Tag: second Adam

There are lots of good stuff in this chapter. I particularly like verses 9-10.

But this being the Christmas season, it is verses 48-49 that strike me.

In those verses Paul compares the first man Adam with the second man Jesus.

And in verse 49, he wrote,

And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust (Adam), we will also bear the image of the man of heaven Jesus). (1 Corinthians 15:49)

As I read that, the thought came to me: “Jesus became one of us, that we might become like him.”

Even now, in our struggles with sin, Jesus is working in our hearts, purging out our sin, and making us more like him.

And when he returns to this earth, we will become complete.

I quote this verse a lot, but I think it’s a good one to remember and memorize.

We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is.

And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. (1 John 3:2-3)

So as we think of Christmas and Jesus becoming like a man, let us strive each day, by his grace and power, to become more like him.

And though we may fail sometimes, let us hold tightly to the hope that we will be like him someday.

As as Paul says,

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)