You turn, if you will, to 1 Corinthians
chapter 15, and just hold your Bibles open there for just a
few minutes. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. When everything has run its predestined
course, when time shall be no more, when this earth is dissolved
in a ball of fire under the judgment of God. When the resurrection
is passed, judgment day is finished, we read in the book of God, then
cometh the end. Then the end. Then the end. That's my subject. Though creation
has revolted against God and sin has marred his handiwork,
though it appears that everything here is in utter chaos, without
order. Antichrist seems to reign among
men without rival. Babylon, that is all freewill
works religion, the great whore by which the kings and princes
and nations of the earth are made drunk with the wine of her
fornications, seems to have her sway everywhere. Yet there is
a day coming called the times of the restitution of all things,
which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since
the world began. That's the end. The time which
is the time of the restitution of all things. Restitution. You remember the law of restitution
given in the book of Leviticus? Man steals something, you have
to repay what he stole as well as 20% more. Man loses something,
you have to repay what was lost that was trusted to his hands
as well as a percentage more. It speaks of a time called the
time of the restitution of all things, when all creation shall
be restored to God with interest. everything restored to God and
giving glory to God. Though today the world and all
men, all events appear to be in direct opposition to Christ,
there's a day coming called the dispensation of the fullness
of times in which the Lord God will gather together in one all
things in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth,
even in him. Though all men by nature despise
his rule, and all men do. All men by nature despise the
son of God. All men by nature say, let us
cast his cords from us. Let us cast his bands asunder.
Let's have nothing to do with him. We will not have this Christ
to rule over us. Yet God will gather together
all men under his feet. And at the name of Jesus Christ,
every knee shall bow of things in heaven and things in earth
and things under the earth and every tongue shall confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Today, all men by nature live
as enemies of God. Satan and the demons of hell
oppose his purpose. And though the men and devils
unite as one in thought, in word, and deed, and would rob the triune
God of all his glory, yet the book declares that there is a
day coming when God shall reconcile all things to himself, whether
there be things in earth things in heaven. I'm anxious to see
it. How about you? Everything shall shout God's
praise. Everything. Turn with me to Isaiah
45. Keep your place in first Corinthians
15. Turn to Isaiah 45. Hear what the Lord God says about
the way things shall be in the end. Brother Bob Pontzer read
a passage in Ezekiel chapter 28 back in the office just a
little bit ago in the last sentence of verse 19, the last clause
of the sentence. The Lord God speaks in his lamentation
that he gave to Jeremiah to Ezekiel concerning Tyre. He said, though
thou shalt be a terror, an astonishment, to all men in a terror. Thou
shalt be no more. Thou shalt be no more. The Lord
God controls even Lucifer, the anointed cherub, the fallen one,
the star that he created, and yet the star that he shall at
last trample under his feet that rebelled against him. Isaiah
45 verse 20. Assemble yourselves and come
Draw near together ye that are escaped of the nations They that
have no knowledge and that set up the wood of their graven image
and pray into a God that cannot save if ever the words of a prophet
described this generation those words described this religious
generation They set up the wood of their graven image. Oh, not
many worship stumps. There are a few. Not many worship
physical idols. There are a few, but not many,
not many. But they set up the wood of their graven image, carved
from their own dark, depraved minds. And they pray unto a God
that cannot save. These are the people the Lord
God addresses. He said, you come near me. You who pray to a God
that cannot save. You who pray to a God that tries
but fails, who wants but can't, who wishes but cannot accomplish
what he desires. You pray to a God that cannot
save. Tell ye, bring them near, yea, let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from the
ancient time? Who hath told it from that time?
Have not I the Lord? And there is no God else beside
me. There is no God else beside me. This is who God is. And there
is no other God. Everything else that men pretend
to be God. Everything else that men call
God is but the idol of the graven image they have made for themselves,
a God who's helpless and useless. Beside me there is no God, a
just God and a Savior. The only way he can be a just
God and a Savior is by Christ our substitute. There's none
beside me, he says. Verse 22. Look unto me and be
ye saved. All the ends of the earth for
I am God and there is none else. I have sworn by myself the word
has gone out of my mouth and righteousness and shall not return
that unto me every knee shall bow. No exception. Either bow
here in faith, bow here in repentance, bow here in willing submission
to Christ the Lord, bow and give up the rule of your life to the
son of God, or wait if you dare, bow you will in his wrath and
in his judgment. To me, every tongue, every knee
shall bow and every tongue shall swear. Surely shall one say in
the Lord have I righteousness and strength. Even to him shall
men come and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. Either brought to shame and contrition
before him and repentance and faith are put to shame and everlasting
confusion and wrath and judgment. In the Lord shall all the seed
of Israel, all God's elect, shall be justified and shall glory. Now listen to me. In the end,
every creature in heaven, earth, and hell, every deed performed
in God's creation by men, by angels, by devils, by Satan himself,
every deed great and small, good and evil,
and every event of providence, those that seem to be pleasant
and good and those that seem to be painful and evil, every
event shall honor, exalt, and praise our great glorious God. That's the God I worship. That's
my God. He rules everything. He controls
everything. He disposes of everything, exactly
as He predestined everything, and He shall have the praise
of everything. And let's consider the end of
all things. Oh, Spirit of God, show us the end and set our hearts
upon it. come and set our hearts upon
eternity. The end. The end. First Corinthians
15 verse 24. Paul has just described by inspiration
the resurrection of the dead. And he says in verse 24, then
cometh the end. When he, the Lord Jesus, shall
have delivered up the kingdom to God even the father when he
shall have put down all rule and all authority and power for
he must reign he must reign till he hath put all enemies
under his feet the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
For he hath put all things under his feet, but when he saith all
things are put under him, it is manifest that he is accepted
which did put all things under him. And when all things shall
be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject
unto him that put all things under him. that God may be all
in all. Here's the first thing I want
you to see. If we would apply our hearts
to wisdom as Moses instructs us, we must learn and constantly
remind ourselves that everything in this world must soon come
to its appointed end. Everything in this world must
soon come to its appointed end Turn to first Corinthians chapter
7 Verse 29 this I say brethren the time is short The time is
contracted it's fit within a certain space. Time is short. It remaineth
that both they that have wise be as though they had none, and
they that weep as though they wept not, and they that rejoice
as though they rejoiced not, and they that buy as though they
possess not, and they that use this world as not abusing it. Now, here's the reason for all
this. Here's the reason. Everything here, every relationship,
you're married. OK. OK. Fulfill those responsibilities
and fulfill them well. But don't set your heart on anything
here, even the dearest things here, let alone the less significant. For this reason, the fashion
of this world passeth away. I wonder. if we'll ever learn
this. The fashion of this world passeth
away. You read the Song of Solomon,
but the Book of Ecclesiastes, sadly, few have any insights
spiritually into anything in this book. And Solomon's writings
are commonly looked upon as just mere moralisms. But the Book
of Ecclesiastes Most fellows who you would expect better from
interpret the book as though Solomon was just he was a man
given to depression and he had he just been through so much
and he'd seen seen so many things. It was just melancholy. And he
had just didn't have any understanding of anything except to see things
as they were in time and frustration. He he writes as one who is just
frustrated with life. Oh, no. Bill, he was given by
God wisdom like no man had ever had prior to him. So the book
says it. Spiritual wisdom. Spiritual understanding. He perceived what few could perceive. And he looked over all of it.
All of it. All creation. All life in this
world. All experiences in this world,
all the riches he possessed, all the wealth, all the fame
and notoriety he was given. He looked at all of it in the
light of eternity. And he said, vanity, vanities,
all is vanity. All is vanity. Whatever you achieve
in this life, just vanity. Whatever name you make for yourself
in this life, just vanity. Whatever riches you gather and
accumulate, just vanity. Whatever great fame you possess,
just vanity, just vanity. You know what vanity is? meaningless, empty, worthless
vanity. We live in a world in which all
things are temporal and passing away. All property, all talents,
all relationships, all kinships, all evil, all good, All pain, all pleasure, all opportunity,
just passing away, just passing away. What I'm trying to make
you understand is that nothing here, nothing in this world can
ever satisfy our souls, nothing. We're moving rapidly to a world
in which all things are eternal. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter
4. 2 Corinthians 4. Paul has just described trials
such as none of us can even imagine. And it says in verse 17, our
light affliction, which is but for a moment. Our light affliction which is
but for a moment God teach me thus to see the afflictions of
this Rapidly vanishing world Worketh for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory now watch this While we look not
at the things which are seen But at the things which are not
seen For the things which are seen are temporal. Temporal. Temporal. Now just close your eyes for
just a minute, will you? Close your eyes for just a minute.
Picture anything. Picture anything in your mind. Temporal. Temporal. Just That's all. That's all. We're
going to a world where everything's eternal. But the things which
are not seen are eternal. Whatever hell is, oh my soul, it's eternal. Whatever
it is. I shudder to think about it. Somebody wants to argue about
where hell is and what the fires of hell are. What stupidity. What stupidity. Merle, whatever
your worst nightmare has ever been about hell, it hadn't come
close. But whatever hell is, it's eternal. And heaven Now, I think about
that. And whatever your highest imagination
has ever been, it doesn't come close. But whatever heaven is,
it's eternal. And then we get upset because
of scratch on the door. We get upset because we've got
some grease on the shirt. We get upset and fight battles
because somebody looked at us the wrong way. Our over-concern about worthless
vanity is shocking to me. And when I say ours, I'm talking
about mine. What would you think if you were
to walk in here and see Rex Bartley, Lindsay Campbell, and Don Fortner
sitting down in the floor with those old cars I've got back
there playing in the sandbox? Well, they popped a cork. No
grandchildren around to play with? Yeah, that's a different
story. But just us sitting down there playing in the sandbox?
Well, you've lost your mind. What's wrong with you? That's
exactly how I view our over-concern with all things here. It's just
insanity. I ask again, what shall it profit
a man if he gained the whole world and lose his own soul? Only that which is eternal is
of real meaning real significance, real consequence, and real value. We live in a world where everything's
temporal. We're going to a world where
everything's eternal. And Christ alone can make us
fit for eternity. Christ alone can prepare your
soul for eternity. Christ alone can make us acceptable
with God for eternity. I recognize and preach and rejoice
in the doctrines of God's sovereignty and absolute predestination.
I don't think you'll find anybody to object to that declaration,
whether they like it or don't. And it doesn't matter to me whether
this fits any man's notions concerning those things or doesn't fit them,
it is truth. Your eternal happiness, your
everlasting bliss will be determined entirely by your relationship
with Jesus Christ the Lord. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath everlasting life. But he that believeth not the
Son of God shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth
on him. Only the blood of Christ can
wash away a man's sins. Only the righteousness of Christ
can give us acceptance with God Almighty. Only faith in Christ
fetches his blood and righteousness to the conscience. and only the
Spirit of God can give us faith. Hear me then. Everything in this world must
soon come to an end. Then, who shall these things
be? Where will all these things be
in that day? What will they matter when they're
taken from them? I keep praying, God teach me to count nothing
more dear, nothing more important, nothing more precious now than
I will in that day when God takes it from me or takes me from it. Everything here is vanity. Hold
it with a real loose hand, lest God break your fingers to get
it out of your hands. All things here will soon be
past. Heaven and hell alone will last. Will you, for trinkets of a day,
eternally be cast away? Immortal souls, can't you see
all things here are vanity? Should you gain the world's store,
is it really worth your soul? Set your heart on Christ alone. Trust the work which he has done. And when this world has passed
away, you'll never miss the melting clay. I cannot warn you. My friends,
I can't warn you, oh, my soul, with sufficient urgency, beware
of the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches which
entering into the heart choke out the word. Here's the second
thing. If we would live peaceably in
this world, we must learn and the sooner the better, that the
beginning, the accomplishment, and the end of all things are
of God. The beginning, the performance,
and the end of all things belong to God, only to God, only to
God. Turn to Isaiah 45 again. This is the language of the book.
All things are of God. Is that what the book says? This
is the language of the book. For of him and through him and
to him are all things. Is that what the book says? This
is the language of the book. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. This is the language of the book.
The Lord hath made all things for himself. Yea, even the wicked
for the day of evil. The beginning. The performance
and the end of all things is God's possession. Isaiah 45 verse
two. I will go before thee and make
the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates
of brass and cut and sunder the bars of iron. And I will give
thee the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places
that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by
thy name, am God, the God of Israel. For Jacob, my servant's
sake. For Israel, mine elect, I have
even called thee by thy name. I have surnamed thee, though
thou hast not known me. I am the Lord, and there is none
else. There is no God beside me. I have girded thee, though thou
hast not known me, that they may know from the rising of the
sun and from the west that there is none else beside me. I am
the Lord. There is none else. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the triune Jehovah, the God
of Israel, the one true and living God, do all these things. Now, what do you have to say
to that? Drop down ye heavens from above and let the skies
pour down righteousness. Let the earth open and let them
bring forth salvation and let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it. You mean God's creation brings
forth salvation to God's people? I believe that's what we just
read. Woe unto him that striveth with his maker. Let the potsherds
strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say
to him that fashioneth it, what makest thou or thy work he hath
no hands? Woe unto him that saith unto
his father, what begettest thou? Or to the woman, what hast thou
brought forth? Thus saith the Lord, the holy
one of Israel and his maker. Ask of me things to come. or ask me of things to come concerning
my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me. I have made the earth and created
man upon it. I, even my hands, have stretched
out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. I have
raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways.
He shall build my city. He shall let go my captives not
for price nor for reward saith the Lord look at chapter 46 Isaiah
46 verse 9 Remember the former things of
old For I am God and there is none else. I am God and there
is none like me declaring the end from the beginning I told
you I declared by decree from the beginning that which shall
be in the end and this is what I'm doing. Declaring the end
from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not
yet done saying my counsel shall stand. I will do all my pleasure. And so it is. His counsel stands
and he does all his pleasure. He created all things. He predestined all things, He
rules all things, He uses all things, He disposes of all things,
and He shall have the glory of all things. All right, back at
our text, 1 Corinthians 15, 24. Here's the third thing. The Lord Jesus Christ, God's
Son, Our dear mediator and savior, Jehovah's righteous servant,
that one given for a covenant to the people. The Lord Jesus
must reign until the end comes. Seated yonder on the throne. Isaiah saw him in that day when
he said, I saw the Lord high and lifted up and he was crushed
beneath him. and cried, woe is me, for I'm
undone. Isaiah saw it. He saw him clearly. Daniel saw him sitting on his
throne. All who believe recognize that Christ, the God-man, our
mediator, sits on the throne and rules the universe as God
and as man for the glory of God and the good of chosen men. Christ
must reign. till the end comes. Verse 24,
then come at the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom
to God, the kingdom being the whole of the election of grace,
the kingdom being the whole of God's chosen, the kingdom being
the whole body of Christ, the kingdom being the whole number
of God's redeemed, the kingdom being the whole church of God.
He shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when
he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, what a great
word, must, must. He must reign for this length
of time till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death. That man who lived and died for
us, the Lord our righteousness, Christ our substitute, he who
came into this world for the purpose of saving our souls,
of putting away our sins, he who came here to bring us to
glory, sits now upon the throne of the universe and he is in
absolute control of everything. Now this dominion was given him
secretly from eternity. You remember how he prays in
John 17? Give me the glory which I had
with thee before the world was. It is manifestly his since his
ascension after his resurrection from the dead when the Lord God
raised him up and exalted him and seated him at his own right
hand. And Peter said, this is David
sitting on his throne. This is the king. He's been seated
now on his throne publicly so that all creation is made to
know Christ rules. He must reign. Now, hear me well. Our Lord Jesus must reign for
these reasons. Number one, He's God. He's God. And a God who doesn't rule is
not God. A God who does not rule It doesn't
matter whether you're talking about ruling in heaven, ruling
in the atmosphere above us, ruling on this ball we call Earth, or
ruling in hell. It doesn't matter whether you're
talking about ruling in the minds of men or in the minds of devils. A God who does not rule is no
God. Well, brother Dodd, If that's so, almost everybody
I know worships an idol. Almost everybody you know worships
an idol. Almost everybody you know worships
an idol. Well, there's not many folks
who agree with that. You're not telling me anything I don't know.
That's not going to make folks happy. It will folks who know
God. A God who does not rule is not
God. Our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he pleased
in heaven, in earth, in the seas, and in all deep places. Our Lord
Jesus must reign because he's God. He must reign because this
is the reward of his obedience as Jehovah's servant. In Psalm
2, The Lord God speaks to his son, his king. He said, ask of
me and I will give thee the heathen for that inheritance. Ask me
and I will give you rule over all flesh as the reward of your
obedience. Wherefore, that is because Christ
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross because of his obedience. God also had highly exalted him. and giving him a name that's
above every name. Our Lord Jesus said, for this
cause, doth my father love me because I laid down my life for
the sheep that I might take it again so that his obedience is
that which gives him the reward that he now possesses as the
possessor and ruler of all things. Third, he must reign because
he's God. He must reign because this is
the reward of his obedience. And third, he must reign because
the salvation of God's elect and the glory of God depend entirely
upon his reign. Turn to John 17. John chapter
17. Our savior says the hours come
glorify thou me with thine own glory With the glory that I had
with thee before the world was verse 2 As thou has given him
power over all flesh for this purpose You've given him power
dominion authority might over all flesh all flesh everything
living all flesh for this purpose that he should give eternal life
to everybody. No. That's not his intent, his
purpose or his desire. He's given power over all flesh
to fulfill God's covenant decree that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal,
that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ
whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I finished the work which thou
gavest me to do." And here's one more reason he must reign.
He must reign because nobody's going to stop him. Who's going to take him off his
throne? Who's going to slap his head and say, what are you doing?
Nobody can stop him. Our great glorious savior shall
soon put down forever all rule, all authority, and all power,
all civil rule, authority, and power. All domestic rule, authority
and power. All ecclesiastical rule, authority
and power. All satanic, demonic, hellish
rule, authority and power. The Lord Jesus will put all enemies,
his and ours, under his feet. All enemies, his and ours, he
will put under his feet. No wonder Paul says we are more
than conquerors through him that loved us. All right. First Corinthians
15, 24 again. His fourth point. When the end
comes. The Lord Jesus Christ shall deliver
up the kingdom unto God, the father. then cometh the end,
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the
father, when he shall have put down all rule and authority and
power. Verse 28, and when all things
shall be subdued unto him, then shall the son also himself be
subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may
be all in all. What on earth do those two verses
mean? Let me tell you what they don't
mean. When the Scriptures declare that the Son shall deliver up
the kingdom unto the Father, they do not teach or in any way
suggest that which is contrary to Scripture. They do not suggest
that Christ is not God. They certainly do not suggest
that the Son of God is in any way inferior to the Father. And
they certainly don't teach us that Christ will cease to be
our prophet, priest, and king in eternity. This is what the
book says. Unto the Son, he saith, thy throne,
O God, is forever and ever. So it's not an implication that
somehow Christ is not God, or he's not equal with the Father,
or that he is somehow going to give up his rule as prophet,
priest, and king as our mediator. That certainly is not the case.
But what does Paul mean then? He's going to deliver up the
kingdom to the father. That God may be all in all. I think the answer might be found
back in Exodus. Remember the law concerning the
servant, the bond slave. Christ Jesus is Jehovah's servant. He voluntarily became Jehovah's
servant and said, here, bore my ear through with an awl. Let
the angels of heaven record the deed. I assume responsibility
to do your will, oh my God. And before the world was, he
stood forth as our mediator unto whom the Lord God entrusted everything
as his servant. Here, you take it. You rule this
universe. You control everything. You create everything. You order
everything. You rule everything. You dispose
of everything. Jehovah's Servant. He who is
God the Son and God's Son the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. He's trusted with the sheep as
the shepherd. He's trusted with his church
as her savior. And the Lord Jesus is trusted
with his brethren whom he came to save as the son. He is the king who will present
his kingdom unto the father who gave it. Our Lord Jesus will stand in
the last day and say, lo, I and the children which thou hast
given me, all are here, not one is lost. Let me give you my interpretation
of that. He will say, all my father, all
those you chose and gave to me, all you trusted me to redeem,
here they are. just as I promised, holy, harmless,
and undefiled, holy, unblameable, unreprovable, washed in my blood,
robed in my righteousness, made righteous before God. All that
I redeemed, every blood-bought soul is here. All those who've
been regenerated and called and sealed by the blessed Holy Spirit
are here. And now, my father, All the purpose
of grace is fulfilled. All the council of peace is accomplished.
All that we agreed upon in the covenant is done. In all things,
our great purpose in predestination is fully performed. Now, grace
reigns through righteousness unto eternal life. And all of
this to accomplish this end. that God may be all in all. And I finished preparing this
message and didn't really have a grasp
yet what these words, that God may be all in all, comprehend. And I certainly don't have an
explanation yet, but I got an idea. I got a clue. We're told
in Colossians 3, verse 11, that Christ is all and in all. Christ is all to all in whom
Christ dwells. You who believe, recognize that
Christ is everything. He's your God, your Savior. He's
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption. He's the message.
He's all. He's life. Christ is all, in
all. in whom He lives and rules, in
whom He dwells by the power of His grace. And when He's done, when time shall be no more, when
this earth is consumed in the fire of His wrath, and judgment
is over, and all the wicked are cast into hell, and Satan, that
one who's been an astonishment and a terror shall neither be an astonishment
or a terror any longer. When all is done and God's saints
are all made perfect in Christ Jesus in the experience of resurrection
glory, God shall be God in everybody. and in everything. And everybody
and everything shall acknowledge that Jehovah is God and beside
him is none else. And that, my brother, that, my
sister, is the object, the preeminent object of all our most earnest
desires as worshipers of God. Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. And oh, how we bless you for
the assurance that your name shall be hallowed everywhere. Amen.