Why Does Jesus Deliver the Kingdom to the Father?

In 1 Corinthians 15:24 we read that the Son will deliver the kingdom to God, the Father. This is a curious verse because it seems that one person is delivering the kingdom up to another person. Secondly, it seems to be saying that the Son, at some point, was not subject but then will be. Let’s examine 1 Corinthians 15:24-28, verse by verse.

“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 all authority and power.” 1 Corinthians 15:24

This is not referring to the end times, or the tribulation period, but rather the end in the sense of the end of the kingdom age, when Christ Jesus rules on the throne of David from Jerusalem. The word delivered from the Greek means: “to yield up” or “transmit.” Here, Jesus Christ is going to yield up the kingdom to God, the Father. The end comes as soon as he has put down all rule, etc. The phrase “put down” from the Greek means to “abolish”, “cease” or “bring to nought.” Note that Jesus is going to abolish all rule and authority and power. Rule speaks of a chief or ruler. Authority speaks of jurisdiction, strength, magistrates, delegated control. Power speaks of the broad picture of any kind of powerful ruler on any level. Jesus Christ will conquer absolutely everything. There will be no one and nothing excepted from that. He will take over the kingdoms of this world and then he will even abolish the power of the devil. He already paid the price at Calvary to destroy the works of the devil, but then this must be fulfilled in a practical reality. This doesn’t happen until the time after Satan is released for a little season at the end of the 1,000 year reign—millennium.

“For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:25

He will reign until… so this gives us a clue to what is being spoken about in this verse. His reign is only for a period of time. The word “till” in Greek is actually two words: achris ho. Ho speaks of the place and achris means terminus. Christ reigns until the point of termination. He reigns until a certain point in time. Then his reign ends. His reign ends when all enemies are put under his feet.

“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians 15:26

The very last enemy that is put under his feet and that he abolishes is death. We will read the place in Scripture where death is abolished.

“¹¹ And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. ¹⁴ And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” Revelation 20:11-14

It is after the great white throne judgement where God sits upon a throne—Christ is the image of the invisible God—and death and hell are cast into the lake of fire. This is when death no longer reigns. It is completely abolished. Everything in existence then is an expression of the mind and heart of God. We are talking about the end of the reign of Jesus Christ. I want to take make us of all the pertinent scriptures. So let’s look at a seeming contradiction.

“And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:33

Paul says he will reign until, but the angel Gabriel says that there will be no end to his kingdom. Luke 1:33 starts by saying he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. The word forever in the Greek is aion and it speaks of a time period. It can speak of eternity when referring to the life of God or of believers, but it also refers to a dispensation of time or an age. The angel Gabriel is saying that Jesus will rule over the house of Jacob without an end. We also know that the kingdom age is 1,000 years. It refers to a long period of time. But the fact is that Jesus Christ does reign for all eternity. He always remains in this position, as the image of the invisible God. In Revelation 22:3 we see that in the new heaven and new earth the Lamb is there.

“And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:” Revelation 22:3

There is one throne there and it is the throne of God and of the Lamb. This is because God is there in the form of the pillar of fire, the great eternal Spirit, and the Lamb is the visible expression and manifestation of that invisible God. So, sitting upon the throne, ruling and reigning over the new Jerusalem will be the Lamb of God under the authority of God, the Father. However, he is not reigning in the same way anymore. There is no need to reign with a rod of iron like during the millennium, for all sin and death are abolished. Yes, there is still sin in the millennium—read Isaiah 65:20, Zechariah 14:16-19 and the quotes below[i]— when the millennium is over and after the Great White Throne Judgement, death and sin are done away with completely and all that is left is perfection. There is no longer a need for Christ to reign anymore.

“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 excepted, which did put all things under him.” 1 Corinthians 15:27

The clear and simple meaning of this verse destroys the doctrine of Jesus only. “For he hath put all things under his feet…” Who is the first “he?” It’s clearly God, even the Father. Then who is the second “he?” That is clearly the Son. So, it is God, the Father (the great Eternal Spirit) that puts all things under the feet of his Son. Then he said that “he” is an exception to all things, for God, even the Father is not put under the Son. This puts to rest the Jesus only doctrine that the Son is merely an office or title of God. Of course, Son is an office of God, we are clearly taught that by the end-time Message, but not merely a title, because Brother Branham tells us again and again that Jesus is not his own Father. The Son is a man, who is always under his God.

“But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” 1 Corinthians 11:3

“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.” 1 Corinthians 15:28

When all things are put under the authority of the Son then the Son will be subordinate to God, the Father. Jesus Christ was born for the invisible God to manifest himself. He is the body through which God was manifest fully, totally and completely for the purpose of redemption. God could not die and shed his blood in Spirit form. So, he took on human form. Of course, we remember that at the baptism of Jesus the Spirit of Jehovah God entered into him and he became the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Then in the Garden of Gethsemane the Spirit left him. Nevertheless, we understand that Jesus Christ IS the image of the invisible God and always remains that and that in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, not past tense, but still does. Also, Jesus was subject to the Father and under his headship both before and after his resurrection.

“And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” John 8:29

“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” John 5:19

“My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.” John 10:29-30

Jesus is always subject unto the headship of the Father. This is always the same and remains that way. In John 10 we read of Jesus claiming first that the Father is greater than all, which includes himself and then in verse 30 he says I and my Father are one. Then the Pharisees pick up stones to stone him and say you are a man making yourself equal with God. They could not understand him at all. He says the Father is greater than all and that I and my Father are one. Then he begins to explain to them that in the Psalms it says the prophets are gods and why do you want to stone me because I say I am the Son of God. He is not responding and saying, “Now you get it, I am God.” He says that the prophets are gods, that is – they stand in the place of God and I’m the Son of God and am much higher than they are because I am God manifest in flesh.

If we go back to the context it is about his reign coming to an end. He was born into the flesh that God used to manifest himself through completely and pay the price of redemption. God came down in human form to redeem man. Then the process begins. Jesus reveals himself in the name of three sons. Son of man, the prophetic office, Son of God, the priestly office and Son of David, the kingly office. Each of these offices are for the purpose of redemption. When redemption ends, his reign ends. He still remains the Son of God because his Father is God. But he is now in the position of submitting all redemptive works unto God that God may be all in all. This does not mean somehow the Son made God less before. It means that now the purpose of God manifest in the Son for redemption has ended; now we enter the eternal age where the Lamb sits upon the throne of God, but his mediatorial work is completely over with. Then we enter the reward of rest and peace where no tears or pain will exist any longer. The redemptive offices are complete. God will be all in all. It means that death and hell are out of existence and now God is all and in all. To close this section, I will reveal the scripture that summarizes it well. Everything that defiles has been destroyed and no longer exists. God’s nature is in all and through all things:

“And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 21:27

[i] Remember, when Noah come out, Ham was with him. Sin was still in there. Sin went right on over, through the ark. Unbelief, doubt, went over in the ark, carried above the judgment. But Enoch went higher than the ark, he went on into the Presence of God. But Noah went through and come out, and there was still sin; type of the Millennium, of the world’s condition.

64-0802, The Future Home Of The Heavenly Bridegroom And The Earthly Bride, Rev. William Marrion Branham

 

240- Or, after time has been fulfilled, all sin is gone, taken away, at the Millennium, at the great White Throne Judgment. (A type, by the Holy Ghost.) After the world is on fire and baptized, its baptism of holy Fire from Heaven; all sin is gone, all germs is gone, all devils is gone, all temptations is gone, all evil is gone. (Type now.) Then what does God do? He can sit upon the earth, see, because all sin is gone.

64-0802, The Future Home Of The Heavenly Bridegroom And The Earthly Bride, Rev. William Marrion Branham

 

146- The Spirit of God, like a dove, descended, and a Voice from Heaven, which was above Him, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am pleased to dwell.” Really, the right translation (They got the verb before the adverb, like all the foreign do.) is, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am pleased to dwell in.” Or, “Whom I am pleased to dwell.” “In Whom I am pleased to dwell.” That was God coming into Jesus, and in Him was the Fulness of the Godhead bodily. And there is your Father, Son and Holy Ghost: in the Name of Jesus Christ.

61-0120, The Water Baptism, Rev. William Marrion Branham

 

241- The Spirit left Him, in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had to die, a man.

65-0418m, It Is The Rising Of The Sun, Rev. William Marrion Branham

 

So, little Isaac being so sub—subject… in subjection to his father and mother be-cause he was a type of Christ as He was in subject to the Father perfectly. And how he minded his father and mother.

56-0429, Jehovah-Jireh, Rev. William Marrion Branham

 

Jesus obedient to the Father, does nothing, He said, till the Father showed Him first in a vision. Does the Bible say that? How many’s read it this week since we’ve been talking about it? Saint John 5:19. Yes, sir. Jesus said, “I do nothing at all, until the Father shows Me first, then I go do what He tells Me. I do nothing except He shows Me.” That’s right. Jesus said that. Did He tell the truth? He had to.

56-0421, What Visions Are, Rev. William Marrion Branham

 

40- Now, watch. God never did anything ’less He asked man to do, but what He did Himself. His Son, when He was borned here on earth, He was an obedient Son. Every step was for the Father. Everything He done was to glorify God. And we seen God in Christ. Is that right? “No man has seen the Father at any time, but the only begotten of the Son has declared Him.” The very move, the very action, everything that Christ did was God working in Him. You get it now?

57-0519a, Hear Ye Him, Rev. William Marrion Branham

 

106- And there He clothed Christ, and He overshadowed Him, and His raiment shined like the sun in the middle of the day. What that—that robe that He placed on Him, showing that He had accepted Him, He was about the Father’s business. He did just what the Father showed Him. God was with Him.

107- Peter said, at Pentecost, “Jesus, of Nazareth, a Man approved of God among you by signs and wonders, which He did.”

108- Jesus said, “I do nothing till the Father shows Me first what to do.” Obedient!

58-0209a, Hear Ye Him, Rev. William Marrion Branham