January 12, 2018

I Corinthians 15:45-49 (Bible in Basic English)

(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

For this edition of In The Image Of… I compared 17 Bible translations for the most under-standable version of today’s featured Scripture – I Corinthians 15:45 through 49.  I picked the Bible in Basic English:

      …it is said, “The first man Adam was a living soul.” [Genesis 2:7].  The last
      Adam is a life-giving spirit.  But that which is natural comes before that
      which is of the Spirit.  The first man is from the earth, and of the earth:  the
      second Man is from heaven.  Those who are of the earth are like the man
      who was from the earth:  and those who are of heaven are like the One from
      heaven.  And in the same way as we have taken on us the image of the man
      from the earth, so we will take on us the image of the One from heaven.

We have looked at the first two Images we have borne:

•      “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27).

•      But in John 8:44, Jesus told the Pharisees (and all of us are included):  “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.”  So ever since Adam, we have carried Satan’s image of sin!

The third Image is our being brought back into the image of God !  That’s what           I Corinthians 15:45 through 49 is all about.

•      In our featured Scripture, Jesus is called the last Adam, the One of the Spirit, and the second Man from heaven.  Though we have not had a choice concerning us hosting the second image of Satan, Christians are destined to be in the third image – Jesus’ image!  And since Jesus is the Son of God, God the Son, we will once again be in the image of God !

       ✞      Both Adam and Jesus came directly from being fathered by God!

               ▸      Genesis 2:7 – Concerning Adam:  “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.”

               ▸      Luke 1:26, 27, and 35 – Concerning Jesus:  “…the angel Gabriel…said to…Mary…,‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’ ”

       ✞      Both were the first of the human race!

               ▸      Adam is head of all human beings!  In being that head, he passed the devil’s image, sin, and death to all his progeny! (See Romans 5:12).

               ▸      Jesus Christ is the Head of a new race of restored human beings – restored into the image of God !  These ones are again under the fatherhood of God! (See John 1:12; Ephesians 2:16-19).

       ✞      While both came directly from God, “…the first man is from the earth…the
second Man is from heaven.” (I Corinthians 15:47).

•      That change offered to us by Jesus Christ – back into the image of God – has a perfect completion in the future, and as well it is an on-going process now!

       ✞      As the Apostle John wrote in his first epistle – I John 3:2, “…we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is.”  This will happen at the Rapture (see I Corinthians 15:51-54; I Thessalonians 4:13-17) – “…at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:14).

       ✞      In the meantime, we “…are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory…by the Spirit of the Lord.” (II Corinthians 3:2).

So this image of the heavenly Man is the third Image human beings can hold!

•      The first is past!  “In Adam…all have sinned and…all die…“! (Romans 3:23; I Corinthians 15:22).

•      The second is ongoing!  “…death has spread to the whole human race because everyone has sinned.” (Romans 5:12 – Good News Bible).

•      The third is both ongoing and to be completed in the future!  (See the fourth major bullet discussion above).

The main point of all this study is this:  We are all in the position of the second ongoing image – the image of Satan!  Being in the image of the devil, we will all share in his destiny – “…the lake of fire and brimstone…[to] be tormented day and night forever and ever…” (Revelation 20:10) – if no change is made!  But the change back into the image of God is offered through Christ the Lord – and only through Him! (See John 3:16; 5:24; 14:6; Acts 4:12).  The choice is yours!  Receive Jesus Christ as Savior, and follow Him as Lord!