1 Corinthians 15:24

1 Corinthians 15:24 says, 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.  Paul continued to speak about the power of the resurrection of Christ.  When the end of this old sinful world comes, Christ will deliver up His kingdom, those who have accepted salvation through Him.  We are not going to one day be a part of the kingdom of God, but if we believe in Christ as our Savior, we are already a part of His kingdom.  We do not have to be concerned about when Christ will return, but simply must put our faith in the knowledge that we are His for all time.  Verse twenty-five adds, For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.  Those who put Jesus to death on the cross thought they had defeated Him.  Paul tells us that one day Christ will put all His enemies under His feet.  All those who oppose Christ will be defeated, no matter how powerful they may think they are.  There are many people today who are powerful in the eyes of the world who deny the existence of God, but ultimately, they will be defeated by Christ, the only begotten Son of God. People may think that powerful weapons make them powerful and give the right to rule in this world, but they forget that God created and sustains it all. Verse twenty-six continues, The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.  Paul tells us that the last enemy to be destroyed will be death.  Christ did indeed defeat death on the cross, but I believe Paul is referring to the time when Christ claims His church and even physical death will no longer exist.  Verse twenty-seven states, 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.  Paul tells us that everything is under the power of Christ, except for the Father.  When Jesus Christ was on the earth, He was under the direction of the Father.  Though I do not claim to totally understand everything about the nature of the triune God, we know that Christ is the Mediator for mankind through His human and divine nature.  He will be the Mediator until the church is called to be with Him forever.  In this purpose, the Son, Christ, is still subject to the will of the Father.  Verse twenty-eight adds, 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.  When all are saved that are going to be saved, then Christ will have completed His task of redemption and God will truly be manifested as the One true God.  Verse twenty-nine continues, 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?  I do not understand exactly what Paul meant by being baptized for the dead, but I do know that it doesn't mean that we can somehow miraculously be baptized for those who are already physically dead and provide salvation for them.  For salvation to have any meaning, it must be the choice of each person individually.  If we could somehow bring salvation to those who died without it, then we should spend most of our time naming them and being baptized for their salvation, but this is not the case.  In this life alone do we have hope of accepting the salvation of Christ.  Verse thirty says, And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?  Paul asks why anyone would place himself or herself in jeopardy for the sake of the gospel if life in this world were all there is.  To die a martyr for something that is not real, or even to suffer physically, would make no sense.  Verse thirty-one adds, I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.   I believe Paul was saying that without the resurrection of Christ, there would be no reason to rejoice in those who stand firm for Him no matter the trial they faced.  We, like Paul are to die to self daily that Christ may live through us.  Verse thirty-two continues, If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.  Paul asks what advantage would there be to facing those who would destroy us because of our faith in Christ if there is no resurrection through Christ.  Paul tells us that without the everlasting life that we obtain through Christ, we would be better off to just enjoy as much of the things of this world as we can.  There would be no reason to deny ourselves anything if this life were all there is.  Fortunately, as followers of Christ, we know that life does not end when we die physically but goes on for time everlasting.