 |  |
The reference to the `image' is found in verse 49, and is in the section which raises the
question "How are the dead raised up, and with what body do they come?" The reference
to the image in verse 49 is a part of a larger section which constitutes the Apostle's
answer to this great problem.
"And as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly" (I Cor. 15: 49).
We can range practically I Cor. 15: 35-57 under the two headings "earthly image"
and "heavenly image".
"That which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be . . . . . but God giveth
it a body as it hath pleased Him."
That which is sown is `the earthly', that body which `shall be' is `the heavenly'.
When Paul goes on to say "To every seed its own body" and to differentiate between
the flesh of men, beasts, fishes and birds, and the difference between `bodies celestial'
and bodies terrestrial', he still thinks of the `earthly' and the `heavenly' image. So also in
verse 42, the contrasts indicated there are but the differences between the `earthly' and
the `heavenly'.
"It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory:
It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body" (I Cor. 15: 42-44).
"The first man Adam was made a living soul;
the last Adam was made a quickening spirit" (I Cor. 15: 45).
The earthly image is that which is `natural' and which comes first, the heavenly image
is that which is `spiritual'. We, who have borne the image of the earthly, with its
corruption, its dishonour and its weakness. (O the glory of it), shall bear the image of the
heavenly with its incorruption, its glory and its power. We shall exchange the `natural
body' for the `spiritual body'; we shall be changed into the likeness of the `last Adam'
and of `the second Man' the Lord from heaven.
"We shall all be changed"
(I Cor. 15: 51).
Here is the first step towards the goal of God. We now turn to the references in
II Cor. 3: and 4: to learn something of the atmosphere in which this change will be
made. Here again `change' meets us, for II Cor. 3: 18 contain the words:
"We all . . . . . beholding . . . . . are changed into the same image."
The theme we are considering is the goal of God, seen in relation to the idea of
the "Image" commencing with Creation (Gen. 1: 26) and ending with satisfaction
(Psa. 17: 15); commencing with predestination (Rom. 8: 29) and ending with
transfiguration (II Cor. 3: 18).