1 Corinthians 15 is a long chapter dealing with the resurrection. Among the Corinthians were some who claimed that there is no resurrection of the dead. Paul responds by stating that if that is the case, then Christ has not been raised either, and our faith is meaningless (1 Cor. 15:16-17), because His resurrection is the foundation.
Paul reminds them of the established, historical facts of the gospel: Christ died, was buried, and rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:4). After His resurrection, He appeared to many witnesses (1 Cor. 15:5-8). The resurrection is a fact confirmed by God.
Scope
Christ is the Firstfruits, made alive in incorruption. From there, Paul discusses the scope of the resurrection by making a comparison between Adam and Christ. Through Adam, death entered the world, and it reaches all people (Rom. 5:12). Christ, the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), guarantees that all will be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
The parallel is perfectly clear. The “all” in Adam and the “all” in Christ are grammatically and substantively the same. Just as death through Adam reaches all, so life through Christ reaches all. This is not a possibility, but a divine guarantee: all will be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then those who are Christ’s—in His presence…
order
Paul makes it clear that this making alive has a fixed order. Christ is the firstfruits; His resurrection is the beginning and the guarantee. At His coming (Greek: parousia, literally: presence), a new phase follows: “those who are Christ’s.” This group includes various moments of resurrection, such as the rapture of the ecclesia (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18) and the resurrection of the righteous (Daniel 12:2; Luke 14:14). Paul is not speaking of exclusion here: all will be made alive, but the resurrection occurs in phases, according to God’s order.
24 Then comes the end—when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when He abolishes all rule and authority and power.
25 For He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet.
26 The last enemy, death, will be destroyed,
27 for He puts all things under His feet. But when He says, “All things are under subjection,” it is clear that it is except Him who puts all things under Him.
28 And when all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all.
“Then comes the end” refers to the completed purpose of God’s plan: the moment when Christ hands over the Kingdom to God the Father, after all hostile powers have been conquered. His kingdom aims to bring all things under his authority, until the last enemy—death—has been neutralized.
Death as the Last Enemy
Death is called “the last enemy” here. We have seen that enemies and alienated people are reconciled, but this does not apply in the same way to death, because death is not a person, but a power.
Reconciliation is a complete reversal: enmity becomes peace, and alienation becomes community. Although there is no reconciliation here, there is a complete transformation. Death is destroyed and loses its effect. This means that every creature subjected to death is made alive in incorruption. Death is no more.
God All in All
When this is accomplished, Christ hands over all things to the Father, and God’s plan reaches its fulfillment: God All in All. No enmity, death, or alienation remains; everything returns to Him who gives life and who created all things.
Summary
1 Corinthians 15 shows that God’s plan of salvation is not fragmentary, but all-encompassing. Just as death reached all through Adam, so life will reach all through Christ. The resurrection has a sequence and a timeline, but no limitation in scope. Christ reigns until all enemies are subdued, with death as the last. When this enemy is also destroyed, the Son hands over all things to the Father. Then God’s purpose is accomplished: not that some will be saved and others lost, but that God will be all in all.