In 1 Corinthians 15:25-28 Paul assured the brethren that Christ had been raised from the dead — “the first fruits of them that sleep.” When he called Christ “the first fruits of them that sleep” he necessarily implied that others would likewise be raised from the dead. But he not only implied others would rise from the dead, he boldly affirmed they would when he said, “Then they that are Christ at his coming” (1 Corinthians 15:23).
When Paul wrote, “For he must reign” (1 Corinthians 15:25), he suggested a number of significant, important questions: When will he reign? Is His reign present or future? Will He reign in heaven or earth? How long will he reign?
The first question, “Is Christ’s reign present or future?” can be answered, “Christ is reigning now.” Consider that Jesus claimed He had all power in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18-20). What more power could He receive at a later time? Peter said on Pentecost that Christ is “at the Father’s right hand exalted, and hath received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit” and to demonstrate that He had, He had poured forth upon the apostles the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33). Therefore, all could be assured that God had made Jesus both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). Paul said the same when He wrote, “Wherefore God hath highly exalted him and given unto Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow; of things in heaven, things on earth, and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father…” (Philippians 3:29). Both Peter and Paul spoke in the present or past tense of what God had done; He had highly exalted Jesus and given unto Him a name above every name; He had placed Him at His right hand. When Peter said on Pentecost that God had given unto Christ the promise of the Holy Spirit, he referred to Psalm 110:1 where David had said, “The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make all thy enemies the footstool or thy feet.” Peter claimed that Jesus was then reigning at the Father’s right hand.
Christ is still reigning precisely where the Holy Spirit said He would be — in heaven at the Father’s right hand. There will be no future reign of Christ on earth. He will reign at the Father’s right hand until all His enemies are subdued. Paul is very specific: the last enemy to be subjected to Christ is death. That is why Christ will not come to earth to raise the righteous, and 1,000 years later raise the unrighteous. He said, “Sit at my right hand until I make ALL thy enemies the footstool of thy feet.” If the wicked were still dead and all the righteous alive, the last enemy would not yet have been put under His feet. When He raises the righteous dead, He will be at the Father’s right hand — just as He will be when He raises the wicked. God said, “Sit thou at my right hand till I make ALL thy enemies the footstool of thy feet.” That includes the wicked and righteous dead.
Jesus said, “The hour cometh in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice and come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29). When He comes, He will raise and judge all the dead, and then dispatch them to their eternal state. He will then deliver the kingdom back to the Father and be subject to Him who subjected all things to Christ (1 Corinthians 15:27-28). From these passages we see that Christ is reigning right now at the right hand of God. He will sit there until God has put EVERY enemy under his feet. The last enemy that will be put under Christ’s feet is death; thus Christ will never reign on earth because His is a heavenly reign.
We know that Christ is now reigning in heaven. We do not know when He will come, therefore we must always be ready.
Jim McDonald