15:45
Paul is quoting from Gen 2:7 when he says Adam became a living being. The last Adam is Christ. Adam received life, Christ gives life. Note also again how nature foreshadows what God is doing. Natural man is radically different from all other creatures, this is because God breathed life into him. He made us different, He made us in His image. Likewise, when we are raised we will be again be made radically different from what we were.
15:46
With natural man, Genesis 2 says God formed us from dust of the earth, then He breathed life into us. So there was a natural process followed by a spiritual process and the result is plain for all to see. Likewise, we will be raised immortal after we die.
15:47
The first man is tightly bound to the earth. He was made out of the dust of the earth. This does not necessarily mean that he was made from actual dust, but may well mean that he was formed out of natural materials, in the same way that other animals are formed. Even when we are born again we earth bound. When we are raised we will be like Christ. Christlikeness will be the dominant characteristic in our nature.
15:48,49
We were made from the earth, again this does not necessarily need to be interpreted absolutely literally, but may well mean that we are of the earth, we come from natural stuff. So sin, death and decay are all part and parcel of being human. But we are born again of the Spirit, and will be raised as Christ was raised. Our new man is of heaven, not of the earth. So we are destined to be like Christ, to bear the image of the man from heaven. When man sinned he chose to live without God, he claimed independence, and all the sin, death and decay consequences followed. When we are born again we come back to God, back to where we belong. Righteousness, life and growth follow.
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