📖WEB · 1 Corinthians 15:25
What does 1 Corinthians 15:25 mean?
"For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet."
— 1 Corinthians 15:25 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s, at his coming.
Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
For, “He put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when he says, “All things are put in subjection”, it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all things to him.
When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all.
Explanation
1 Corinthians 15:25 states simply that Christ must reign until all his enemies have been placed under his feet. In plain language, Paul is saying that Jesus, having been raised from the dead, is now ruling as king, and this reign will continue until every opposing power has been fully and finally subdued. The verse looks forward to a process that is already underway but not yet complete — Christ's kingship is present reality, but its full manifestation, the total defeat of every enemy, still lies ahead.
The context is Paul's great chapter on the resurrection, written to the church in Corinth, a congregation that included some members who doubted or denied a future bodily resurrection of believers. Paul argues that if Christ has been raised, then believers will be raised too, and he traces out the order and logic of God's redemptive plan: Christ is the "firstfruits," then at his coming those who belong to him will be raised, "then comes the end, when he delivers up the Kingdom to God, even the Father... For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet" (verses 23-25). Paul is drawing on Psalm 110:1, a psalm about the Messiah's enthronement at God's right hand, applying it directly to Jesus. The final enemy to be destroyed, Paul goes on to say in verse 26, is death itself.
Theologically, this verse affirms Christ's present, active kingship following his resurrection and ascension. It is not a passive waiting period; Christ reigns now, actively bringing all things into subjection to himself. It also affirms the certainty of ultimate
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