09.05 Every Man in His Own Order

9 - God All in All; Section 5 EVERY MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER In the face of a hope so blessed and glorious as this, some have raised an objection, contending that not ALL who die in Adam will be made alive in Christ. These assert that in each case the "all" is limited, so that it is only ALL WHO ARE IN CHRIST that shall be made alive. The idea is that it is not the same all who die in Adam that are made alive in Christ. All who have ever lived were "in Adam" and therefore died, they say, but only a few have by faith come to be "in Christ" - and only "all in Christ" are given life. If that were true, this booklet would be a short one and our story soon told. I do not hesitate to say that that is indeed a crafty and cunning - but devious - argument. It reveals the crass ignorance of those who employ it. It shows that either they have not read the Scripture, or they have read it, but, like the Ethiopian Eunuch, understand not what they read and need "some man to teach them."

It has been said that if the average Christian knew what his Bible is talking about, he would burn it as a dangerous and heretical writing. There is much more truth to this statement than most of us would like to admit. False doctrine is founded on error. While professing to believe and teach the Word, yet it can do nothing but contradict it. Most of its efforts are therefore an attempt to make the Word conform to its own ignorant imaginings. While it loudly proclaims the Bible to be true and professes to believe it, yet it must continually change and explain its truths in such a way as to make them uphold its own reasonings. God’s true ministers are those who have come to the place where they dare to believe God, though it makes all men liars. And anyone who will serve the Lord faithfully by declaring His truth is bound to be unpopular with all the ministers in apostasy, because he must then continually expose their shame. And the assertion that all who die in Adam will not be made alive in the Christ is very sly and cunning and deceptive. It is a flat contradiction of the Word of God. Furthermore, it is a Christ dishonoring blasphemy straight out of the pit. The simple truth is that the argument is a subtle play on words, while missing or ignoring altogether what Paul REALLY SAID. His statement in 1 Corinthians 15:22 can be made to say what these deceivers make it say only when it is taken out of context. It must be read in connection with all the verses surrounding it. As soon as this principle is faithfully followed, it becomes plain.

Here is what Paul says in the verse under consideration: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" - but that is not the end of the matter! Paul does not drop his thought or change his subject at the end of that sentence. The very same thought is continued in the next verse where the apostle states, "BUT EVERY MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER." That is, all who shall be made alive in the Christ will be made alive by an order, in sequence, according to a progressive arrangement, determined by group, position, degree or rank. The Scriptures make it very plain that all are not saved at the same time. "Who gave Himself a ransom for all; to be testified in due time " (1 Timothy 2:6). At the present time God is saving only those He has called unto the special salvation of the ages (1 Corinthians 1:26-30; 1 Timothy 6:12). He will use these to bring about the salvation of the rest (Ephesians 1:9-12; Ephesians 2:6-10; Romans 8:18-23). The Greek word translated "order" is TAGMA and means a "group," or "rank," or "band," or "company." TAGMA actually comes from a root word meaning to appoint, determine, or set in array, as used in Acts 13:48, "and as many as were ordained (set in array) to eternal life believed." The thought is of soldiers marching in bands, companies, regiments or battalions. As in times of war the country calls age groups and forms them into companies of men, so in like manner the Spirit of God calls to resurrection and life every man in his own time, order, and rank. Man holds no power to hasten that order even for an hour; neither has he power to delay it.

While men who understand nothing of the plan of God go rushing far and wide, desperately trying to convert the world "before it is eternally too late," the almighty God in matchless serenity sits on His glorious throne, beholding with joy His on-going purpose of the ages as it develops in magnificent harmony, and sends forth His Spirit at just the proper time to call "every man in his own order. " As one has so beautifully written, "Jesus clearly taught that ’No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him,’ giving indication that the initiative is God’s, as He causes us to come in His time, to be in that order, that rank that He has determined for us. But He also made it clear, that regardless of the timing of our call, when the Father draws us to Himself, the process continues until ALL have been brought to Him, for He said, ’And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO ME’ (John 12:32). ’Every man in his own order’ is also very reassuring, for it promises that in His own time and calling for each one, He will bring them into the fullness of His life. The Spirit draws, awakens, illumines, imparts life - according to the will of God for each individual. EACH IN HIS OWN RANK. There is no merit upon man for this choosing - ’It is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, BUT OF GOD that shows mercy’ (Romans 9:16). And when He draws us we can only bow in humble thanksgiving for this expression of His love toward us, and receive Him, yield to Him, and follow after Him with our whole heart." - Gospel Echoes. And now, let us see WHAT THE ORDER IS. "In Christ shall all be made alive - but every man in his own order." And then the apostle lists three unmistakable and successive orders in which EVERY MAN is made alive. Hear it! "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes 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. For He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For He hath put all things under His feet ... 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 15:22-28). Let me present the three orders:

1. Christ the firstfruits.

2. Afterwards those who are Christ’s at His coming.

3. Then the end ... all enemies ... all things subdued ... until God is ALL IN ALL.

Those who insist that only the small handful of saints who during this age find life in Christ make up the "all" who will be made alive fall short, for they fail to get past the first two companies. These believe that the Christ was Himself made alive, and they further believe that those who are now His are being made alive, but in their terrible blindness they miss entirely the third order in which ALL MEN AND ALL THINGS, including God’s very worst enemies, are SUBJECTED AND SUBDUED UNTO HIM and then delivered up in His Kingdom unto God, even the Father, that God may then be "all in all"! Ah, beloved, it takes not two, but all three of these "orders" to constitute the ALL who are MADE ALIVE IN CHRIST. And to say that "all" is anything short of this is to horribly distort and impiously wrest the Word of God!

What a demonstration of love and grace and power! The mighty working of HIS LIFE in this third group shows us that the impetus given to God’s purpose by the resurrection of Christ from the dead does not expend itself until all others are made alive in Him; until all sovereignty and authority and power in opposition to Him is broken; until all enemies are placed under Christ’s feet, subdued unto Him; until the last enemy, death itself, is abolished and there is no more death abiding in any creature anywhere; until all in the universe is included in the Kingdom of the Son; until the Son Himself has handed over the Kingdom and all its subjects to the Father and God has become All in all - everything to everyone everywhere! What an impetus! The resurrection of Christ from the dead sets in motion a chain of happenings which carry on and do not stop until God’s great purpose in the ages is fully consummated.

What love! What wondrous love! The might of God’s strength which operated in Christ, raising Him from the dead, was sufficient to exalt Him to the highest pinnacle of the universe, thus ensuring that all His enemies would be reconciled to Him, that every opposing power would be made subordinate to Him, that all sin and death in every realm and in every man and in every creature throughout all the unbounded heavens would be so swallowed up of HIS LIFE until God would be ALL IN ALL, bless His glorious name! The gospel of the grace of God! May it flood our hearts that they may, indeed, be illuminated with the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

After "Christ the firstfruits" and "those who are Christ’s at His coming" - notice the words - "then comes the end." Paul is talking about the "order" in which all are to be made alive. As I have pointed out, the word "order" means a group, or rank, or band, like succeeding groups or bands in a parade. "Christ the firstfruits" is the first order; "they that are Christ’s" are the second order; and the Greek says, "Then the end," an expression that is not unlike "bringing up the rear." It constitutes the "end rank" or the last order to be made alive in Christ. Paul is writing about three orders or classes of mankind to be made alive in Christ, and these three orders constitute ALL of mankind. Paul seems to pile up words to make clear his meaning that ALL THINGS IN THE UNIVERSE are to be brought into subjection to God. In 1 Corinthians 15:22-28 he uses the word "all" twelve times, and in just the last two verses he repeats the idea of subjection six times. One wonders what else He could have written to make men understand his meaning. He is saying as clearly as words can say that the ultimate GOAL OF GOD is the bringing into subjection of all beings in the universe, in heaven, in earth, and in the underworld!