Elohim can become All in All
Elohim can become All in All
By: Irnawan Silitonga
Today we will discuss a very interesting phrase, though rarely noticed: ‘Elohim can become all in all’. There is another phrase that parallels this one: ‘Christ is all and in all’. We will not try to understand these expressions through dictionaries or merely through human interpretations, but rather by looking at where these phrases appear in the Bible—while paying close attention to their contexts.
The first phrase appears in 1 Corinthians 15:28, which says: “And when all things have been subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to Him who subjected all things to Him, so that Elohim may be all in all.” (ILT version)
The second appears in Colossians 3:11, which says: “Where there is no longer Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and in all.” (ILT version)
Let us begin with 1 Corinthians 15:28. The context of 1 Corinthians 15 is the resurrection of the dead. According to Paul’s teaching on salvation in his letter to the Romans, the resurrection of the dead signifies glorification by faith. Paul explains salvation in Romans through three related terms: Justification by faith, Sanctification by faith, Glorification by faith — in which the saints receive new, glorious bodies (Romans 8:23).
This glorification by faith, wherein the saints receive new bodies through the resurrection, can be seen as the culmination of salvation, when death—the wages of sin—is fully defeated. Sadly, some people in the Corinthian church claimed there was no resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:12). Thus, Paul elaborates on the resurrection of the dead and even describes its order, as we shall see later.
Ideally, we should read the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 15 to fully understand Paul’s explanation of the resurrection. However, for the purpose of this discussion, we will focus on verses 22–28: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who belong to Christ at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to Elohim the Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For ‘He has put all things under His feet.’ But when He says ‘all things are put under Him,’ it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that Elohim may be all in all.” (ILT version)
From this passage, it is clear that the phrase Elohim may be all in all will occur only after the Father has placed all things under the feet of Christ. The final enemy, death, must be destroyed before this state is achieved. Death, as we know, is the wages of sin (Romans 6:23). Thus, all the consequences of sin throughout the universe must be eliminated before the condition where Elohim is all in all can be realized. However, if the wages of sin truly means “eternal hell”, as is commonly taught in much of Christendom, then the condition Elohim becoming all in all will never be achieved.
We have seen that this phrase arises only after the Father has subjected all things under Christ’s feet, and Christ Himself submits to the Father. The final enemy to be destroyed is death, the wages of sin (1 Corinthians 15:26; Romans 6:23). We will not, for now, discuss how Christ conquers death or the order of human resurrection and glorification. Instead, we will look into how Elohim created all things, since our understanding of creation is closely tied to our understanding of the phrase Elohim can become all in all.
In Christianity, the widely accepted concept of creation is called creatio ex nihilo — creation out of nothing. This concept claims that Elohim created the universe from nothing into existence. Let’s look at Romans 4:17, which is often associated with creation: “…who calls into existence the things that do not exist.” (LAI)
The Greek word translated as ‘calls’ comes from the verb ‘kaleo’, meaning ‘to summon’ or ‘to call forth’, as when God might call a mountain into being where there was none before. The context here is Abraham’s faith, that Abraham believed in an Elohim so powerful that He can call things into existence. Thus, this verse is not actually speaking of creation itself.
The verse that truly addresses creation is Hebrews 11:3: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. The Greek word translated ‘formed’ is ‘katartizo’, meaning to bring into proper condition or completion, whether for the first time or after some process. This understanding of ‘katartizo’ aligns better with the biblical notion of creation. Therefore, creation is not from ‘nothing’ into ‘something’, but rather ‘from the invisible into the visible’—that is, from the ‘invisible Elohim’ into ‘the visible universe’.
When teaching truth, Jesus often pointed to nature: “Consider the lilies…” or “Look at the birds of the air…” Likewise, Paul says, “Does not nature itself teach you…?” (1 Corinthians 11:14). If we observe natural law, we find that nothing truly comes from absolute nothingness. Therefore, creation originates from the unseen Elohim, and becomes visible as the universe. This view aligns perfectly with Romans 11:36: “For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever.”
It is as though Elohim Himself is the substance from which all things come. This does not mean pantheism, which fails to distinguish between Creator and creation. The term pantheism comes from the Greek ‘pan’ (all) and ‘theos’ (god), meaning everything is God. What we are discussing here is not pantheism, but rather the biblical concept of creation. If this is the true concept of creation, then creation is essentially an extension or expansion of Elohim. Through the process described in 1 Corinthians 15, Elohim is expanding Himself until He becomes, as the phrase says, ‘all in all’.
Again, it must be emphasized that Elohim can only become all in all when the process of conquering death is fully completed. Now let us look at ‘the order’ (Greek: tagma) of the resurrection, as stated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:23–28 (LAI version): “But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward those who belong to Him at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. For He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death… so that God may be all in all.”
Before Paul explains the order of the resurrection, he first clarifies how many people are included in that order. The previous verses (21–22) say: “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” From these verses, it is clear that all people are included in this resurrection order. The meaning of all people is also clear—it refers to all human beings. Since one man, Adam, sinned, and the wages of sin is death, every human being fell under the power of death. Likewise, we must interpret that because of one man, Christ Jesus, all people, without exception, will be made alive, though each in their proper order. Therefore, it is clear that the order of resurrection includes all humanity—without exception.
Perhaps Romans 5:18–19 can explain this even further: “So then, as through one trespass there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one the many will be made righteous.” The context of this passage concerns headship—Adam and Christ—and also the grace of Elohim, which is far greater than Adam’s trespass. For if through one man’s trespass, Adam’s, all men suffered the consequence, then the grace of Elohim will abound even more to all men through one man, Christ Jesus.
Next, how is the order of resurrection arranged? From 1 Corinthians 15:21–28, which we have been discussing, it is clear that there are three categories of people who will be resurrected. First, Jesus Christ as the firstfruits. Second, we who belong to Him at His coming. Third, all mankind who do not belong to the second category will also be resurrected.
How the third category will be raised is what we will discuss next. But first, it is worth responding to the interpretation of a New Testament scholar, Herman Ridderbos, who taught for many years at the Theological School of the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands in Kampen. I will quote from his book Paul: An Outline of His Theology, published by Momentum, page 590: ‘Paul indeed wants the congregation to believe in a certain order (‘tagma’) of the resurrection events, but only in (a) Christ as the firstfruits and (b) those who belong to Christ at His ‘parousia’…”
Ridderbos’s point is that there is no subsequent resurrection, meaning he denies a third category. For many of us, the above verses clearly speak of a sequence of resurrections; but for a scholar like Ridderbos—who, I believe, holds to the doctrine of eternal hell—the matter of resurrection is adjusted to fit that belief, so that the third category of humanity is reserved for the so-called eternal hell.
After understanding the order of resurrection, let us now discuss the process that completes the third sequence—when all mankind is resurrected and Elohim becomes all in all. Let us review the three sequences we have covered: First, Jesus Christ as the firstfruits. Second, we who belong to Him at His coming. Third, all other humans not included in the second category will also be raised.
Let us again consider 1 Corinthians 15:24–25 to understand the process: “Then comes the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father, when He shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet” (LITV). There are several things we must understand to grasp these verses. First, the coming of Christ—often understood as His “second coming”—is for the purpose of establishing His kingdom with His chosen people. Second, Christ’s kingdom will reign, meaning it will subdue all His enemies, and the last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Many people struggle to understand the process that completes the third sequence, because their concept of heaven does not align with the biblical concept—especially the heaven described in Revelation chapters 4 and 5. Generally, Christians imagine Christ coming to take His saints to a faraway heaven where they will sing and praise God forever. They never consider that Christ’s coming is to establish His kingdom with His chosen people, to rule and subdue all His enemies on earth.
Let us now view heaven as described in Revelation 4 and 5—not in full detail, but only in what relates to our present theme. Revelation 5:9–10 declares: “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals, for You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth’” (LITV).
To John, it was revealed that heaven centers upon the throne of Elohim, surrounded by twenty-four thrones with twenty-four elders seated upon them, and around the throne are also four living creatures resembling a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle. Who are these twenty-four elders and four living creatures? The verses above explain their identity. They sing the new song, and these singers are the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders (Revelation 5:8). In their song, they declare, “You have redeemed us by Your blood… You have made us kings and priests… and we shall reign on the earth.” Therefore, the twenty-four elders and four living creatures represent the redeemed of the Lord, made kings and priests, who will reign on the earth.
The redeemed people of God will reign on earth with Christ Jesus, subduing all powers, authorities, and dominions—ultimately conquering death, the last enemy. This kingdom of Christ will triumph, so that all mankind (the third category) will be freed from the bondage of death and experience resurrection. Thus, Elohim will become all in all.
Therefore, Christ’s coming is not to evacuate His redeemed ones to heaven—leaving the rest of humanity (the third category) to perish eternally with the devil in hell. No! His coming is to establish His kingdom on earth with His redeemed, and with glorified bodies to subdue all things so that Elohim may become all in all.
We will close this brief writing by discussing the phrase ‘Christ is all and in all’. This phrase corresponds with ‘Elohim may be all in all’, though their contexts differ. The difference gives us added understanding. Let us summarize what we have studied so far: the expression ‘Elohim may be all in all’ will only be fulfilled when the last enemy, death, has been subdued by the kingdom of Christ. When the kingdom of Christ—Christ Jesus and His victorious Church (the Body of Christ)—has conquered death, then all mankind will be raised and clothed with glorified bodies, and therefore Elohim will be all in all.
Now let us look at Colossians 3:11: “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.” Here Paul speaks of dying with Christ and being raised with Him. As believers who have died and been raised with Christ, we have put on the new man—we have become the new man. This new man is corporate, meaning all believers who have died and been raised with Christ. As members of this new man, Paul emphasizes that distinctions no longer exist—Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian or Scythian, slave or free. Then Paul declares that Christ is all and in all, meaning that this new man is Christ, and the ‘all’ refers to all members of this new man.
However, the term ‘Christ’ refers not only to the new man. Colossians 3:4 affirms that Christ is our life. Ephesians 5:5 states that Christ is the kingdom. Christ is also the Spirit (1 Peter 1:11). Furthermore, Christ in us is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). And above all, when Christ—who is our life—appears in glory at the end of the age, we also will appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:4). The manifestation of Christ in glory at the end of the age is for the purpose of subduing all things so that Elohim may be all in all. Here we see the connection between the phrases ‘Christ is all and in all’ and ‘Elohim may be all in all’.
For the chosen people of God, these two expressions bring deep joy and overflowing hope. As members of the new man, we will one day appear with Christ in glorified bodies to subdue every rule, authority, and power, and to liberate creation from the bondage of death into the freedom of the glory of the sons of Elohim (Romans 8:19–21). Paul says that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed to us. Let us look unto Christ Jesus, who endured such great opposition from sinners, because He looked forward to the joy set before Him—to sit at the right hand of the throne of Elohim and exercise authority to subdue all things. Praise the Lord, for we shall take part in the kingdom of Christ to subdue all things. Amen.