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What Does 1 Corinthians 15:49 Mean?
1 Corinthians 15:49
I Corinthians 15:49 shows the end of the process, which it encompasses in just a brief phrase, "we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." We were born into the human family, and we have borne the image of that family, an image that all of mankind has in common. All of us have the human spirit. We may be different ethnically. We may look different from the person sitting next to us, but now in Christ Jesus He is building a commonality, one God intends us to use to increase our fellowship with Him, as well as increase and deepen the respect and fellowship that we have for each other until we come to bear the image of the heavenly. Then, of course, the fellowship will be in totality. That is where Christians are headed.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Truth (Part 4)
1 Corinthians 15:49
Jesus Christ was resurrected bodily, yet He was composed of spirit. When we are resurrected, it will also be bodily. We, too, will be "quickening"—life-giving, composed of spirit.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Holy Spirit and the Trinity (Part One)
1 Corinthians 15:42-49
The image Paul speaks of is not merely that we will be composed of spirit even as Christ is, but that our very nature and character be like His. If God desired that we merely be spirit, He could have made us like angels. Angels, however, are not God; they are angels. God is doing a work in us through which we will become like Him, not like angels.
His purpose requires that we cooperate. Though our part is very small by comparison to what He is doing, it is nonetheless vital. Notice how Paul draws this beautiful section of I Corinthians to a conclusion by drawing our attention to what it will take on our part to make God's purpose work: "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (I Corinthians 15:57-58).
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Elements of Motivation (Part Three): Hope
1 Corinthians 15:49
Are we sons of Adam? Why do we have this image? Why are we like him? Because we are his offspring! We have been born into this earth, the offspring of Adam, as Acts 17 clearly proves. When we are resurrected we will bear the image of our Father. We will be just like Him (I John 3:2), even as we are now just like Adam was. We will be God!
Incidentally, the word image means "that which corresponds to and reproduces the original." No image—whether it is a reproduction in a flat mirror, a three-dimensional hologram, or a living child of a parent—is an exact replica or image, because each person has his own peculiarities. That is so evident and logical that everybody should be able to understand that nobody can be God exactly as God is God, because each person is an individual personality. We will be a reproduction of Him, but we will be unique—because we are who we are, and He is who He is. He has His life and His history, and we have ours. However, we will still be God. We will be just as much "God" as a baby in the human family is a "human" like its parents.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part One)
Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing 1 Corinthians 15:49:
Genesis 1:26
Genesis 1:26-27
Genesis 1:26-27
Genesis 3:4
Genesis 3:19
Genesis 13:14-15
Luke 1:26-30
Luke 1:41-42
John 20:1
Romans 1:7
1 Corinthians 1:2
1 Corinthians 1:7-8
1 Corinthians 15:49
2 Corinthians 1:1
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Ephesians 1:1
Philippians 1:1
Revelation 7:3-8
Revelation 14:1-5
Revelation 20:1-3
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As sons of Adam, mankind bears his image because we are his offspring, born into the earth. When resurrected, we will bear the image of our Father, becoming just like Him (I John 3:2)—we will be God. The word "image" means that which corresponds to and reproduces the original, though no image is an exact replica; each person is a unique individual. We will be a reproduction of Him, yet unique, just as a baby is human like its parents. This verse shows the end of the process. All mankind shares the human spirit, but in Christ, God builds a commonality, deepening fellowship until we bear the heavenly image. Like Christ, we will be resurrected bodily, composed of spirit.