The first man is of the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the one made of dust, such are those who are also made of dust; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
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So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However that which is spiritual isn’t first, but that which is natural, then that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the one made of dust, such are those who are also made of dust; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. As we have borne the image of those made of dust, let’s also bear the image of the heavenly. Now I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood can’t inherit God’s Kingdom; neither does the perishable inherit imperishable.
Parallel Translations
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The first man is of the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven.
As is the one made of dust, such are those who are also made of dust; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
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The fyrst man is of the erth erthy: the seconde man is the Lorde from heaven.
As is the erthy soche are they that are erthye. And as is the hevely soche are they that are hevenly.
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The first man is of the earth, earthly: the second man is the Lord from heauen.
As is the earthly, such are they that are earthly: and as is the heauenly, such are they also that are heauenly.
Cross-references (21)
- John 3:31 (v47) He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is…
- Genesis 2:7 (v47) Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
- Genesis 3:19 (v47) You will eat bread by the sweat of your face until you return to the ground, for you were taken out of it. For you are dust, and you shall…
- Genesis 5:3 (v48) Adam lived one hundred thirty years, and became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
- John 3:6 (v48) That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Show all 21 cross-references
- 2 Corinthians 5:1 (v47) For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the…
- Philippians 3:20-21 (v48) For our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change the body of our humiliation…
- Job 14:4 (v48) Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.
- Isaiah 9:6 (v47) For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,…
- Luke 2:11 (v47) For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
- John 3:12-13 (v47) If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven but…
- Romans 5:12-21 (v48) Therefore as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; so death passed to all men, because all sinned. For until…
- 1 Corinthians 15:45 (v47) So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
- Jeremiah 23:6 (v47) In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. This is his name by which he will be called: Yahweh our righteousness.
- Matthew 1:23 (v47) “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel;” which is, being interpreted,…
- Luke 1:16-17 (v47) He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the…
- John 6:33 (v47) For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
- Acts 10:36 (v47) The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all—
- 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 (v48) For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made…
- 1 Timothy 3:16 (v47) Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached…
- Ephesians 4:9-11 (v47) Now this, “He ascended”, what is it but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the one who…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv47–48 The Lord is said to come down from heaven…
The Lord is said to come down from heaven by that kind of speech, whereby that which is proper to one is touched of another.
Wallowing in dirt, and wholly given to an earthly nature.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv47–48 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy:…
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
Ver. 47. Of the earth, earthy] Gr. dusty, slimy, ex terra friabili. Let this pull down proud flesh. Let us throw this proud Jezebel out of the windows of our hearts, and lay her honour in the dust, by remembering that we are but earth and dust. Adam of Adamah, red earth; homo ab humo. Humility comes from the same root, because it lays a man flat on the ground; and because, like the earth, it is the most weighty of all virtues.
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The Lord from heaven] Not for the matter of his body, for he was "made of a woman;" but for the original and dignity of his person, whereof see a lively and lofty description, Heb 1:2-3.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv47–48 Adam, who was the first man, was of the…
Adam, who was the first man, was of the earth, Gen 2:7, and was of an earthy constitution, like unto the earth out of which he was formed; but Christ had another original: for though his body was formed in the womb of the virgin, and he was flesh of her flesh, yet she conceived by the Holy Ghost overshadowing her, and Christ had an eternal generation (as to his Divine nature) from his Father.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv47–48 Now this I say, brethren,.... Upon the whole, I…
Now this I say, brethren,.... Upon the whole, I assert this, and observe it to you, out of a truly Christian respect for you, as brethren in the Lord, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God: this shows the necessity there is of a difference between the body that now is, and that which shall be, which the apostle has so largely insisted on, and so clearly proved and explained, in the preceding verses; because the body, as it now is, is not capable of possessing the heavenly glory; was it to be introduced into heaven, in the condition it is now, it would break in pieces, and crumble into dust; it would not be able to bear the glory of that state and place: by flesh and blood is meant, not human nature as to the substance of it, or as consisting of flesh and blood, for that can and does inherit the kingdom of God; witness the human nature, or body of Christ, the bodies of the saints that rose after his resurrection, and those of Enoch and Elijah, who were translated body and soul to heaven; so that this passage makes nothing for those that deny the resurrection of the same body, and plead for a new and an aerial one: but the human nature, or body, so and so qualified, is here meant; either as corrupted with sin, for without holiness and righteousness no man shall see the Lord, or enter into and possess the kingdom of heaven; or flesh and blood, or an human body, as it is now supported in this animal life, with meat and drink, &c. and as it is frail and mortal, and subject to death, in which sense the phrase is used in Scripture; see Mat 16:17 and often by the Jews; so Abraham is represented by them as saying (i),
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"I am , "flesh and blood", tomorrow I shall depart out of the world, or die:''
it would be endless to give the many instances that might be produced of this use of the phrase with them, and in which sense it is to be taken here: and the meaning is, that saints in their frail mortal bodies, such as they now are, are not capable of enjoying the heavenly glory; which is called "the kingdom", because of its riches, glory, grandeur, and magnificence; and the kingdom "of God", because it is of his preparing and giving; and what he calls his people to, and makes them meet for, and in which they will reign with him for evermore: heirs of it they may be, and are now whilst in this frail and mortal state; but inherit, possess, and enjoy it, they cannot, as not without holiness of soul, so not without immortality of body; and therefore it is necessary that the body should rise different in qualities from, though the same in substance with, the present body; that it should rise incorruptible, glorious, powerful, and spiritual; that it may be fitted for, and be able to bear the exceeding weight of glory in the other world:
neither doth corruption inherit incorruption: by corruption is not so much meant sin, or the corruption of nature, or man as corrupted by sin, though it is true of such an one, that he does not, and cannot inherit incorruption; the incorruptible crown, the crown of glory that fadeth not away, the incorruptible inheritance, reserved in the heavens, those riches which moth and rust corrupt not; but the body, as it is generated in corruption, is supported by corruptible things, and is subject to corruption and worms; in such a situation it is unfit for, and incapable of inheriting eternal glory; it must be different from what it is; it must put on immortality, and be clothed with incorruption: the word inherit in both clauses shows, that the heavenly glory is an inheritance, and belongs to children only; is their heavenly Father's bequest unto them; is not bought or acquired by anything of theirs; and is what they enter into and upon, in virtue and consequence of the death of the testator, Christ.
(i) Bemibdar Rabba, sect. 11. fol. 202. 3.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv47–48 The first man was from the earth, earthy; the…
The first man was from the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven-The first man, being from the earth, is subject to corruption and dissolution, like the earth from which he came. The second man - St. Paul could not so well say, "Is from heaven, heavenly:" because, though man owes it to the earth that he is earthy, yet the Lord does not owe his glory to heaven. He himself made the heavens, and by descending from thence showed himself to us as the Lord. Christ was not the second man in order of time; but in this respect, that as Adam was a public person, who acted in the stead of all mankind, so was Christ. As Adam was the first general representative of men, Christ was the second and the last. And what they severally did, terminated not in themselves, but affected all whom they represented.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv47–48 Verse 47. The first man is of the earth]…
Verse 47. The first man is of the earth] That is: Adam's body was made out of the dust of the earth; and hence the apostle says he was χοικος, of the dust; for the body was made עפר מן האדמה aphar min ha-adamah, dust from the ground; Ge 2:7.
The second man is - from heaven.] Heavenly, ουρανιος, as several good MSS. and versions read. The resurrection body shall be of a heavenly nature, and not subject to decay or death. What is formed of earth must live after an earthly manner; must be nourished and supported by the earth: what is from heaven is of a spiritual nature; and shall have no farther connection with, nor dependence upon, earth. I conceive both these clauses to relate to man; and to point out the difference between the animal body and the spiritual body, or between the bodies which we now have and the bodies which we shall have in the resurrection. But can this be the meaning of the clause, the second man is the Lord from heaven? In the quotation I have omitted οκυριος, the Lord, on the following authorities: MANUSCRIPTS - BCD*EFG, and two others. VERSIONS - Coptic, AEthiopic, Armenian in the margin, Vulgate, and Itala. FATHERS - Origen, who quotes it once and omits it once; Athanasius, Basil, the two Gregories, Nyssen and Nazianzen; Isidore, Cyril, Tertullian, Cyprian, Hilary, Zeno, Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, Ambrosiaster, Philaster, Leo, Pacianus, Primasius, Sedulius, Bede, and others. See these authorities more at large in Wetstein. Some of the most eminent of modern critics leave out the word, and Tertullian says that it was put in by the heretic Marcion. I do think that the word is not legitimate in this place. The verse is read by the MSS., versions, and fathers referred to, thus: The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is of heaven, heavenly; κυριος being omitted and ουρανιος added. The first man and the second man of this verse are the same as the first Adam and the second Adam of 1Co 15:45, and it is not clear that Christ is meant in either place. Some suppose that there is a reference here to what Eve said when she brought forth Cain: I have gotten a man from the Lord, קניתי איש את יהוה kanithi ish eth Yehovah, I have possessed or obtained a man, the Lord; that is, as Dr. Lightfoot explains it, that the Lord himself should become man: and he thinks that Eve had respect to the promise of Christ when she named her son; as Adam had when he named his wife. If Eve had this in view, we can only say she was sadly mistaken: indeed the conjecture is too refined.
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The terms first man of the earth, and second man from heaven, are frequent among the Jews: אדם לעילא the superior Adam; and אדם תתאה Adam the inferior; that is, the earthly and the heavenly Adam: Adam before the resurrection, and Adam after it.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v47 1Co 15:47-49. The first man is [was] of the…
1Co 15:47-49. The first man is [was] of the earth, earthy — Being from earth, and having forfeited his immortality by sin, he became subject to corruption and dissolution, like the earth from which he came. The second man is the Lord from heaven — St. Paul could not well say, “is of, or from heaven, heavenly:” because though man owes it to the earth that he is earthy, yet the Lord does not owe it to heaven that he is glorious. He himself made the heavens, and by descending from them, showed himself to us as the Lord. Christ is called the second Adam in this respect, that as Adam was a public person who acted in the stead of all mankind, so was Christ; and as Adam was the first general representative of men, Christ was the second and the last: and what they severally did, terminated not in themselves, but affected all whom they represented. As is the earthy —
The first Adam after his fall; such are they also that are earthy — Who continue without any higher principle; they are sinful, mortal, corruptible creatures: such a body as Adam had, have all his posterity while they remain on earth. And as is the heavenly — Man, Christ, at present; such are — Or rather, shall be; they that are heavenly — Who are united to Christ by the quickening and regenerating influences of his Spirit. That they may live with him in heaven, they shall at last have glorious bodies like his. And as we have borne the image of the earthy — As assuredly as we are now sinful, afflicted, and mortal men, like the first Adam; we shall also bear the image of the heavenly — So surely shall we be brought to resemble Christ in holiness, glory, and immortality.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv47–48 The first man - Adam.
The first man - Adam.
Is of the earth - Was made of the dust; see Gen 2:7.
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Earthy - Partaking of the earth; he was a mass of animated clay, and could be appropriately called “dust;” Gen 3:19. Of course, he must partake of a nature that was low, mean, mortal, and corruptible.
The second man - Christ; see the note on 1Co 15:45. He is called the second man, as being the second who sustained a relation to people that was materially to affect their conduct and destiny; the second and the last 1Co 15:45, who should sustain a special headship to the race.
The Lord from heaven - Called in 1Co 2:8, the “Lord of glory;” see note on that place. This expression refers to the fact that the Lord Jesus had a heavenly origin, in contradistinction from Adam, who was formed from the earth. The Latin Vulgate renders this, “the second man from heaven is heavenly;” and this idea seems to accord with the meaning in the former member of the verse. The sense is, evidently, that as the first man had an earthly origin, and was, therefore, earthy, so the second man being from heaven, as his proper home, would have a body adapted to that abode; unlike that which was earthy, and which would be suited to his exalted nature, and to the world where he would dwell. And while, therefore, the phrase “from heaven” refers to his heavenly origin, the essential idea is, that he would have a body that was adapted to such an origin and such a world - a body unlike that which was earthy. That is, Christ had a glorified body to which the bodies of the saints must yet be made like.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv47–48 of the earth--inasmuch as being sprung from the earth,…
of the earth--inasmuch as being sprung from the earth, he is "earthy" (Gen 2:7; Gen 3:19, "dust thou art"); that is, not merely earthly or born upon the earth, but terrene, or of earth; literally, "of heaped earth" or clay. "Adam" means red earth.
the Lord--omitted in the oldest manuscripts and versions.
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from heaven-- (Joh 3:13, Joh 3:31). Humanity in Christ is generic. In Him man is impersonated in his true ideal as God originally designed him. Christ is the representative man, the federal head of redeemed man.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv47–48 47. Of—Rather, from the earth, as the second man…
47. Of—Rather, from the earth, as the second man is from heaven. In Gen_2:7, the same Greek words occur, from the earth.
The Lord— This phrase is rejected as spurious by the best scholars; the true reading is the second man is the Lord from heaven. By this antithesis, as by the former, (1Co_15:45; 1Co_15:49,) Adam is viewed at his creation, and Christ at his second advent, producing our resurrection.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv47–48 47. The first man is of the earth, earthy]…
47. The first man is of the earth, earthy] See Gen_2:7. The word earthy (χοϊκός from χοῦς dust) is an allusion to the ‘dust of the ground’ in that passage, in the Septuagint χους.
the second man is the Lord from heaven] The Vulgate reads, is from heaven, heavenly, Tyndale follows the Vulgate, and also Wiclif, who translates however, the secunde man of heuene is heueneli. Alford reads the second man is from heaven, with the majority of MSS. and versions. The law of progress, above referred to, is illustrated by the creation of the second man. The first man was ‘dust of the ground,’ and God breathed a breath of life into his soul. But the second man is not created anew altogether, but takes the first man as the starting-point of the new life. By the agency of the Holy Spirit Jesus Christ took our flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, being a new creation, but not directly from heaven. See note on 1Co_15:21. This passage bears a strong resemblance to St Joh_3:31; and in the reading we have mentioned the resemblance is even stronger than in the authorized version. The margin of St Joh_3:3 may also be compared.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v47 (47) The second man is the Lord from heaven.—Better,…
(47) The second man is the Lord from heaven.—Better, the second man is from heaven. The words “the Lord,” which occur in the English version, are not in the best Greek MSS. The word which is twice rendered “of” in this verse has the force of “from,” “originating from,” in the Greek. The first representative man was from the earth, the second representative man was from heaven; and as was the first earthly Adam, so are we in our merely physical condition; and as is the second heavenly Adam, so shall we be in our heavenly state.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv47–48 Earthy. Made of" the dust of the ground". (Gen_2:7)…
Earthy. Made of" the dust of the ground". (Gen_2:7) Is the Lord from heaven. The words "the Lord" are a gloss, not found in a, B, C, D, E, F, G. The verse remarkably resembles Joh_3:31, and probably oral reminiscences of our Lord"s discourses were current among the apostles long before the Gospels were written. Tertullian attributes the insertion of "the Lord" to Marcion.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the…
1Co_15:47-49
The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
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The first and second man
I. The first--is of the earth, earthy--consequently--
1. Confined to earth.
2. Perishes with the earth.
II. The second--from heaven, heavenly.
1. Rules the earth.
2. Opens heaven.
3. Lives for ever. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
Of the earth, earthy
Χοϊκος properly means clayey, but is here used to express mans terrestrial nature. Because he is of the earth in his origin--i.e., as to his body, there is a terrestrial side to his nature and sphere of action. From this we may infer--
I. That man in his sinless state had a body capable of dying. If he had continued sinless, his body would have been rendered immortal by a Divine act, and we gather from Gen_3:22 that the tree of life was the appointed sacrament of immortality. This is consistent with Rom_5:12. In the case of man sin brought death, not mortality, into the world. The correctness of this hypothesis is confirmed by the side light it throws upon the voluntariness of Christs death. As Christ was sinless, death was not a necessity to Him, though He had a mortal body; and as He was Divine as well as sinless, death was impossible to Him without a voluntary act of laying down His life.
II. That the divine image in adam consisted, negatively, in sinlessness and, positively, in a potential and rudimentary goodness; by no means in the full perfection of human nature. Christ does infinitely more than restore our original state (cf. Wis_8:1)
. (Principal Edwards.)
The second man
In what sense is our Lord the second man? There were so many millions intervening between Him and Adam. The answer is that all the others were mere copies of the first; whereas Christ introduced a new kind of man, and became the head of a new family.
I. The differences between Adam and Christ. There is a difference.
1. Of origin.
(1) The first man is of the earth, earthy.
(a) Whatever may be said of Adams Divine parentage, according to his physical nature, he and his belong essentially to this earth; they are part of its fauna, and stand at the head of long lines of animal life, which, commencing with the lowest of sensitive creatures, find their highest term in man. All the materials of his physical life and being belong to the planet of which he is the chief inhabitant, of whose vital forces he is simply the highest outcome, the most elaborated product.
(b) There are many who tell us that man is of the earth, earthy, in the sense of being descended from the lower forms of animal life through the process of natural selection; but this can only be received as an hypothesis; yet there is nothing in it contrary to Scripture. If true it gives a new and most marvellous aspect to the Incarnation. Of course, if our ancestors were marine ascidians, so were His; and thus we see Him in an unexpected sense, gathering together in one, and summing up in Himself all created life (Eph_1:10), and reuniting it unto God. I do not know why a Christian should be staggered at the thought of one unbroken continuity of life; for the great gap in the cycle of life, which seemed to be eternally impassable, was above man, not below him, and yet we know that this gulf which separated the highest creature by an infinite distance from the Creator was bridged by the condescension of the Son.
(2) For the second man was the Lord from heaven. His origin was as distinctly Divine and heavenly as Adams origin was earthy.
2. Of nature. This difference was not in wealth, happiness, beauty, nor in any of those things which ordinarily make one man superior to another, for in all these things Christ voluntarily placed Himself at a disadvantage; but it was in holiness.
(1) Adam was a rebel, a sinner; and after him all we are the same. No doctrine of the Scripture is more confirmed by constant experience, or more in accordance with modern science than that of hereditary sin. For not only does every child afford a fresh example of the tendency to do wrong, but as the instinct by which the young bird feeds itself is the transmitted experience of its remote ancestors, so the mortal evil which began in Adam has become an inseparable characteristic of his race.
(2) But Christ was not sinful. Coming into the world by a miraculous and immaculate conception, it was said to Mary, That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God; and this holiness, which belonged to Him by virtue of His origin, He kept spotless amidst all the temptations of His earthly life. And what was the consequence of this holiness? This--that He was by right immortal and incorruptible, even as man; death and the grave could have no claim on One who had no sin. But did He not die? Yes, truly; but it was by His own permission. Being holy, although He was capable of death, it was not possible that He should be holden of it. I have seen some large insect fly into a spiders web, and the hungry spider has come forth with haste, thinking he has caught a finer prize than has fallen into his clutches for many a long day. But the prisoner is stronger than any for which the web was made; he gathers up his might, he throws himself hither and thither, he shakes the web violently, he rends it from top to bottom--he is gone, and has left the broken net and the baffled spider behind him. Even so death had spread his snares for the sons of men, and had caught them all one by one, and had held them fast; at last came the Son of Man, and He, too, died like men, and death and hell rejoiced together over their notable captive. But they did not rejoice long; their toils were not made for Him. The bands of death were to Him as the green withes were to Samson. As the flush of morning comes back upon the earth, as the tints of spring return upon the trees, and we cannot say at what moment it begins, so did Christ rise, we know not when; it needed no effort nor preparation; it was as natural and proper to Him to live, to be abroad in the freedom of unfettered life, as it is for the dew to rise when the sun is warm.
II. Christ is called the second adam because--
1. He introduced into the world a new type, a new order of humanity--a child of man, indeed, but such a child of man as had never been seen before. He was the beau ideal of the human race; all that is noble and lovely in other human beings was united in Him, and all that is noble and lovely in our dreams and fancies about what human beings might be was realised in Him. You have heard of those tropical plants which are said to blossom but once in a hundred years, then, having thrown up a single spike of exquisite white blossom, to die. This (however exaggerated in fact) may serve to illustrate the relation of Christ to the human race: once, and once only, humanity blossomed up and put forth one exquisite faultless flower, in which its entire life culminated, in which all its possibilities were exhausted; that flower was Christ, the Son of Man, par excellence, the second man.
2. But Adam not only set a type, but he began a race, a series like himself, and thus he became the fountain-head of a guilty and perishing humanity. In like manner Christ began a new race, and became the fountain.head of a new regenerate human life, cleansing itself from sin, rising victorious over death. (R. Winterbotham, M.A.)
The believers pedigree
1. On the one side traced to Adam who is of the earth--on the other to Christ who is the Lord from heaven.
2. On the one side he derives an earthly nature, on the other a heavenly.
3. On the one side he is stamped with the features of the earthy, on the other with those of the heavenly.
4. On the one side he can claim no inheritance in the kingdom of God, on the other becomes heir of all things. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy.--
The earthy and the heavenly
I. The earthy--frail, sensual, dying--can only produce his like.
II. The heavenly--pure, spiritual, immortal--communicates His own nature by a new birth, to be consummated in the resurrection. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
As is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.--
The assimilation of Christians to the Redeemer
I. The redeemer of the world is the heavenly.
1. The Scriptures represent Him as the express character of Gods person, the brightness of His glory. The perfections of the Divine nature indeed shine forth in all the works of creation; but there is a clearer and more glorious display of them all in God manifest in the flesh.
2. His life and character demonstrate Him to be the Heavenly.
II. The points of similarity between the heavenly and those with whom he stands connected.
1. That we may be humble, contemplate the dissimilarity. There is in Him the complete perfection of those various graces and virtues of which, in the saints, there is only an extremely remote resemblance.
2. But although the dissimilarity be great, there is an obvious similarity.
(1) In heavenliness of mind. A carnal Christian is a contradiction in terms.
(2) In faith. Like Christ, they put their trust in their heavenly Father.
(3) In being of a devotional spirit.
(4) In humility.
(5) In their conversation.
(6) In active goodness. (T. Swan.)
On heavenly-mindedness
A soul chained down to earth is as little suited for the occupations of heaven as is a body framed of the dust for becoming the eternal tenement of a spirit that liveth for ever. Temper, in its widest acceptation, is the uniform frame of the mind; the disposition, which it partly derives from nature and partly from circumstance; but to which, in its better condition, it is principally reduced by Divine grace and by religious cultivation. Thought is a sudden conception or a process of the intellect, and the fitful spring of action. Passion is a desultory violence of the soul when roused by external impressions. Both thought and passion are subject to variations in the same breast, and both may have intervals of cessation. But disposition is the inward light--the permanent hue of the heart, which tinctures the moral complexion, and blends with the whole course of thought, action, passion and existence. What, then, is that spirit, that disposition, which prevails among the blessed above, and by imitating which we may humbly aspire to be joined to their high and holy association?
1. In its reference to God it implies a spirit of devotion. To acquire the habit of contemplating, under all circumstances, the bond which connects earth with heaven, and of acknowledging the impulse which all the affairs of life are constantly receiving from an unseen arm: to discover providence where ignorance sees but chance, or where pride confesses only the power of man; to hear the voice of God in the accents of instruction; to trace His workmanship in the magnificence of Nature; to admire His beneficence throughout the varied year, whether crowned with blossoms or laden with sheaves--this is to imbibe the spirit of the heavenly; for the works and the wonders of Providence, we may rest assured, for ever occupy the meditations, the converse, and the praises, of the blessed, in the courts of light.
2. The temper and spirit of heaven may be considered, secondly, as it relates to our neighbour. Charity is the bond of union among the blessed above; all is there harmonious as the silent chime of the spheres.
3. It now remains to consider heavenly-mindedness in its immediate relation to ourselves. Humility is the pre-eminent virtue of the heavens. Another feature in the disposition which looks towards a heavenly prototype, and a feature relating to ourselves, is purity. The enjoyments of heaven, and the affections of its inhabitants, we may be sure, are unstained by the cloud or shadow of a thought that may suffuse the mind with the tinge of shame. But the crowning quality of temper, which at once unites and assimilates probationary mortals unto the multitude--the Sabaoth of heaven--is serenity. To this entire composure it cannot be expected that creatures such as we, in a state like that which we inherit, can attain. But here, too, though all may not be achieved or hoped, the task is not to be wholly relinquished. Some self-discipline is practicable; and what is practicable is what God expects. We have the treasury of grace for our feebleness--we have devotion as the key which unlocks it. (J. Grant, M.A.)
As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
The image of the earthy and of the heavenly
I. The image of the earthy.
1. Sin.
2. Sorrow.
3. Death.
II. The image of the heavenly.
1. Holiness.
2. Happiness.
3. Life. (F. A. Cox, LL.D.)
The attainment of the image of the heavenly
The great hindrance to our reception of the full power of these words lies in the difficulty of realising them as a present experience. We fancy that death is the great magician. Paul contemplated the change as actually begun. We were once merely natural men, and knew nothing of the higher spiritual world. Then quickened by the grace of God in Christ we became spiritual. Thus because the quickening Spirit of Christ is forming His image in us now, the earthly shall perish, and we shall wear the image of the heavenly. Just as the flowers which open beneath the summer sunshine are folded in the dark buds which are beaten and tossed in the winter winds; just as the strength of will, the fire of feeling, etc., of a man are hidden in the child, so the heavenly life is within us now, and because it is there it is possible for us to reach the full formed image of the heavenly.
I. The great aim of Christian aspiration--to bear the image, etc. This is one of the deepest longings of the soul. We yearn for rest, for service, for happiness; but there is a deeper longing; we want to be holier, heavenlier men. This is also the all-embracing Christian aim. Every prayer for light, blessedness, strength, is gathered up and centred in the aim to be like Christ. Observe His image has three great features.
1. Divine vision--the spiritual insight that realises the presence of God and the unseen world. It is true that we cannot see God and the radiance of eternity with the bodily eye; but were we like Christ, we should apprehend them through the sympathies of the soul.
2. Divine love. We admit the feebleness of our love to God, yet in many ways we aspire after a deeper love. What means our perpetual unrest, our constant effort after the unattained, etc., but the yearning after that love of God which alone can fill us, our longing after the image of Christ who realised it fully.
3. Divine power.
II. The hindrance to its attainment. The image of the earthy, i.e., the body of corruption whose tendency is--
1. To limit aspiration to the earthy.
2. To become an aid to the sin of the soul.
Conclusion:
1. Our aspirations must be earnest and real. What we sincerely aspire to be we may become.
2. Our endeavour must be practical. Meditation alone will do but little.
3. God will aid us by the discipline of life. Many strokes may be needed; but as the form of immortal loveliness lies concealed in the block of stone, and is being moulded stroke by stroke by the sculptors genius, so the heavenly form in man is being developed by the Eternal Sculptor, who by His discipline is unveiling in us the image of His Son. (E. L. Hull, B.A.)
Perfection in heaven
I. Wherein consists the image of the earthy.
1. In innocent infirmities; hunger, thirst, weariness, etc., and the like. How unlike are we in this respect to the blessed who hunger no more, and thirst no more, and rest not day nor night.
2. In sinful imperfections, commonly expressed by the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of nature.
3. In the consequences.
(1) The miseries of this life.
(2) Death.
(3) A liableness to suffer under the wrath and curse of God for ever.
II. The respects in which true believers shall bear the image of the heavenly.
1. In the glorious spirituality of the body. How vastly will it differ from what it now is (verses 42-44).
2. In the perfect holiness of the soul.
3. In complete happiness.
4. In immortality. (D. Whittey.)
The believers assimilation to Christ
I. The characters here placed in contrast.
1. The earthy.
2. The heavenly.
II. The fact assumed--that we have all borne, etc.
1. The first man is emphatically styled earthy (verse 47).
(1) On account of his origin.
(2) Because of his tendency.
(3) Because of his apostasy.
2. But Christ is the heavenly One, because of--
(1) His pre-existence.
(2) The moral beauty and glory displayed by Him while on earth.
3. Therefore it is said that we have borne the image of the earthy.
4. And not only because of this, but also because the first mans moral image has become characteristic of us.
III. The promise in reference to believers. A perfect moral resemblance to Christ will be attained at the last day. (J. Scott.)
Mans present and future
I. Confirm the lamentable fact that, by nature, we all bear the image of the earthly. So says my text; so says my experience, the melancholy experience of all ages and nations; so witness our own feelings in the endurance of those ills to which mortality is subject. Behold it--
1. In our bodies, which are earthly, frail, and tending to dissolution. What is that in the cold corpse which shocks the feelings of humanity, and harrows up the soul? It is the image of the earthly Adam! And ere long you shall bear it too.
2. We all bear this image in our souls.
(1) Our souls are defiled with sin.
(2) Our souls are exposed to Divine wrath, and thus bear the image of the earthly.
II. Rejoice in the glorious truth that, as believers, we shall also bear the image of the Lord from heaven.
1. It is first impressed upon us at the time of our regeneration. Effectual grace then gives a new bias to the mind, and the Father of the spirits of all flesh then makes us new creatures in Christ Jesus. The Saviour imparted to us the principle of grace; He made us, who before lived only for folly and sin, to pant after holiness as our noblest pursuit; to grasp after purity as our noblest attainment.
2. This image shall visibly discover itself through the whole course of the Christians life, producing a happy effect upon his temper, his passions, his pursuits; it shall make him to speak, to look, to live, like the children of God.
3. This image shall be rendered more striking and glorious on the resurrection morning. (T. Spencer.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv47–48 47. The first man is of the earth. Was…
47. The first man is of the earth. Was fashioned out of the earth. Genesis 2:7. The second man is the Lord who came from heaven.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On v47 47. “The first man is from earth earthy, the…
MORTAL, BUT DESIGNED FOR IMMORTALITY
47. “The first man is from earth earthy, the second man is from Heaven.
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48. “As is the earthy, such also are they which are earthy; as is the Heavenly, such also are they who are Heavenly:
49. “As we have borne the image of the earthy, so also we must bear the image of the Heavenly.” These Scriptures clearly involve the conclusion that man was created out of earthly elements and mortal. However, the conclusion does not follow that he would have died if he had never sinned, because God had created the tree of life, the normal effect of whose fruit was to confer immortality. Hence, if they had never sinned, when they had been duly tried and tested and stood their earthly probation, guided by instinct or Providence, they would have had access to the tree of life, of whose fruit they were never forbidden to take. The effect of this fruit would have conferred immortality, i. e., ripened them for translation, which would have enabled them to fly away from this probationary world like Enoch and Elijah, and range ad libitum through the fenceless fields of glory, winging their flight from world to world. If sin had never entered, the race would have multiplied with great rapidity on the earth, pursuant to the mandate already given to “multiply and replenish the earth”; instead of getting old and dying, their families, well cognizant that their beloved parents we are ripening for glory, would have kept their eyes on them, like Elisha pursuing and watching Elijah, that he might see the last of him. Thus translation at the expiration of probation, which probably would have been a thousand and more years, was evidently the original economy. This conclusion is clearly involved from the fact that, as we live in these houses of clay bearing the image of the earthy, so are we to live in a glorified spiritual body, thus bearing the image of the Heavenly; in our case death supervened as a sanctified auxiliary under the redemptive scheme, which never would have been known if the original twain had sustained their probation. Still, however, having been created in the earthly image, they also would have passed by translation into the Heavenly.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv47–48 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the…
The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven .
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v47 The first man is of the earth, made of…
The first man is of the earth, made of dust
God made the first man, Adam, from the dust of the earth. (See: Active or Passive)
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dust
dirt
the man of heaven
Jesus Christ
those who are of heaven
"those who belong to God"
have borne the image ... will also bear the image
"have been just like ... will also be just like"
translationWords
earth
heaven
image
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv47–48 15:47 made from the dust of the earth: Adam’s…
15:47 made from the dust of the earth: Adam’s earthly origin (Gen 2:7) is here contrasted with Christ’s heavenly origin.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.