We should not think of Jesus delivering the kingdom to the Father in 1 Corinthians 15 as if he is relinquishing His post and ending his reign. First, if deliver here means surrender, or abdicate, what does it mean in verse two? The same word in the same chapter speaks of Paul delivering the message of the gospel. Did he surrender it so that once he preached it at Corinth, he quit preaching? Did he stop delivering it or did he not continue sharing it? After Jesus’ victory over death and Satan, he shares the spoils of war with his saints so that they, too, are victorious and presents his accomplished work to the Father. This delivery is a presentation of what He accomplished by the resurrection.
Second, if he surrendered his kingdom to the Father, then how do we explain the fact that “when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on the glorious throne” (Matthew 25:31). Regardless of whether you believe Matthew 25 refers to the destruction of Jerusalem or the final judgment day, you still have Jesus sitting on his throne at the “end.” If the end is the end of time as some believe is taught in 1 Corinthians, and Matthew 25 points to that same end of time, then he would not have a throne to sit on because he’s quit reigning and delivered to the Father. It seems we would need to rewrite Matthew 25 to say that when he comes in his glory, he will relinquish his rule and give it up to the Father.
This passage doesn’t indicate that he’s going to give up his kingdom reign on the throne during or after His coming. In fact, it is just the opposite. He begins to sit on the throne after he’s abolished all rule, power, and authority. It is after he comes in judgment against the city and binds Satan that he begins his rule on the throne. It may be that, like David, he is coronated as the anointed King before he starts his reign. Christ doesn’t actually sit on the throne until after he comes in judgment against old Jerusalem. To take the view that Jesus abdicates his throne at his coming is to admit that he relinquishes his reign at the very moment when he should be reigning with the saints during the thousand-year reign. So, the delivery of the kingdom to the Father is like the spoils of war taken captive (cf. Ephesians 4:8) in which the victor shares with the Father. This calls into question the theory that Jesus began to reign on his throne when he ascended as recorded in Acts 1 or on Pentecost when 3,000 souls were added unto them. He had promised he would return in that generation to take vengeance on a people who rejected Him and to establish his kingdom forever. This is when He abolishes all power and authority to sit on His throne.
Third, the imagery of the bride and bridegroom mentioned earlier fits the thought of a wonderful presentation to the Father. It is commonplace among American weddings to hear the announcement, “I present to you Mr and Mrs. _____.” Eph. 5:22-26 uses this imagery to describe the relationship between Christ and the ekklesia. Verse 27 reads that he “presents her to himself as a radiant ekklesia, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” The presentation is also a deliverance to the Father of redeemed souls brought together in Christ and it takes place at the end of that era when Jesus comes in His glory and the angels with him. That’s the wedding. As we can see Jesus being anointed, as David, before he began to rule, we might consider Pentecost, in the marriage motif as the betrothal. The wedding takes place at his coming when he presents her to himself and thus shares with the Father a glorious bride without spot or wrinkle. If Jesus abdicated his throne, it is analogous to him dropping his bride off at His Father’s house at the very time that he should be taking her unto himself. Further, since the coming of Jesus was a first-century event, if He surrenders his bride/kingdom at his coming, there is no thousand-year reign of Christ and no resurrection of saints with Him.
Fourth, to interpret “deliver” as handing over and thus relinquishing his rule would not fit the rest of the text or the end of Revelation 20. Revelation 20 has Jesus defeating the last enemy (death) after the 1000 year reign, after Satan’s release and the Lord’s fiery destruction. Paul declares that he must reign until he has done this. The kingdom over which he rules still experiences death, even though Christ has its keys. It is only after the thousand-year reign that death and hades are destroyed and cast into the lake of fire. 1 Corinthians 15 goes on to report that he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. When he delivers the kingdom to the Father, he is still reigning and must continue until the last enemy is destroyed, i.e., death. Since death and hades are the last enemies to be destroyed and they are not thrown into the lake of fire until after the thousand-year reign and loosing of Satan, then, Jesus must continue reigning after “delivering the kingdom to God.” Both texts support this conclusion.