1 Corinthians 15:42-49

Date: June 8, 2025

Title: The Image of the Man of Heaven

Passage: 1 Corinthians 15:42-49

Profound truths that are deep and glorious.

Bringing us to the top of Everest.

To get there, there’s some difficult climbing.

If we stick with it, and work hard to lay hold of what’s in front of us, the pay off will be worth it.

Once you get to the top, you’ll be able to see the overlay of history in a way that enriches your understanding and deepens your appreciation over what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.

Hopefully, we’ll be able to see how this comes together.

INTRODUCTION

In the very beginning, when God created the world, the creation and formation of man was the crowing jewel of His creative work.

Now, God made many wonderful things to be sure, but only man was created in the image and likeness of God. Adam was formed out of the dust of the ground and became a living being when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.

In addition to Adam’s unique and solitary glory, God also created and fashioned a beautiful woman whose name was, Eve, and with her serving as Adam’s helpmate, together they were to fulfill the God given mandate to procreate, subdue creation, expand paradise, and fashion the world in such a way that it all reflected the glory of Eden. This was their task. God wanted His world to be a holy culture, reflecting His glory, from Sea to shining Sea.

Should Adam and Eve obeyed God in the covenantal arrangement He entered into with them, they would have been rewarded for their obedience: the tree of life was within their grasp. The blessed, holy, sacramental tree of life, which symbolized far more than the life they already had, would have been procured for them to enjoy in a life of fellowship with God, forever.

They would have passed beyond the state of probation.

They would have been confirmed in righteousness.

The purpose for which God created the world would have reached it’s intended goal.

But such a reward as this was predicated upon their obedience.

The promise of life—eternal life—eschatological life—fullness of life—heavenly life—was held out to them, but though it was, we also know that the threat of death was a sure consequence God would impose upon them, should they disobey.

And we know the story well… Rather than crushing the Serpent’s head, they listened to his voice and yielded to his temptations. They ate the forbidden fruit. They gave into sin. But in fulfillment of God’s Word, this in turn resulted in the loss of life just as God said it would!

When the covenant of works was broken, the divine sanctions were enforced: creation was subjected to futility, and sin entered the world. This was the sad state of affairs in the post-fall world, and one of the worst things about it is that the promise of eternal life was no longer within their reach.

The man of dust never advanced beyond his original state. In fact, from that point onward, he experienced a regression. The process of dying and things decaying began to set in. The effects of sin began to make it’s mark. And the power of death began to work it’s ruin upon his life.

Furthermore, not only was it his life that was affected by the fall because the truth is, given the fact that Adam is the representative head of all humanity, it means that his fall, and his fate, and his curse affected all those who belong to him, which is all of us!

And so, there is no escaping this sad and grim reality, then: from dust we were made and to dust we shall return.

We all bear the image of the man of dust.

But the good news of the gospel is that another man, indeed another Adam, has come, not only to reverse the affects of the fall so that we would return to a good but unglorified world and body, but who has come to secure for His people what the natural body and what the natural world was but a mere type of.

In our passage this morning, this is the reality of which Paul speaks. Once again, we are confronted with these two men: the man of dust and the man of heaven. Now earlier in 1 Cor 15, we already saw how Paul made reference to Adam and Christ: in Adam, all die; in Christ, all shall be made alive. Christ is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, then at his coming those who belong to Christ, which means, like Christ, we too will one day rise from the dead in glory and power.

But knowing that that will happen, it begs the question: what exactly will it consist of? What will be the nature of our resurrection bodies?

Well again, we already began discussing this last week. In V. 35-41, Paul began to answer that question but we never actually reached his conclusion. Now, we learned a fair bit about what we can expect, but what we have here in V. 42-49 is the continuation and conclusion to Paul’s answer on the nature of the resurrection body.

Just follow his line of thought. In V. 35-41, he made the point that the resurrection body is not like our present body. There’s something distinct about it, and the difference is the difference between a seed sown and a seed grown, which clearly suggests that the body we are to receive at the resurrection of the dead cannot simply be equated with our present bodies. There’s a relationship of identity, but a distinction in the type of body we will bear. The one to come is far better and far more glorious!

That’s the basic point, and God is free to do that. That’s why in V. 42, Paul says, “so it is with the resurrection of the dead.”

The point is that just as God assigns varying degrees of glory to the bodies of animals and the millions of bodily objects in our universe, so the bodies of Christians will be given a unique and indeed unparalleld glory of their own at the resurrection of the dead.

And what will that glory consist of? Or to put it another way, what’s the difference between the apple tree and the apple seed from which it sprouted?

Well, Paul spells that out for us in V. 42-44, “What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body…”

The nature of the transformation to come, then, is the difference between perishability and imperishability, dishonour and glory, weakness and power, natural and spiritual!

In other words, the resurrection body will no longer be subject to death and decay but will be fit for eternity; will no longer have any physical defects but will be outwardly glorious; will no longer lose its strength through work or sickness but will be vested with enduring health and fortitude; finally, it will no longer belong to the natural realm but will belong to the supernatural realm! That is, our natural constitution will at once take on a new form in a new dimension: it will pass from the natural to the spiritual.

Well, now we’re getting very close to the high point of Paul’s theology of the resurrection: the natural body will become a spiritual body.

And interestingly enough, the reason why this will be the case, according to Paul, is because as the end of V. 44 says, “If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”

You know, that’s a very interesting line of reasoning, to say the least. Just think about it for a moment, why is it the case that if there’s a natural body, there’s also got to be a spiritual body?’

Who said that’s got to be the case? Is there anywhere in the Bible where God explicitly or even implicitly said that since there’s a natural body, then surely there’s got to be a spiritual body? Why is it the case that a natural body demands the anticipation of a spiritual body?

Where is Paul getting this idea from?

Let me answer this for you in a word: typology.

Paul’s whole argument is an argument based upon typology.

Typology is when one thing anticipates another thing to come.

It’s when a thing, or an event, or a person, anticipates a better thing, or a better event, or a better person to come.

And Paul’s seeing the connection! He’s seeing the connection between Adam and Christ, and knowing what the nature of that relationship is, he’s simply working out the details for us to demonstrate how the creation of the first Adam was always designed to typologically anticipate the kind of body God would give His people through the work of the second Adam.

Richard Gaffin in his book on the resurrection makes this point:

“Adam, by virtue of creation (not because of sin), anticipates and points to another, higher form of existence. The principle of typology enunciated in Romans 5:14 is present here, albeit somewhat differently: the creation body of Adam is “a type of the one to come.” This suggestion of typology helps to illumine the use of Genesis 2:7 in verse 45.”

So what you have in V. 44, then, is really just the logical out-workings of typology: “if there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”

And to further explain how that can be, V. 45-46—in line with Gaffin’s point, Paul will show how the kind of life given to the first Adam, foreshadowed the higher form of life that would obtained by the last Adam, by means of His resurrection.

V. 45-46, “Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being” [quotation of Genesis 2:7, when God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life and he became a living creature]; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.”

Again, what we have here is the relational tie between the natural body of Adam, serving as a pattern or copy of the better, spiritual body of Christ.

That’s why Paul cites Genesis 2:7; the reason for that is because he wants the Corinthians to understand that Adam, even before sin entered the world, did not possess the Spirit empowered life of the age to come. That’s a reality that can only be conferred on us by being united to the last Adam.

Make no mistake about it, there is a massive difference between what Adam became and what the last Adam became!

Adam became a living being, but Jesus became something better.

He became a life-giving spirit.

Now, you might be wondering what exactly Paul means by that, but try to pay attention to the thrust of Paul’s argument here:

Adam became a living being by virtue of God breathing into his nostrils the breath of life.

But the last Adam became a life-giving spirit by virtue of… what? His resurrection!

What, then, does it mean for Jesus to become a life-giving spirit? It means that when He defeated death, He obtained a transformed/new creational body, which is fundamentally spiritual! In other words, it’s not of the earth! It’s not natural; it’s not of the dust; it’s not a mere copy, but rather it’s the thing or the stuff to which the copy pointed! It’s the heavenly reality.

In Christ, this is the type of body we will obtain at the resurrection of the deadl! Just as we obtained our natural bodies through our union with the first Adam; so we will obtain spiritual bodies through our union with the last Adam.

It will come. But we have to remember, there is an order to this.

First, the natural body; then, the spiritual body. God cares about the order. In the working out of His redemptive plan, He wants us to trace the development, make the connections, grasp the symbols, catch the parallels, and see how it all coheres together so neatly to form one beautiful, well-ordered story.

Now, just before moving on, I should probably point out that when Paul speaks about a spiritual body, he’s not talking about an immaterial body. The contrast between the natural body and the spiritual body is not a contrast between material and immaterial, nor is it a contrast between physical and spiritual.

The spiritual body will have a definite physiological frame to it.

So, the point about the spiritual body, then, isn’t about us turning into ghosts or something weird like that. In fact, if that were the case, it would completely undermine Paul’s entire point in this chapter, which is that the dead will one day be physically raised from the dead!

So, that can;t be the case. Instead, what we have going on here is that, when Paul speaks about the natural body and the spiritual body, he’s really talking about the difference between the old creation body and the new creation body.

In Adam, we receive natural bodies that are suited for life in this heaven and earth, which is temporal.

In the last Adam, however, we will receive spiritual bodies that are suited for a much better life in the new heavens and earth, which is eternal.

That’s why our bodies will be fundamentally spiritual; it’s because at that point, they will be unable to ever decay, deteriorate, or experience any kind of deficiency ever again!

Paul develops this idea in V. 47-49. Bringing everything to a fore now, he says:

“The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”

In a certain sense, there are only two men in the world; that is, there are only two federal heads: Adam & Christ.

Each of these men represent two different humanities.

Each of them have two different destinies.

Each of them are associated with two different realities.

The first man, Adam, is associated with this earth.

The second man, Christ, is associated with heaven.

That’s important to grasp… because when Paul refers to Christ as the man of heaven, the idea isn’t that Jesus got his body from heaven, but rather the idea is that when Christ came down from heaven to bear the image of the man of dust, the purpose of His coming was to bridge the gap between the earthly and heavenly realms.

That’s what He accomplished through His death, burial, and subsequent resurrection. He won for His people a new creation body that is associated with the place from whence He came, namely, heaven.

In other words, Paul is explaining the difference between the quality of existence Adam had as created compared to the quality of existence Christ has as resurrected.

The differences couldn’t be more apparent!

To bear the image of the man of dust is to embody a natural mode of existence, which belongs to this creation.

To bear the image of the man of heaven is to embody a glorified mode of existence, which belongs to the new creation.

Lane Tipton puts it this way, “The two Adam’s are representative figures who embody the order they represent: Adam, the earthly order; Christ, the heavenly order.”

And what that means for us, church, is that at the resurrection of the dead, we will be given new bodies that reflect, not the same old earthly order, but the heavenly order; not the temporal order, but the eternal order; not the natural order, but the spiritual order; not the order of this present age, but the order of the age to come!

This is OUR HOPE!

As Paul says at the end of Phil 3: “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body (natural order) to be like his glorious body (spiritual order), by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

This is the goal for which we were created: it wasn’t just to enjoy life in this present bodily mode of existence; it was to enjoy life in the presence of God in a way and on a scale that superceeds the order of the man of dust! In other words, creation was always bound for re-creation, and Christ—the last Adam—the resurrected King of glory, is the key that unlocks the mystery kept secret for ages.

He’s the one who brings creation to consummation; He’s the one who perfects nature; He’s the one who causes this provisional world order to become the final-world order of spiritual and heavenly reality.

He’s the bridge between heaven and earth; He’s the bridge between the natural body and the spiritual body; He’s the bridge between death and life; He’s the bridge between God and man; and He’s the bridge between dust and glory!

This is the good news of the gospel! Christ Jesus came into this world, descended from heaven to earth, bore the image of the man of dust, fulfilled what the first Adam failed to do, bore the penalty of our sins in a natural body that was sown in weakness, but then when He rose again from the dead, the kernal that went into the ground arose as the firstfruits of the new creation! At that point, His body, as resurrected, no longer reflected the image of the man of dust. It was a new body, now associated with the eternal, holy, kingdom realm, namely, heaven!

This is the type of body He has won for His people.

Christ isn’t just another Adam; He’s a better Adam that delivers better results.

When that is bourne in mind, let it be said, and let it be believed: “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”

CONCLUSION

Well, let me close with a couple of words of application, both of which will pertain to the fact that we do not yet bear the image of the man of heaven.

As it stands, we still bear the image of the man of dust. Now, we’ve been changed, but we still live in these same old mortal bodies.

1 - Knowing that to be the case, it should keep us from forming a view of the Christian life that tries to get too much of the future into the present.

And what I mean by that is that, sometimes we can place overwhelming burdens on ourselves or on others when we fail to account for where we presently sit as Christians.

In other words, if I expect others to live as though they now bear the image of the man of heaven, then my expectations for that person is going to go way up! I’m not going to cut too much slack. I’m not going to allow any wiggle room for failure. All misteps will be recorded in the sinner’s book of death!

In fact, I’m going to hold them to a bar that, even I myself don’t keep, and this in turn will affect me… because if I’m continuing to struggle with sin, all-the-while professing to follow Christ, then how on earth can I be a Christian!? And it just strips your assurance away, not because you shouldn’t have assurance, but because you’re view of the Christian life is distorted.

This is so important when it comes to relationships in every sphere of life: church, family marriage. When we adopt an idealized view of the Christian life that doesn’t account for the fact that we are not yet perfected and won’t be perfected until Christ returns, we can easily become too demanding of others, in a very unhealthy way.

Husbands can place unrealistic expectations on their wives; wives can place unrealistic expectations on their husbands; parents can place unrealistic expectations on their children, and church members can place unrealistic expectations on each other.

And when this is the way we live, relationships break down. We get angry; we get frustrated; we become proud; we become overly demanding and critical; and the whole principle of - love covering a multitude of sins - gets thrown out the window.

So, it needs to be understood that so long as we live in these corruptible bodies, there will be a measure of corruption. In addition to that, it’s also needs to be understood that so long as we walk through life in these mortal bodies, there will be sickness, disease, and ultimately death. It’s inescapable.

It’s not like everytime we get sick, it’s because we directly sinned against God. Now, sometimes it is, but I think in most instances, sicknesses and bodily pains are just the result of possessing mortal bodies in a world under the curse.

They’re weak; they’re frail; they decay; they’re subject to all kinds of maladies.

We don’t ask for them, but they come, and God uses it to keep us humble and dependent.

Moreover, I suppose that this is what makes the promise of the resurrection, probably so much of a delight for those who do suffer; it gives them something to look forward to in a more immediate way.

A day is coming when all chronic illnesses, bodily pains, and present sickessess will be fully and forever, removed.

So, the first point of application is basically for us remember that until Christ returns, we still bear the image of the man of dust. If we keep that in mind, it’ll help to keep things in perspective.

2 - Though we do not yet bear the bodily image of the man of the man of heaven, we have already been spiritually united to the man of heaven.

And so, while we can certainly err in trying to get too much of the future into the present, we can also err in not getting enough of the future into the present, because the reality is, we are already united to the man of heaven.

As Christians, we are not united to Adam; we are united to Christ. It’s not like we can have one foot in Adam and one foot in Christ. No, you either belong to the one or you belong to the other. There’s no middle ground!

Now as we’ve seen, of course it’s true that we still have to bear the image of the man of dust for a time, which no doubt involves some of the old vestiges of Adam having to remain with us to a certain degree, but by no means does that suggest that Adam is our head! Christ is our head!

He is the one we have been united to by faith, and if you are in Christ, you are a new creation! The old is gone and the new has come! Real authentic change has occured, so that even though we haven’t yet experienced a totalizing transformation, we still have experienced a real transformation!

We’ve been born again; we’ve passed from death to life; we’ve been brought to repentance; the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in our lives; the heart of stone has been replaced for a heart of flesh; the truth of God’s Word has been written on our minds; and so in light of all of these things God has done in our lives, we really have experienced real inward change!

And so we should expect change. If someone claims to be a Christian, there will be the evidence of good fruit: some 30, some 60, some 80, but none 0.

There’s no such thing as an absolutely fruitless Christian. That’s an oxymoron. It’s a contradiction in terms. The doctrine of the carnal Christian is a farse.

And knowing this, will play into the whole relational dynamic I talked about earlier as well.

But to take this even a step further, not only does the Bible teach that in Christ we have experienced a real change of heart, but it also teaches that we’ve experienced a change in direction. That is to say, part of God’s plan and purpose for our lives is to experience change on an ongoing basis so that we grow into the likeness of Christ until the day when Christ returns to completely change us!

Think about it this way: bodily speaking, Christian, we still bear the image of the man of dust, but so long as we live in this world, our responsibility is to live in such a way that we would reflect the image of the man of heaven.

And we can do that to varying degrees. That’s why Paul says in 2 Cor 3:18, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”

You see, we can be more or less sanctified. We can be more or less like Christ.

But clearly, God’s will for our lives is that we would be conformed to the image of His Son. That’s why on a practical level, we are to put off the old man and put on the new man. God is not glorfied when we live in a way that is not in keeping with who we are in Christ!

So, here is our call. Our call is to be more like Christ. It’s to reflect His character, His attitude, His mindset, His commitment, His love, and His glory.

Our goal is to reflect the image of the man of heaven, even as do so as those who presently bear the image of the man of dust.

It will not be forever, church. A day of unparalled glory is coming, and so we look ahead with great anticipation.

There’s no need to fear the future, nor is there any need to fear passing through the portal of death:

For… “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

Prayer.