⁴⁵ And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.    

The entire paragraph running from verse 35 to verse 49 ratifies and describes the resurrection body.

Paul now turns to Scripture to establish physical, bodily resurrection.

15:45

And so it is written,

Scripture agrees with Paul’s premise about a physical, bodily resurrection as over against the resurrection of just a soul or spirit.

“The first man Adam became a living being.”

This is a partial citation from Genesis 2:7. God created Adam with a natural body but not a glorified body. He was the first man, so there were no men before him, as some claim. His future life was probationary, depending on whether he sinned or not. He had a soul as well as a body: “I am a soul; I have a body.” My soul needs my body to go about, so God made us animated creatures. One day I will move out of my corruptible body into an eternal, glorified body.

The Bible presents both Adam and Christ as representatives of the human race. What Adam did, Christ counterbalanced.

The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

The natural, physical body is the product of Adam. The last Adam imparted eternal life to human bodies. God breathed life into the first Adam, but the last Adam gave life. Adam brought death; Jesus brought eternal life. Jesus became a progenitor of a new generation.

Ro 5:12-21,¹² Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— ¹³ (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. ¹⁴ Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. ¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. ¹⁶ And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. ¹⁷ For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) ¹⁸ Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. ¹⁹ For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. ²⁰ Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, ²¹so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ro 8:11, But 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.

15:46

However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.

The “spiritual” is the product of Jesus Christ, a glorified body like the resurrected Lord Jesus’ body. The natural generations who follow Adam will die twice, once physically and once eternally; the generations who follow Christ are spiritual and will die once but not twice. If you are born once, you will die twice. If you are born twice, you will die once. Some Christians will never die even once since the Lord may come and take them before they die. If you possess these truths, it will bless your soul.

15:47

The first man was of the earth, made of dust;

Paul describes two representative men, the heads of two peoples – naturally born people and supernaturally born people. God constituted Adam for this earth – he is earthbound.

The second Man is the Lord from heaven.

Paul saw the resurrected Christ “from heaven” on the Damascus road. Jesus will come again from heaven.

PRINCIPLE:

Our earthly body is a precursor to our future body.

APPLICATION:

We have a wonderful body now, but it is but the precursor to the one we will get in glory. As we go through life, disease, or accidents occur. We may lose the use of a hand. The glorious hope of the child of God is that he or she will receive a body not subject to accident or decay. I would not want to miss this for anything. Non-Christians will receive a resurrection body but not a glorified one.

Jn 1:4, In Him was life, and ?the life was the light of men.

Jn 5:21-28, ²¹ For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. ²² For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. ²⁴ “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. ²⁵ Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,

Jn 11:25, Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

Jn 14:6, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.