For as in Adam all
die, so also in 1Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order:
Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then
comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He
has abolished call rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He
has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished
is death. For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He
says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is
excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. And when all things are
subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who
subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all. (1 Cor 15:22-28 NASB)
But of the Son He
says, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter
is the scepter of His kingdom. "Thou hast loved righteousness and hated
lawlessness; Therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee With the oil of
gladness above Thy companions." (Heb 1:8-9 NASB)
After quoting 1 Cor 15:22-28 (cf. Psa
110:1) Thomas Emlyn noted the following about the Christological implications
of this pericope and Heb 1:8-9 (i.e., the ascended, exalted Jesus has a God
above/superior to Him):
Thus it appears that
Christ is “God” insofar as he is under a superior god, who has set him
over all. This fits with the scriptural explication of the deity of the blessed
Jesus—that he is invested with a God-like authority and power from the supreme
God his Father. Thus, when he was accused by the fault-finding Jews of assuming
the title “the Son of God” (which they would perversely stretch, as though it
implied an equality with God) he explains in what sense he justified it, namely
“as one whom the Father has sanctified,” i.e. called to a great office, and
honored with a higher commission than those magistrates, on whom the Scripture
so freely bestows the title of “gods” (John 10:35-36), it is explained in what
sense or what sort of “God” he is (Hebrews 1:8-9). It is to be understood that
by saying his god (implying that he had a god over him) had “anointed
him with oil,” etc., that is, had invested him with royal power and dignity (as
kings were installed in their office among the Jews by anointing with oil)
which is an explication of his deity or dominion. And he is said to be “above
his fellows,” not, to be sure, above the Father and Holy Spirit (which are
supposed by those who understand Jesus’ deity to be the supreme deity to be his
fellows as God) but above all other subordinate powers. This is one single
scriptural explanation of his being called “God,” for these things are spoken to
him and of him under the title of “God”—“O God, your throne,” etc
(Hebrews 1:8). I think people should be well assured on what grounds they go
before they assign other reasons for this title being given to him which
are so different from the scriptural explanation. Let it be enough to us that
God has “made him both Lord and Christ,” that he has “exalted him to be a
Prince and a Saviour” (Acts 2:36; 5:31). (Thomas Emlyn, An Humble Inquiry
into the Scripture-Account of Jesus Christ: A Short Argument Concerning His
Deity and Glory, according to the Gospel, eds., Dale Tuggy and Kegan A.
Chandler [White House, Tenn.: Theophilus Press, 2021], 47-48)
