I CORINTHIANS: From Death to Life, from Corruptible to Incorruptible, from Moral to Immortal; "We shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man!"

But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. (I Corinthians 15:35-38)

In this part of the study, Paul explained the resurrection of the dead, and he used various analogies of things we should understand in the natural to better understand what happens in the spiritual.  Above, he used the example of planting.  Seeds are planted into the ground, and they appear dead; but the life is inside the seed and what grows out of the ground looks nothing like what went in.

All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies [natural visible in the sky] and terrestrial bodies [natural existing on the earth]; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. (I Corinthians 15:39-41)

So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 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. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (I Corinthians 15:42-44)  Just like the plant example above, when a person dies, their body is dead and appears as having no life, and that dead body is "sown" or buried in the ground or cremated and returned to dust more quickly; but God will raise that body into an incorruptible, spiritual body. 

And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” [Genesis 2:7] The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust [Genesis 2:7]; the second Man is the Lord from heaven [Genesis 2]. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. (I Corinthians 15:45-49)

Adam was a mere man, created by God (Genesis 1:26) and formed by Lord God, the Son of God, from the dust of the ground. (Genesis 2:7)  But Lord God is not just a man, but the "Man", the Son of God, the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world! No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. (John 3:13, 31) 

We all bear the image of the man of dust, and  the same is true for all of us just as God told him, "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:16)  Therefore, All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. (Ecclesiastes 3:20)  Now, if that was all there was, as Paul said in the previous study, If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. (I Corinthians 15:19)

Thanks be to God that through faith in Christ Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we can also bear the image of the heavenly Man; that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:15-17)

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. (I Corinthians 15:50-52) 

Again, Paul was reiterating to the church in Corinth what he previously explained to the church in Thessalonica: For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (I Thessalonians 4:14-17)

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” [Isaiah 25:8] “O Death, where is your sting? [Hosea 13:14] O Hades, where is your victory?” (I Corinthians 15:52-55)

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. (I Corinthians 13:12)  We don't know exactly what our incorruptible immortal bodies will be; but we do know all that happened to Christ Jesus, ...when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead. (Acts 13:29-30) And just like God raised Him from the dead, ...if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:11)

Do we want to be assured that when this life is over, we will receive eternal life and not just eternal existence?  Then we first have to be sure that we are a child of God, saved through faith in Christ Jesus, and sealed until our day of redemption and resurrection by the Holy Spirit.  Just as Jesus told Nicodemus, He is telling all of us,  “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ... “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.(John 3:3, 5-6)

If we are saved, we should have no fear of dying.  For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)  We know God has something better than we can imagine prepared for us in eternity; but while we're still here, we can enjoy God's blessings also.  Through faith in Christ Jesus, ...now having been set free from sin,... you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:22-23) The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (I Corinthians 15:56-58) AMEN!