⁴⁵So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. ⁴⁷The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. ⁴⁹Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

Continuing on from the “down-to-earth” illustrations of what resurrected bodies will be like, Paul turns to theological comparison to further the explanation. Paul compares and contrasts the historical Adam (“the first man, Adam”) with Jesus Christ (“the last Adam”). The apostle gives a fuller theological assessment of this connection in Rom. 5:14–19, but in this Corinthian letter he concerns himself only with answering the question of what resurrected bodies will be like (1 Cor. 15:35).

First, the comparison is obvious in that Jesus is referred to using Adam’s name. Both Adam and Jesus are progenitors, the former of the physical human race, the latter of the spiritual, redeemed “race” of people (earlier Paul called Jesus the “first fruits” of the resurrection, 1 Cor. 15:23). Adam became a living soul; Jesus became a life-giving spirit. Of course, Adam died, and we died “in Adam,” so Adam was also the progenitor of the physically and spiritually “dead” human race. But Christ is the progenitor of those made alive spiritually (“in Christ all will be made alive,” 1 Cor. 15:22) and physically (the resurrection from the dead).

While we may not be able to fully understand all there is to know about the resurrection, there are indeed some things we canknow. Our physical life here on earth—what we are experiencing now, what our senses can perceive—comes first. Our present experience is earthy, but our resurrected experience will be heavenly, fully spiritual.

Theologically, there is absolutely no comparison that comes close to providing a description of our resurrected bodies. But we cancomprehend at least something of this “unknowability.” We can compare with what we do know, to help us appreciate what we do not know. And that is what Paul is doing here. Trying to comprehend our resurrected bodies is like comparing Jesus Christ with the first human, Adam. And although that is the best comparison possible, it only shows we cannot compare our resurrected bodies with anything here on earth. We should instead look to Jesus, the incomparable One, for the best picture of what we will be like: “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2).

Father, I look forward to being resurrected and becoming fully like Jesus.