“And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” – 1Corinthians 15:49
LIGHT FOR NOW: The Christian life is not an attempt to improve Adam. It is the manifestation of Christ. In the new birth, God does not polish the old image; He introduces a new one.
To understand the divine nature, we must first understand the two men presented in Scripture. The first is Adam. The second is Christ. Paul calls Adam “the first man” and Christ “the second man” or “the last Adam”. These two men stand as the heads of two different races. The first Adam gave humanity a fallen nature. He is the head of fallen humanity. The last Adam imparts a divine nature. He is the head of the new creation. Paul writes: “And as we have borne the image of the earthy…” The word “image” comes from the Greek word eikon, meaning likeness, representation, or visible expression.
Every descendant of Adam bears his image. This image is not merely physical. It includes the spiritual condition inherited from Adam after the fall; it is that state of man alienated from the life of God. This is why every human being is born separated from God and in need of salvation. But the good news of the gospel is found in the second half of Paul’s statement: “We shall also bear the image of the heavenly”. The heavenly Man is Christ. Through the new birth, believers are united with Him. Just as natural birth connected us to Adam, spiritual birth connects us to Christ. This is why Jesus told Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again”. Natural birth introduces us into Adam’s family. Spiritual birth introduces us into God’s family.
Many believers struggle because they continue identifying themselves by the first Adam instead of the last Adam. They constantly confess weakness, failure, defeat, and condemnation. Yet the New Testament consistently points believers to their new identity in Christ. You are no longer defined by what Adam introduced.
You are now defined by what Christ accomplished. Adam introduced death; Christ brought life. Adam brought condemnation; Christ brought justification. Adam introduced separation; Christ brought reconciliation. Adam produced sinners by nature; Christ produces sons by nature.
This is why Paul declares that believers have put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Notice the language. The new man is not self-improved, he is God-created. This is the miracle of regeneration. The believer does not gradually become a new creation. He becomes one the very moment he believes in Christ. Growth follows afterwards, but identity comes first. Just as a newborn child grows into maturity because he already possesses life, so the believer grows spiritually because he already possesses the life of God.
The Christian life, therefore, is not striving to become someone else. It is learning to live as the person God has already made you in Christ. The more you behold Christ in the Scriptures, the more His life is expressed through you. For the divine nature always manifests the image of the heavenly Man. Hallelujah!
INSTRUCTION: Stop defining yourself by your past, your weaknesses, or your natural background. Daily remind yourself that your true identity is now found in Christ, the heavenly Man.
CONFESSION: Father, thank You that I no longer bear the image of the earthly man, but I now bear the image of Christ. Help me to think, speak, and live according to my new identity. Let the life of Christ be increasingly revealed through me every day, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
For More Light; get the message, “Now we are in Christ” by Dr. John Linus
QUOTE: The new creation is not Adam repaired; it is Christ revealed in a redeemed humanity.
DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: 1CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 15; EVENING: ROMANS CHAPTER 5:12-21
LIGHT FROM THE WORD 