1 Corinthians 15:45

1 Corinthians 15:45 says, And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.  Paul tells us that this body that we have is more than physical.  We, unlike the other animals, have a living soul.  God breathed His spirit into mankind, but the physical body is still mortal.  Paul then tells us that the second Adam, Jesus Christ, brings us life, just as the first Adam brought us death.  Verse forty-six adds, Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.  We first have a physical body before we have the spiritual one.  We might wonder why God did not just give us that spiritual body to begin with.  I believe that it goes back to free will. Had we been given that spiritual, everlasting body to begin with, we would have never had to decide whether to put our faith in God or not.  Verse forty-seven continues, The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.  The physical body was created from the dirt of the earth.  We were not sent down from heaven to occupy a physical body but were born a physical body with a soul.  Just as Adam was not a spiritual being sent down from God but a physical being created by God, so are we.  We may think we can create life without God, but we never will be able to.  Jesus Christ, the second man, did indeed come down from heaven, but He alone has this distinction.  Verse forty-eight states, As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.  I believe that Paul is reminding us that the physical body is earthly and as such must pass away before we can have that spiritual body through Christ.  There is a separation between the earthly and the heavenly, and it can only be bridged by Christ.  We are called on to die daily to the physical things of life that we might live by the spiritual direction of God.  Verse forty-nine adds, And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.   We are born in the image of created man, the physical image created by God, but we, as followers of Christ, also bear the image of Christ spiritually, or the heavenly image.  Verse fifty continues, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.  I believe what Paul is telling us is that we need not be concerned about the old physical body which is corrupted by sin.  It will never be incorruptible.   Verse fifty-one says, Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,  I believe Paul was telling us that not all Christians will have died when Christ returns.  He may have even believed that Christ would return before all those alive then died, but the fact remains that some Christians will be alive whenever He does return.  Still, we will be changed from the corruptible creature that we are.  Verse fifty-two adds, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  Paul tells us that this will not be a long, drawn-out process, and it will be for both the living and the dead.  The dead will be raised incorruptible, and the living will be changed the same way.  All this will occur instantaneously.  Verse fifty-three continues, For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  We will be changed into incorruptible beings, but we will not become more than what God created us to be, and that is His servants.  We do not become gods of any sort.  Verse fifty-four states, So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.  Paul is telling us that when Christ returns that death will have its final defeat.  Though through Christ we already have the ultimate victory over death, when Christ returns and we are changed into that incorruptible body, there will no longer be even the physical death we may endure now.  Verse fifty-five adds, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  Death will no longer have any power over us, and the grave will give up those who have gone before Christ's return.  Verse fifty-six continues, The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  Paul tells us because of sin death came into the world, and that by the law of God we can only be pronounced guilty of sin.  There is only One Who ever lived life free of sin, and that is Jesus Christ.  Verse fifty-seven declares, But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  We cannot save ourselves, but we can praise God for making salvation possible through the sacrifice of Christ.  Verse fifty-eight adds, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.  Paul tells us to be steadfast in our faith in Christ and to be abounding in our work for God.  As long as we put our faith in our salvation through Christ, we can be assured that we are His forever.  We need to have an unwavering faith as we abound in the work of God.