1 Corinthians 15:48

48 The First Man was made out of earth, and people since then are earthy; the Second Man was made out of heaven, and people now can be heavenly.

1 Corinthians 15:48 Meaning and Commentary

1 Corinthians 15:48

As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy
As was Adam's body, so are the bodies of those that descend from him; they are houses of clay, earthly houses of this tabernacle, which rise out of the earth, are maintained by the things of it, and return to it again:

and as is the heavenly, such are,
or will be

they also that are heavenly;
as is the glorious and spiritual body of Christ, the Lord from heaven, as that now is in heaven, and will be when he descends from thence; so will be the bodies of them that are heavenly, that are heaven born souls now, are partakers of the heavenly calling, and whose conversation is in heaven; and who, in the resurrection morn, will have heavenly, spiritual, and glorious bodies, like unto Christ's: so Philo F8 the Jew on those words, "and man became a living soul", has this note;

``there are two kinds of men, for the one is "the heavenly man", and the other is "earthy"; the heavenly man is he, who is made after the image of God, incorruptible, and wholly devoid of earthy substance; the earthy is made of seminal matter, which is called the ground.''


FOOTNOTES:

F8 Leg. Allegor. l. 1. p. 46.

1 Corinthians 15:48 In-Context

46 Physical life comes first, then spiritual -
47 a firm base shaped from the earth, a final completion coming out of heaven.
48 The First Man was made out of earth, and people since then are earthy; the Second Man was made out of heaven, and people now can be heavenly.
49 In the same way that we've worked from our earthy origins, let's embrace our heavenly ends.
50 I need to emphasize, friends, that our natural, earthy lives don't in themselves lead us by their very nature into the kingdom of God. Their very "nature" is to die, so how could they "naturally" end up in the Life kingdom?
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.