What Our Bodies Will Be Like 1 Corinthians 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. At the present time, our bodies are subject to disease and death. When they are placed in the grave, they decompose and return to dust. But it will not be so with the resurrection body. It will no longer be subject to sickness or decay. 1 Corinthians 15:43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. The present body is sown in dishonor. There is nothing very majestic or glorious about a dead body. However, this same body will be raised in glory. With the coming of old age, weakness increases until death itself strips a man of all strength whatever. In eternity, the body will not be subject to these sad limitations, but will be possessed of powers that it does not have at the present time. For instance, the Lord Jesus Christ in resurrection was able to enter a room where the doors were locked. How does knowing our current body is temporary help us deal with struggles like illness or aging? 1 Corinthians 15:44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. We know that the resurrection body of the Lord Jesus was composed of flesh and bones because He said, “A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have” (Luke 24:39). The difference between a natural body and a spiritual body is that the former is suited to life here on earth whereas the latter will be suited to life in heaven. The former is usually soul-controlled whereas the latter is spirit-controlled. A spiritual body is one that will be truly the servant of the spirit. God created man spirit, soul, and body. He always mentions the spirit first, because His intention was that the spirit should be in the place of preeminence or dominance. With the entrance of sin, something very strange happened. God’s order seems to have been upset, and the result is that man always says “body, soul, and spirit.” He has given the body the place which the spirit should have had. In resurrection it will not be so; the spirit will be in the place of control which God originally intended. 1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. Here again the first man Adam is contrasted with the Lord Jesus Christ. God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life and he became a living being (Gen. 2:7). All who are descended from him bear his characteristics. The last Adam, the Savior, became a life-giving spirit (John 5:21, 26). The difference is that in the first case, Adam was given physical life, whereas in the second case Christ gives eternal life to others. Erdman says: As the descendants of Adam, we are made like him, living souls inhabiting mortal bodies, and bearing the image of an earthly parent. But as the followers of Christ, we are yet to be clothed with immortal bodies and to bear the image of our heavenly Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The apostle now sets forth a fundamental law in God’s universe, namely, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. This can be understood in several ways. Adam, the natural man, came first on the stage of human history; then Jesus, the spiritual Man. Second, we are born into the world as natural beings; then when we are born again, we become spiritual beings. Finally, we first receive natural bodies, then in resurrection we will receive spiritual bodies. 1 Corinthians 15:47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. This means that his origin was of the earth and that his characteristics were earthly. He was made of the dust of the ground in the first place, and in his life he seemed in a very real sense to be earth-bound. The second Man is the Lord from heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:48 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. Of the two men mentioned in verse 45, Jesus was the second. He existed from all eternity, but as Man, he came after Adam. He came from heaven, and everything He did and said was heavenly and spiritual rather than earthly and soulish. Just as it is with these two leaders, the same is true for their followers. Those born from Adam inherit his nature, while those born in Christ belong to heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. The Image of the Man of Dust – This refers to Adam, the first man, who was created from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7). Because of Adam’s fall, we inherit his weaknesses—mortality, sin, and a corruptible body. Our current physical existence reflects this fallen nature. The Image of the Heavenly Man – This refers to Jesus Christ, who came from heaven and was raised in glory after His resurrection. Just as we share Adam’s earthly nature now, those who belong to Christ will one day share in His resurrected, glorified body (Philippians 3:21).