15:21-30
 
1 Cor 15:21 (KJV)
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

This verse is teaching us that death, which was both spiritual death and physical death, which is the portal to either eternal death, or eternal life, came as a result of the sin of the first Adam. Death was pronounced on the entire human race. Every person will face physical death in this world until the last day when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. On that day those who are alive on earth, will either be taken to judgment or to Heaven.   The second part of this verse teaches that there is going to be a resurrection of the dead. This resurrection is going to include both the believers and unbelievers. (John 5:28-29 KJV) Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, {29} And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. The resurrection of the dead came by man also. This is in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ who was raised bodily from the dead which was the pattern of resurrection for all true believers. They will be raised from the dead to never die again.

 
1 Cor 15:22 (KJV)
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

When Adam sinned, he brought the curse of physical death on the whole human race, which ultimately resulted in the eternal death of many millions. Now Christ, the second Adam, has brought redemption through His sacrifice on Calvary. Now a principle of interpretation arises in this verse. In the first part we read that “all” die. We see this as a universal pronouncement of death and it passes to every living human being on earth. The second part of this verse states that in Christ all shall be made alive. Now some like to make the claim that this is speaking of universal atonement but this cannot be since people are dying in unbelief by the thousands each day. The first “all” is universal in scope but the second “all” is limited only to the believers but is universal in scope, wherever God’s Elect are found on earth. (1 John 2:2 KJV) And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:2 speaks of the sacrifice of Christ being sufficient to save every Elect person in the four corners of the world. (Rom 6:13 KJV) Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. The life which is spoken of in this verse, is eternal life through Jesus Christ otherwise known as salvation. This verse is also a promise that all the elect will be made alive. (John 6:39 KJV) And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. All the human race suffered death through Adam but all the Elect of God will have life through Jesus Christ.

 
1 Cor 15:23 (KJV)
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

There is an order in the resurrection to eternal life. First, the Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, and even though He had raised people from the dead prior to His own resurrection, He was the first to be raised from the dead to never die again. Now when the Lord returns from Heaven the second time, He will raise all the people in the world from the dead, it doesn’t matter whether they were blown to bits by a bomb, buried at sea, eaten by a shark or whatever, they will be raised at the last day. Christ’s people will be raised to eternal life, never to face death again for all eternity, just like Christ in His resurrection. The unbelievers will be judged and cast into hell to face the second death.

 
1 Cor 15:24 (KJV)
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

Once the final resurrection has taken place, that will usher in the last day. The Kingdom of God will be completed and presented to God the Father as a church without spot or wrinkle. Then all the rule, authority, and powers of Satan’s kingdom will have been made inoperative and will have no more effect upon the body of Christ. (Dan 8:14 KJV) And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. The 2300 days is a type of the entire New Testament period and notice right after the 2300 days, the sanctuary will be cleansed. The final cleansing of the believer will be on the last day when all sin and power of sin will be put down or made of non-effect on the believer. When the Bible speaks of cleansing, it speaks of spiritual cleansing. (Rev 14:5 KJV) And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. Notice that the believers are standing before throne of God without guile, which is craftiness. They are sinless because they have been totally cleansed in both spirit and in body, which means sin has no effect upon them, since the rulers of darkness are now judged and gone away from the body of believers forever.

 
1 Cor 15:25 (KJV)
For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

The Dispensational belief system stops just short of teaching that Satan is the ruler of this entire world. The truth we see in this verse is that Christ is already reigning through the entire New Testament period. He is not sitting back and waiting for some mythical thousand year reign to begin and then He will reign in Jerusalem, along with a mythical temple where Christ will be reigning and the apostate Jews will be offering animal sacrifices in the presence of the One who was the one and only sacrifice for sin. Christ is reigning in Heaven and will continue to reign eternally. This verse speaks about the present reign of Christ which will culminate in the abolition of His spiritual enemies, namely Satan and all his followers. Once the enemies are judged and sentence carried out, the reign of Christ will take on a different nature. He will then be ruling over the body of believers and Heaven. (Mat 28:18 KJV) And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Not only are the enemies of Christ just Satan and his followers, it is also the effects of sin which has supported the derailing of many believers in their Christian walk. All sin and its effect will be subjected to Christ and His authority.

 
1 Cor 15:26 (KJV)
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

The last enemy on earth that the believer has to face is physical death. Once the believer is in Heaven and in their glorified bodies, death is never again in the equation of the life of a Christian. With death being abolished, it means the last effect of the curse which God pronounced upon Adam, because of his disobedience, has now been abolished.

 
1 Cor 15:27 (KJV)
For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

This verse culminates the thought that everything in both heaven and earth will be under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the verse goes on to say that God the Father will not be under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, because He is the one who placed everything under the authority of Jesus, which we saw in Matthew 28:20.

 
1 Cor 15:28 (KJV)
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses have a field day with this verse. They interpret it to mean that Jesus was less than God and that He held an inferior position to God. (Col 1:16 KJV) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: The JW’s tend to forget that Jesus is the creator of the universe making Him God. (Isa 9:6 KJV) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. The part of the verse which shows that Jesus will be “subject” unto the Father is speaking of His eternal sonship. It does not, in any way, speak of the removal of the deity of Christ nor does it speak of eliminating the power or authority of Christ. Christ is eternal God as the Scriptures so plainly teach. When the Lord Jesus presents the glorified church to His Father, it will be from the point of being the redeemer and as such, the presenter to God the Father.

 
1 Cor 15:29 (KJV)
Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

This has always been a tough passage to interpret but maybe we can gain some understanding of it. In the book of Job, we read that Job had made sacrifices for his children whenever they threw a feast. He feared that if they drank too much, they may have cursed God. (Job 1:5 KJV) And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. Job was making a vicarious sacrifice on behalf of his children. Maybe many in the Corinthian Church were not fully understanding water baptism. Some may have thought that it was a method to get into Heaven, even as some still do today. There may have been a belief in that church that if someone died before getting baptized, then maybe a family member can do a vicarious baptism, and seal their entrance into Heaven. Maybe it was done for a different reason but Paul was stating here that if the dead do not rise, then what good would it do to baptize for those who died, since they will remain dead forever. Their ritual was useless to begin with but if the dead rise not, what could possibly be the purpose in doing it? There would be no evidence that the practice would bear any type of fruit.

 
1 Cor 15:30 (KJV)
And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?

Paul not only speaks of the baptism for the dead being useless but if there is no resurrection, then why should he place himself in danger every hour of the day to preach a gospel of death? What would be the benefit to him? What would be the benefit for all Christians? If there is no resurrection, then we are just as any other religion on this earth. All earthly religions are all fatalistic in that they offer no eternal life nor any advantage in following them. If Christians just die and our bodies deteriorate in the soil as the only benefit, then why bother following it since we will have the same destination as the unbelieving crowd who enjoys all the sinful pleasures this life has to offer. BUT let us answer Paul’s question in the affirmative. We stand in jeopardy every hour because we are convinced by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, that we are destined to experience the resurrection of our bodies if we physically die before the last day and Christianity is not a fatalistic world religion, but a living faith, and that is what sets it apart from religion.
 
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