The Reign of Christ in Paul's Eschatological Vision: 1 Cor 15:20-28

Abstract

The reign of Christ is not a prominent theme for St Paul. In all the seven generally accepted authentic letters of Paul’, it is spoken of only once’, namely, in 1 Cor 15:20-28 in the context of an eschatological discourse. Nevertheless, this sole mention of the reign of Christ has been found to be very crucial in the reconstruction of Paul's eschatological vision. Paul articulated his vision of the eschatology in several passages in his letters.’ Among these, the most extensive treatment is undoubtedly in 1 Cor 15, where he devotes a whole chapter to the theme of the resurrection of the dead. The passage we are about to study, 1 Cor 15:20-28, constitutes, as we shall see later, the structural centre of 1 Cor 15. It 1s, therefore, a key passage in the interpretation of Pauline eschatology.