1Cor 15:51 | KingComments | STEP | . To make clear the difference between the natural and the spiritual body, Paul quotes what is written about the creation of the first man. As you see, this is another “so … it is written”. The answer to each question, regarding the existence of man and the here-after, you ought to look for in the Bible. How did the first man become a living soul? That happened when God breathed the breath of life in his nostrils. This is how man, who was formed by God from the dust of the earth, became a higher being than an animal. Through the breath of God man was able to start his existence on earth and was able to have fellowship with God. This is not the way God gave life to the animals. God could approach Adam and speak with him and vice versa. This is not the way God dealt with animals. God created man in such a way that he, to remain alive, had to eat. God provided man with that food. So you see by the way God created Adam, he was someone who was dependent on God. He received everything, his life and livelihood, from God. He received life through the soul. What the soul exactly is, I cannot explain that to you. Many people have tried to do that by writing books about it, but no one seems to have the final say about that. I certainly do not have the final say, but I would like you to consider the following. The word ‘soul’ in the Bible is used to indicate several things. One of the things is to indicate the incorporeal side of man, thus something else than his physical body, which you could call the corporeal side of man. When the word ‘soul’ is used in this way, it usually refers to man in relation to the terrestrial conditions, the way he feels and behaves on earth. What had happened to the first man is now compared to what took place with the last Adam. The Lord Jesus is called here “the last Adam” to indicate that after Him there never will be a next Adam. Well, what is the character of the last Adam? That He became “a life-giving spirit”. So, the last Adam, the Lord Jesus, did not receive something from God, but He Himself gave life to others. The Lord Jesus did that, after He has been raised from the dead. In John 20 you read about that ( ). He breathed on the disciples and by doing that, He gave them a life in which the Holy Spirit could work. This seems similar to what happened to Adam in Genesis 2 ( ), but still it is different. Through what happened to Adam, he was able to live on earth as a living soul. Through what happened through the last Adam, the disciples received a new life, which enabled them to approach God in heaven. . You also see the ranking here: first comes the natural and then the spiritual. This ranking you encounter every day. A baby only needs milk. You cannot talk about spiritual matters with a baby. That is only possible if a person has reached a certain age. . There is not only a difference in what Adam and the Lord Jesus became, they also differ in origin, where they come from. This is a huge difference. The first man owes his existence to the dust of the earth. After the fall of man God said: “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return” ( ). Man with his self-importance is nothing more than that. Without a powerful work of God there was no hope that a change would take place. Then came the Second Man. Where did He come from? A new man from the dust of the earth? No. He came from heaven. He surely became Man, but His origin is heaven. . These two Adams both have their ‘offspring’. He who belongs to the first man – Adam – is therefore made from dust. He who belongs to the last Adam – Who is here called “the heavenly” – is heavenly. So you are heavenly, exactly like the Lord Jesus. That is quite something! Though you are on earth and still participate in what is from dust, your inner man belongs to heaven. Inwardly a tremendous change has already happened. . We are waiting for the great change that will take place at the resurrection. Then we shall bear the image of the Heavenly. Some wonderful verses that speak of that, are found in Romans 8 and 1 John 3 ( ; ). . “Flesh and blood” do not partake in the issues that are dealt with here. The expression ‘flesh and blood’ regards man as a creature with limitations, in whom sin dwells since the fall of man. That’s why he is “perishable”. God cannot disclose His kingdom for those men. He did not make them heirs. The inheritance of His kingdom is only made possible for those who are connected with the Heir, the Lord Jesus. Outside this connection there is no inheritance. . When Paul has come at this point of his teaching, he reveals a mystery. All the time he had talked about the resurrection of the dead. That is something that was also known in the Old Testament. All the believers of the Old Testament died in the faith that there will be a resurrection one day and that they will receive what God has promised. Through the whole chapter of Hebrews 11 you encounter such believers. To partake of the resurrection you ought to be dead first. The exceptional thing of the mystery that is revealed here, is that when Christ comes to fulfill God’s promises, not all will be dead. This is because there will also be believers on earth who are still alive when Christ returns. Paul even says this in a way as if he is sure that he will not die. He speaks about “we will not all sleep”. How much more could we, who are now still alive, say that. What then will happen to those who are alive? They will be changed. That is necessary, for you have read in that flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom. To be with God in heaven, we need a body that is able to be there. In Philippians 3 it is said that when the Lord Jesus returns He “will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” ( ). . The moment that will happen, cannot be expressed in a time unit. We use all kinds of words if we want to indicate the fastness of an event, for example: a flash, swift as an arrow, a part of a second. Still each description fails to describe the fastness in which this transformation will take place. It is in “the twinkling of an eye”. The signal that heralds this event is the sound of the trumpet, the last trumpet of course. By that Paul alludes to the traditions of the Roman army, where the trumpet was sounded three times. The first time was the sign to break up; the second time means to line up; the third time was the command to march. That is how they used to do it in the Roman armies: breaking up, line up, march. This is what we ought to do as Christians. Have you already broken up and are you lined up yet? Breaking up means: disconnect everything that still connects you to the world. To line up means: to be ready to go. We have to wait for the last trumpet. When that sounds, two things happen in that twinkling of an eye. First the dead are raised. They have priority over the living, although it is just a moment of that twinkling of an eye. They do not remain longer in the grave than necessary. What happens further you can read in 1 Thessalonians 4 ( ). That section is about the same event. The emphasis there is on those who are asleep, while here the change of the living is put more in the forefront. Anyhow, the result is that we shall always be with the Lord. A wonderful perspective! Now read 1 Corinthians 15:45-52 again. Reflection: Which great changes will be effected by the return of the Lord Jesus? Do you look forward to that?

‏ 1 Corinthians 15:51

A Mystery Revealed

1Cor 15:45. To make clear the difference between the natural and the spiritual body, Paul quotes what is written about the creation of the first man. As you see, this is another “so … it is written”. The answer to each question, regarding the existence of man and the here-after, you ought to look for in the Bible.

How did the first man become a living soul? That happened when God breathed the breath of life in his nostrils. This is how man, who was formed by God from the dust of the earth, became a higher being than an animal. Through the breath of God man was able to start his existence on earth and was able to have fellowship with God. This is not the way God gave life to the animals. God could approach Adam and speak with him and vice versa. This is not the way God dealt with animals. God created man in such a way that he, to remain alive, had to eat. God provided man with that food.

So you see by the way God created Adam, he was someone who was dependent on God. He received everything, his life and livelihood, from God.

He received life through the soul. What the soul exactly is, I cannot explain that to you. Many people have tried to do that by writing books about it, but no one seems to have the final say about that. I certainly do not have the final say, but I would like you to consider the following. The word ‘soul’ in the Bible is used to indicate several things. One of the things is to indicate the incorporeal side of man, thus something else than his physical body, which you could call the corporeal side of man. When the word ‘soul’ is used in this way, it usually refers to man in relation to the terrestrial conditions, the way he feels and behaves on earth.

What had happened to the first man is now compared to what took place with the last Adam. The Lord Jesus is called here “the last Adam” to indicate that after Him there never will be a next Adam. Well, what is the character of the last Adam? That He became “a life-giving spirit”. So, the last Adam, the Lord Jesus, did not receive something from God, but He Himself gave life to others. The Lord Jesus did that, after He has been raised from the dead.

In John 20 you read about that (Jn 20:22). He breathed on the disciples and by doing that, He gave them a life in which the Holy Spirit could work. This seems similar to what happened to Adam in Genesis 2 (Gen 2:7), but still it is different. Through what happened to Adam, he was able to live on earth as a living soul. Through what happened through the last Adam, the disciples received a new life, which enabled them to approach God in heaven.

1Cor 15:46. You also see the ranking here: first comes the natural and then the spiritual. This ranking you encounter every day. A baby only needs milk. You cannot talk about spiritual matters with a baby. That is only possible if a person has reached a certain age.

1Cor 15:47. There is not only a difference in what Adam and the Lord Jesus became, they also differ in origin, where they come from. This is a huge difference. The first man owes his existence to the dust of the earth. After the fall of man God said: “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19). Man with his self-importance is nothing more than that. Without a powerful work of God there was no hope that a change would take place.

Then came the Second Man. Where did He come from? A new man from the dust of the earth? No. He came from heaven. He surely became Man, but His origin is heaven.

1Cor 15:48. These two Adams both have their ‘offspring’. He who belongs to the first man – Adam – is therefore made from dust. He who belongs to the last Adam – Who is here called “the heavenly” – is heavenly. So you are heavenly, exactly like the Lord Jesus. That is quite something! Though you are on earth and still participate in what is from dust, your inner man belongs to heaven. Inwardly a tremendous change has already happened.

1Cor 15:49. We are waiting for the great change that will take place at the resurrection. Then we shall bear the image of the Heavenly. Some wonderful verses that speak of that, are found in Romans 8 and 1 John 3 (Rom 8:29; 1Jn 3:2).

1Cor 15:50. “Flesh and blood” do not partake in the issues that are dealt with here. The expression ‘flesh and blood’ regards man as a creature with limitations, in whom sin dwells since the fall of man. That’s why he is “perishable”. God cannot disclose His kingdom for those men. He did not make them heirs. The inheritance of His kingdom is only made possible for those who are connected with the Heir, the Lord Jesus. Outside this connection there is no inheritance.

1Cor 15:51. When Paul has come at this point of his teaching, he reveals a mystery. All the time he had talked about the resurrection of the dead. That is something that was also known in the Old Testament. All the believers of the Old Testament died in the faith that there will be a resurrection one day and that they will receive what God has promised. Through the whole chapter of Hebrews 11 you encounter such believers. To partake of the resurrection you ought to be dead first.

The exceptional thing of the mystery that is revealed here, is that when Christ comes to fulfill God’s promises, not all will be dead. This is because there will also be believers on earth who are still alive when Christ returns. Paul even says this in a way as if he is sure that he will not die. He speaks about “we will not all sleep”. How much more could we, who are now still alive, say that.

What then will happen to those who are alive? They will be changed. That is necessary, for you have read in 1Cor 15:50 that flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom. To be with God in heaven, we need a body that is able to be there. In Philippians 3 it is said that when the Lord Jesus returns He “will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phil 3:21).

1Cor 15:52. The moment that will happen, cannot be expressed in a time unit. We use all kinds of words if we want to indicate the fastness of an event, for example: a flash, swift as an arrow, a part of a second. Still each description fails to describe the fastness in which this transformation will take place. It is in “the twinkling of an eye”.

The signal that heralds this event is the sound of the trumpet, the last trumpet of course. By that Paul alludes to the traditions of the Roman army, where the trumpet was sounded three times. The first time was the sign to break up; the second time means to line up; the third time was the command to march. That is how they used to do it in the Roman armies: breaking up, line up, march.

This is what we ought to do as Christians. Have you already broken up and are you lined up yet? Breaking up means: disconnect everything that still connects you to the world. To line up means: to be ready to go.

We have to wait for the last trumpet. When that sounds, two things happen in that twinkling of an eye. First the dead are raised. They have priority over the living, although it is just a moment of that twinkling of an eye. They do not remain longer in the grave than necessary. What happens further you can read in 1 Thessalonians 4 (1Thes 4:15-18). That section is about the same event. The emphasis there is on those who are asleep, while here the change of the living is put more in the forefront. Anyhow, the result is that we shall always be with the Lord. A wonderful perspective!

Now read 1 Corinthians 15:45-52 again.

Reflection: Which great changes will be effected by the return of the Lord Jesus? Do you look forward to that?