Enjoying the allotment of God’s kingdom

In Colossians 1:3-5 and 12-13 (Concordant Literal New Testament) we read the following:

“We are thanking the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying concerning you, on hearing of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints, because of the expectation reserved for you in the heavens, which you hear before in the word of truth of the evangel…at the same time giving thanks to the Father, Who makes you competent for a part of the allotment of the saints, in light, Who rescues us out of the jurisdiction of Darkness, and transports us into the kingdom of the Son of His love…”

The realm referred to as “the heavens” in this passage is where every member of the body of Christ is going to be enjoying their “part of the allotment of the saints, in light” referred to in verse 12. We know that this heavenly realm is where Christ is presently located (Heb. 8:1; 9:24), and it is therefore in this realm that we are going to be “at home with the Lord” after we’ve been vivified (2 Cor. 5:1-9). Hence, the immortal body in which we are going to be “dressed” when mortality is “swallowed up by life” is described as being “eonian, in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1), and as “our habitation which is out of heaven” (v. 2). As in 1 Cor. 15:47 (where Christ is referred to as “the Lord out of heaven”), the term translated “out of” in this verse (ek) expresses the idea that, after we’ve come to bear Christ’s celestial image, the heavenly realm will be the place to which we will inherently belong.[1] In accord with this fact, we’re told by Paul that “our realm is inherent in the heavens, out of which we are awaiting a Savior also” (Phil. 3:20). It is because our realm is inherent in the heavens that we who are presently “soilish” in nature must come to wear “the image…of the Celestial,” and thereby become “celestials” (1 Cor. 15:48-49). Only thus can we enjoy “every spiritual blessing among the celestials” (Eph. 1:3) and be seated “together among the celestials, in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6-7).

When Paul referred to “the kingdom of the Son of His love” in Col. 1:13, he had in mind the kingdom over which Christ shall be reigning for the coming eons (i.e. the kingdom of God). Elsewhere on my blog (see, for example, my two-part study “Clearing Up Some Confusion Concerning the Kingdom of God”: http://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2020/03/clearing-up-some-confusion-concerning.html), I’ve defended the position that this kingdom is going to be established on the earth when Christ returns to earth at the end of this eon (Luke 21:27-28, 31; cf. Daniel 2:34-35, 44). I’ve further argued that the geopolitical territory of the kingdom of God on earth will be the land that God promised to the patriarchs of Israel (the boundaries of which are specified in Numbers 34:1-15 and elsewhere), and that the capital city of the kingdom – which is referred to as the “beloved city” in Rev. 20:9 – will be Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:1-4; 30:19; 33:20; 52:1-2; Jer. 3:17; 30:18-20; Zech. 8:22; 14:4-21).

The earth, however, is not going to be the only location of the kingdom of God during the eons of Christ’s reign. According to what we read in Revelation 12:7-12, the kingdom of God is going to be established in the heavens as well (Paul referred to the kingdom of God in its heavenly location as “[the Lord’s] celestial kingdom” in 2 Tim. 2:18). The coming of the kingdom of God in the heavens will apparently be taking place sometime before Christ returns to earth (for it will coincide with the casting out of Satan and his messengers from heaven, and this future event is going to occur sometime before the last 3½ years of this eon begin).

But if Paul had in mind the celestial kingdom of Christ in Col. 1:13, what did he mean in v. 12 by “the allotment of the saints, in light”? I believe we find similar references to this allotment in Ephesians 1:13 and 18:

“…in Whom on believing also, you are sealed with the holy spirit of promise (which is an earnest of the enjoyment of our allotment, to the deliverance of that which has been procured) for the laud of His glory!”

“…for you to perceive what is the expectation of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of the enjoyment of His allotment among the saints…”

In each of these verses, I believe that Paul had in mind the future blessing that is most often referred to in his letters as “life eonian” (Rom. 5:21; 6:22-23; Gal. 6:8; 1 Tim. 1:16; 6:12; Titus 1:2). In Titus 3:4-7, we actually find life eonian referred to as the future “allotment” of the believer:

“Yet when the kindness and fondness for humanity of our Saviour, God, made its advent, not for works which are wrought in righteousness which we do, but according to His mercy, He saves us, through the bath of renascence and renewal of holy spirit, which He pours out on us richly through Jesus Christ, our Saviour, that, being justified in that One's grace, we may be becoming enjoyers, in expectation, of the allotment of life eonian.”

Although the Greek term aiónios (translated “eonian” in v. 7, above) is commonly translated “eternal” in most English Bibles, this term is the adjectival form of the Greek noun aión (which means “age” or “eon”). This being the case, the term aiónios basically means “lasting for, or pertaining to, an age/eon (or ages/eons).” A more literal English translation of this expression would thus be “age-lasting,” “age-during” or simply “eonian” (which is the adjectival form of the noun “eon”). The ages, or eons, that Paul had in view by his use of the expression “life eonian” in Titus 3:7 and elsewhere are referred to in Eph. 2:7 as “the oncoming eons” during which God shall “be displaying the transcendent riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” These “oncoming eons” (which I believe will be two in number) are the future eons of Christ’s reign. It is during these coming eons that believers will be enjoying their allotment in Christ’s celestial kingdom.

It must be emphasized that, although the life eonian that will be enjoyed by believers is a blessing that will be made possible by the vivifying change we will undergo at Christ’s coming for us (1 Cor. 15:50-55), the blessing of life eonian itself does not pertain to time beyond the eons of Christ’s reign. And this, in turn, means that the believer’s eonian salvation does not pertain to “eternity.” For according to Paul’s prophecy in 1 Cor. 15:22-28, Christ’s reign is eventually going to end. And this means that the span of time expressed by the adjective aiónios cannot be endless in duration. 

Will all believers enjoy the allotment of God’s kingdom?

In light of the above considerations, I believe it can be reasonably concluded that the location of the kingdom of God in which the saints in the body of Christ will be enjoying their future allotment is going to be in the heavens rather than on the earth, and that this allotment will involve life eonian in the kingdom of God during the eons of Christ’s reign (which we will begin to enjoy after we’ve been vivified in Christ and are “at home with the Lord”). Keeping these related points in mind, let’s now consider what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Here is how these verses read in the CLNT:

Or are you not aware that the unjust shall not be enjoying the allotment of God's kingdom? Be not deceived. Neither paramours, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor catamites, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards; no revilers, no extortioners shall be enjoying the allotment of God's kingdom. And some of you were these, but you are bathed off, but you are hallowed, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God.

It should first be noted that this is not the only place in Paul’s letters where we find it stated that certain people will not be enjoying “the allotment of God’s kingdom.” Similar statements can be found in Galatians 5:19-21 (which is very similar to the above passage) and Ephesians 5:3-8 (which I’ll be considering later). Moreover, as with the phrase “the kingdom of the Son of His love” in Col. 1:13, the expression “God’s kingdom” (or “the kingdom of God”) in this passage refers to the kingdom over which Christ shall be reigning for the coming eons. But what did Paul mean when he stated that “the unjust shall not be enjoying the allotment of God’s kingdom?”

According to one interpretation of this passage, Paul was warning believers against doing that which would disqualify them from reigning with Christ. This view draws support from the fact that, elsewhere in Paul’s letters, it’s revealed that some saints in the body of Christ will be receiving something more than eonian life in the heavens (which will be the “common blessing” that will be enjoyed by every member of the body of Christ). For example, in 2 Cor. 5:10 we’re told that all in the body of Christ will “be manifested in front of the dais of Christ” to be “requited for that which he puts into practice through the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). And from 1 Cor. 3:12-15, it’s evident that this event will involve some saints in the body of Christ receiving – and others forfeiting – “wages.”

We also know from Romans 8:16-17 that there is an additional allotment that will be given to those saints who are “suffering together” with Christ:

“The spirit itself is testifying together with our spirit that we are children of God. Yet if children, enjoyers also of an allotment, enjoyers, indeed, of an allotment from God, yet joint enjoyers of Christ’s allotment, if so be that we are suffering together, that we should be glorified together also.”

That which Paul referred to as “an allotment from God” is life eonian in the celestial kingdom. However, being “joint enjoyers of Christ’s allotment” (and being “glorified together also”) refers, I believe, to reigning with Christ. That this is the case seems confirmed from what we read in 2 Tim. 2:11-13:

Faithful is the saying: “For if we died together, we shall be living together also; if we are enduring, we shall be reigning together also; if we are disowning, He also will be disowning us; if we are disbelieving, He is remaining faithful -- He cannot disown Himself.”

In this passage, “living together” refers to the blessing of life eonian that every member of the body of Christ will be enjoying during the eons of Christ’s reign (cf. 1 Thess. 5:10), while “reigning together” refers to the additional blessing and privilege of reigning with Christ during these eons (and which is referred to as “Christ’s allotment” in Rom. 8:17).

In light of these verses it can be concluded that, in addition to enjoying eonian life, some saints in the body of Christ – by virtue of the fact that they endured/suffered together with Christ (rather than denied him to avoid such suffering) – will have a role in reigning with Christ during the eons to come. But did Paul have this particular truth in mind when he wrote what he did in 1 Cor. 6:7-11? That is, was Paul affirming that any saints who commit the sort of things referred to in this passage will be disqualified from a celestial reward? Although I’m sympathetic toward this view (having once held to it), it’s my current understanding that the “allotment of God’s kingdom” to which Paul was referring in this passage is simply eonian life in the kingdom of God, and that those who “shall not be enjoying the allotment of God’s kingdom” (i.e., “the unjust”) are comprised exclusively of unbelievers.

In defense of this understanding, let’s consider the larger context in which 1 Cor. 6:7-11 is found. In 1 Cor. 6:1-6 we read the following: 

Dare any of you, having business with another, be judged before the unjust, and not before the saints? Or are you not aware that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world is being judged by you, are you unworthy of the least tribunals? Are you not aware that we shall be judging messengers, not to mention life's affairs? If indeed, then, you should have tribunals for life's affairs, the contemptible in the ecclesia, these you are seating? To abash you am I saying this. Thus is there not among you one wise man who will be able to adjudicate amidst his brethren, but brother is suing brother, and this before unbelievers! Already, indeed, then, it is absolutely a discomfiture for you that you are having lawsuits among yourselves. Wherefore are you not rather being injured? Wherefore are you not rather being cheated? But you are injuring and cheating, and this to brethren!

Notice how Paul began this passage by contrasting “the unjust” with “the saints.” Paul then went on to contrast the believers to whom he wrote (and whom he referred to as “you,” “brethren” and “brother”) with “unbelievers.” These contrasts should, I believe, inform our understanding of what Paul went on to write in verses 9-11. That is, when Paul wrote that ”the unjust shall not be enjoying the allotment of God's kingdom,” he was referring to the category of people with whom he contrasted “the saints” in v. 1. Paul was, in other words, referring exclusively to unbelievers here.

This doesn’t, of course, mean that members of the body of Christ will never (or could never) be engaged in the sort of wicked conduct that characterized the unjust people referred to by Paul 1 Cor. 6:9-10. The very fact that believers can – and, in some cases, do – behave wickedly is one of the main reasons that Paul wrote what he did in 1 Cor. 6:9-11. In the last few verses of the previous chapter (1 Cor. 5:9-13), Paul made it clear that those in the ecclesia who were committing certain wicked acts should be excluded from fellowship as long as they were engaged in the sinful conduct:

I write to you in the epistle not to be commingling with paramours. And undoubtedly it is not as to the paramours of this world, or the greedy and extortionate, or idolaters, else, consequently, you ought to come out of the world. Yet now I write to you not to be commingling with anyone named a brother, if he should be a paramour, or greedy, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner. With such a one you are not even to be eating. For what is it to me to be judging those outside? You are not judging those within! Now those outside, God is judging. Expel the wicked one from among yourselves.

However, notice that Paul made a clear distinction between those outside of the ecclesia/body of Christ who were practicing wicked conduct, and those within the ecclesia/body of Christ who were practicing wicked conduct. Those who Paul referred to as being “of this world” and “those outside” are unbelievers (i.e., those outside of the body of Christ), while “those within” are believers (those within the body of Christ). And those in the body of Christ – regardless of their conduct – have an entirely different status than “the unjust” who we’re told “shall not be enjoying the allotment of God’s kingdom.” For, in 1 Cor. 6:11, Paul made a clear distinction between those who won’t be “enjoying the allotment of God’s kingdom” and those to whom he wrote (whom Paul declared had been “bathed off,” “hallowed” and “justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God”). Since it’s not possible for anyone in the body of Christ to lose their status of having been “bathed off,” “hallowed” and “justified” (for this status is the result of our calling by God and spiritual union with Christ), we can conclude that Paul believed that those in the body of Christ did not belong to the category of those who he referred to as “the unjust” who “shall not be enjoying the allotment of God’s kingdom.”

A similar contrast between the saints and unbelievers outside the body of Christ is made by Paul in Ephesians 5:3-8:

“Now, all prostitution and uncleanness or greed -- let it not even be named among you, according as is becoming in saints -- and vileness and stupid speaking or insinuendo, which are not proper, but rather thanksgiving. For this you perceive, knowing that no paramour at all or unclean or greedy person, who is an idolater, has any enjoyment of the allotment in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one be seducing you with empty words, for because of these things the indignation of God is coming on the sons of stubbornness. Do not, then, become joint partakers with them, for you were once darkness, yet now you are light in the Lord.”

Paul used slightly different terminology when referring to the kingdom-related “allotment” in this passage (referring to it as “the allotment IN the kingdom of Christ and of God” instead of the “allotment OF God’s kingdom”). However, I don’t think there’s any good reason to believe that Paul had in mind a different “allotment” in this passage than he did in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 or Galatians 5:19-21. And – as is the case in 1 Cor. 6:9-11 – we find Paul making a clear contrast between the saints to whom he wrote (whom he addressed as “you”) and those outside of this category of people (whom he referred to as “sons of stubbornness” and “them”). It can also be reasonably inferred from what Paul wrote that it is those who will not be having an “enjoyment of the allotment in the kingdom of Christ and of God” on whom the “indignation of God is coming.”

Paul referred to those on whom “the indignation of God is coming” again in Col. 3:2-7:

“Be disposed to that which is above, not to that on the earth, for you died, and your life is hid together with Christ in God. Whenever Christ, our Life, should be manifested, then you also shall be manifested together with Him in glory. Deaden, then, your members that are on the earth: prostitution, uncleanness, passion, evil desire and greed, which is idolatry, because of which the indignation of God is coming on the sons of stubbornness -- among whom you also once walked, when you lived in these things.”

Those in the body of Christ have the promise of one day being “manifested together with [Christ] in glory,” whenever he is manifested (which I have argued elsewhere will occur at the “meeting in the air” and the “gathering together” described by Paul in 1 Thess. 4:15-18). We are, consequently, not appointed to indignation but rather to the procuring of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:9; cf. 1:10). Since the saints to whom Paul wrote were in absolutely no danger of facing God’s indignation, we can conclude that they were also in no danger of forfeiting their “enjoyment of the allotment in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” That is, our enjoyment of the allotment in the kingdom of God is just as certain to occur as our deliverance from the indignation of God that is “coming on the sons of stubbornness.”

But if our salvation from indignation is secure (and it is), why then did Paul mention the indignation of God in Eph. 5:6 and warn his readers not to let anyone be “seducing” them with “empty words”? I believe Paul was simply exhorting the saints to whom he wrote to not live like those on whom God’s indignation is coming (the “sons of stubbornness”). Paul was not implying that the saints to whom he wrote were in any danger of suffering the coming indignation of God (or that they might possibly be in such danger if they, in some way, failed to heed his exhortation to “deaden [their] members that are on the earth”). Rather, Paul simply did not want those in the body of Christ to be doing the sorts of things that made those outside of the body of Christ deserving of God’s indignation. His desire was, instead, that we “walk worthily of the calling with which [we] were called…” (Eph. 4:1-3). As with Col. 3:2-7, Paul was exhorting the saints to not live like those outside the body of Christ on whom the indignation of God is coming (and who thus won’t be enjoying “the allotment in the kingdom of Christ and God”).

In light of these considerations, I think it’s reasonable to conclude that Paul’s words concerning certain people not “enjoying the allotment of God’s kingdom” should be understood as having to do with those who are outside of the body of Christ rather than those who are in the body of Christ. And this means that “enjoying the allotment of God’s kingdom” can simply be understood as a reference to eonian life in the kingdom of God (which will be enjoyed by every member of the body of Christ). Understood in this way, this allotment of/in the kingdom of God is the same allotment referred to by Paul in Col. 1:12 and Eph. 1:13, and is basically equivalent in meaning to “the allotment of life eonian” referred to in Titus 3:7.

This understanding of what Paul meant by “enjoying the allotment of God’s kingdom” is further supported by what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:50-52. In these verses we read the following:

“Now this I am averring, brethren, that flesh and blood is not able to enjoy an allotment in the kingdom of God, neither is corruption enjoying the allotment of incorruption. Lo! a secret to you am I telling! We all, indeed, shall not be put to repose, yet we all shall be changed, in an instant, in the twinkle of an eye, at the last trump. For He will be trumpeting, and the dead will be roused incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

Contextually, Paul is referring to the expectation and destiny of every member of the body of Christ here, and not just those who are going to receive the additional eonian privilege of reigning with Christ. So I think it’s unlikely that, by the words “enjoy an allotment in the kingdom of God,” Paul had in mind something more than the blessing of eonian life in the (celestial) kingdom of God that every member of the body of Christ is, by God’s grace, destined to enjoy.

Further support for this understanding of what it means to enjoy “the allotment of God’s kingdom” can be found in Christ’s words concerning the destiny of the “sheep” in Matt. 25:31-46. In v. 34 we read the following: “Then shall the King be declaring to those at His right, ‘Hither, blessed of My Father! Enjoy the allotment of the kingdom made ready for you from the disruption of the world.” And in v. 46 we read that these people “shall be coming away…into life eonian.”

There is no indication that “the allotment of the kingdom” referred to by Christ in v. 34 will involve reigning with Christ during the eon that is in view. Instead, v. 46 seems to equate “the allotment of God’s kingdom” with life eonian in the kingdom. This view is consistent with the fact that the righteous who are in view in this passage (the “sheep”) are not believing, faithful Israelites, but rather those from among the nations who, during the time of Israel’s great affliction, bless God’s covenant people and thereby qualify for an allotment in the geopolitical territory of the kingdom that is going to be restored to Israel after Christ returns to earth (for a more in-depth defense of this view, see my seven-part study on Matt. 25:31-46: http://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-judgment-of-sheep-and-goats-study_14.html).

God’s kingdom to become universal

I think it’s safe to conclude that the vast majority of humans – both those alive on the earth today and those who have lived and died throughout human history – are not going to be enjoying an allotment in the kingdom of God during the “eon to come.” However, it would be a great mistake to conclude – as most Christians do – that the reason so few people will be entering the kingdom of God during this future time of Christ’s reign is because God is simply unable to save more people. For Scripture is equally clear that, when God roused his Son from among the dead, he made him Lord of all and gave him all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt 28:18; Acts 2:36; 10:36; Rom 14:8-9; Phil 2:9-11). And we know that, with this unlimited, universal authority, Christ has the power to “subject all to himself” (Phil. 3:21).

The fact is that Christ is not, at present, doing everything within his power to bring as many people as possible into the kingdom of God. But will he ever use his power in this way? Yes. According to the “gospel of the grace of God” that was entrusted to the apostle Paul (Acts 20:24; 1 Cor. 15:3-4), Christ “died for our sins” – that is, he died so that our sins would be taken away (i.e., eliminated as a source of condemnation). And because Christ died for all mankind (2 Cor. 5:14; 1 Tim. 2:4-6), it follows that the sins of all mankind will be eliminated, and all mankind “shall be constituted just” (Rom. 5:18-19). And since those who have been justified by God are deemed worthy of the kingdom of God, it follows that everyone for whom Christ died is ultimately destined to enter God’s kingdom. But when will this occur?

In 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 (CLNT), Paul wrote the following: 

“Yet now Christ has been roused from among the dead, the Firstfruit of those who are reposing. For since, in fact, through a man came death, through a Man, also, comes the resurrection of the dead. For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified.”

Contrary to how verse 22 is sometimes misquoted by Christians, the “all” who we’re told shall be vivified are not said to be “all in Christ” (which is a grammatical construction that might imply that only those who die as believers will be vivified in Christ). Rather, the truth Paul was affirming is that, “in Christ, shall all be vivified.” The vivification of believers (who are later referred to as “those who are Christ’s in his presence”) in no way constitutes the vivification of those included in the “all” of verse 22. Believers constitute a relatively small number of people in comparison with the rest of humanity (the vast majority of whom are dead). Rather than being a reference to believers only, the “all” who shall be vivified “in Christ” are identical with the “all” who are dying “in Adam,” and are thus identical with the category of people referred to as “all mankind” in 1 Tim, 2:4, Romans 5:12-18 and elsewhere. But what does it mean to be vivified (or “made alive”) in Christ?

For those who have died, being vivified in Christ means far more than “merely” being resurrected. Christ is “the Firstfruit of those who are reposing,” but he was not the first man to be restored to life after being dead for a period of time. However, all previous resurrections (such as that of Lazarus, or Jairus’ daughter) involved being restored to a mortal existence, and did not place the person resurrected beyond the reach of death. Everyone previously resurrected eventually died again. This was not the kind of resurrection that Christ underwent. Rather, the resurrection that Christ underwent involved his being introduced into an immortal, incorruptible state, and consequently placed him beyond the reach of death (see also 1 Cor. 15:54-55 for further evidence that being vivified in Christ involves being placed beyond the reach of death).

Thus, the resurrection that Paul said comes “through a Man” (Christ) – and of which Christ is “the Firstfruit” – should be understood as a resurrection to incorruption and immortality. And this means that being “vivified in Christ” involves being introduced into the same incorruptible, deathless state into which Christ was raised by God (and which, as revealed in 1 Cor. 15:42-44, will involve being roused with an incorruptible, glorious, powerful and spiritual body).

After revealing that everyone dying in Adam is going to be vivified in Christ (1 Cor. 15:20-22), Paul went on to write the following in 1 Cor. 15:23-28:

Yet each in his own class: the Firstfruit, Christ; thereupon those who are Christ's in His presence; thereafter the consummation, whenever He may be giving up the kingdom to His God and Father, whenever He should be nullifying all sovereignty and all authority and power. For He must be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy is being abolished: death. For He subjects all under His feet. Now whenever He may be saying that all is subject, it is evident that it is outside of Him Who subjects all to Him. Now, whenever all may be subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also shall be subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him, that God may be All in all.

In the context, the “consummation” of which Paul wrote in v. 24 likely refers to the consummation of Christ’s reign – i.e., it refers to the time when Christ will “be giving up the kingdom to his God and Father” (other possibilities for the meaning of the “consummation” are that Paul was referring to the consummation of the eons, or the consummation of God’s “purpose of the eons,” as referred to in Eph. 3:11). In any case, the “consummation” referred to in v. 24 clearly coincides with the end of Christ’s reign, and will not come until death, the “last enemy,” has been abolished by Christ. Since the consummation is inseparably connected with the abolishing of death – and since death can only be abolished through the vivification of all who are dead or dying – it follows that the last event of Christ’s reign during the eons will involve the vivification of everyone who, at that time, will have not already been vivified. 

That over which Christ “must be reigning until he should be placing all his enemies under his feet” is the kingdom that we find referred to in v. 24. The word “until” in v. 25 indicates that the subjection of Christ’s enemies is the goal of Christ’s reign over God’s kingdom. When this goal is reached, there will no longer be any need for Christ to continue reigning, and Christ will thus give up the kingdom to his God and Father.  And when the kingdom over which Christ will be reigning for the coming eons is given up to God, God alone will reign as King over this then-universal kingdom, and all created, intelligent beings – including Christ himself – will be his subjects. We know that being subjected to Christ will involve becoming a subject of the kingdom over which he’ll be reigning, for the same term translated “subjected” is, in v. 28, used in reference to both the “all” who are to be subjected to Christ and to Christ himself (when he gives up the kingdom to God and thereby becomes a subject of this kingdom).

That the “all” in whom God is going to be “All” when the kingdom is given up to him by Christ will include all mankind is evident from the fact that “all things” (ta panta, “the all” or “the universe”) are going to be subjected to Christ before he gives up the kingdom to God (and, in v. 27, we’re told that God is the ONLY EXCEPTION to the “all” that is going to be put in subjection to Christ). Those who are to become part of the “all” in whom God will be “All” will, therefore, be comprised of the SAME all-inclusive group that are to be subjected to Christ at the end of his reign. Thus, since every creature in need of being subjected to Christ is going to be subjected to Christ at the end of his reign, it follows that everyone who has ever lived or ever will live is going to be in God’s kingdom when God becomes “All in all.”

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[1] Similarly, in 1 Cor. 12:15-16 the term ek expresses the idea of a bodily member being “of” (i.e., belonging to) the body. In Gal. 2:15, it expresses the idea of sinners being “of” the nations. In Phil. 4:22 it expresses the idea of certain saints being “of” Caesar’s house. For another example of the expression translated “out of heaven,” see Matt. 21:25-26.