1 Corinthians 15:26-28

1Co 15:26 The last hostile thing to be eliminated will be death.
1Co 15:27 Because “God has subordinated them all under his feet.” But when it says, “subordinated them all,” it is plain that he who subordinated them all under him is excluded.
1Co 15:28 When they all have been subordinated to him, then the Son himself will also be subordinated to the one who subordinated them all to him, so that God may be all in all.

the resurrection in God’s plan

Paul now ties the resurrection to the very heart of God’s cosmic plan—a plan that stretches from Eden to the end of the age, from the rebellion of Satan to the moment when God will once again be “all in all.” The resurrection is not merely about individual salvation. It is about the restoration of the entire universe to the rule, holiness, and harmony of God.

Since the fall of Satan and the subsequent fall of humanity, God has remained sovereign, but His sovereignty has not been acknowledged or embodied by all creation. His will is not done everywhere. His holiness is not reflected everywhere. His universe contains rebellion, corruption, and death. God is King, but not everything is yet subordinated to His kingship.

Paul explains that God’s plan to rectify this begins with Christ. Christ’s death was the means by which God reconciled those He intends to rescue. Christ’s resurrection was the beginning of the new creation—the first moment in which God’s future broke into the present. And Christ’s return will be the moment when resurrection spreads to all who belong to Him.

But resurrection is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of the final phase.

Christ must reign until every enemy is subdued. Every power, every authority, every force of evil must be brought under His feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death itself. Death is not a friend. It is not a doorway. It is not a natural transition. It is an enemy—hostile, intrusive, and opposed to God’s purposes. It must be eliminated.

Only when death is destroyed can the universe be fully restored.

When Christ has subdued every enemy and eradicated death, He will hand the kingdom back to God the Father. The universe, once fractured by rebellion, will be returned whole. Creation, once corrupted, will be purified. Humanity, once enslaved to death, will be alive forever. And in that moment, God will be “all in all” again—His presence filling everything, His will done everywhere, His holiness reflected in all things.

Paul’s argument is clear:
Resurrection is necessary because God’s plan is not merely to save souls but to restore the universe.
Without resurrection, death remains undefeated.
If death remains undefeated, God’s plan remains unfinished.
If God’s plan remains unfinished, God is not yet all in all.

But Christ has been raised.
Christ will return.
Christ will reign.
Christ will destroy death.
And God will be all in all again.

LORD, fulfil your plan. All creation groans in expectation of our complete redemption.