First Family,
If you are joining us for our Advent devotional “He Alone is Worthy,” then today is day three, and one of the texts we are reading together comes from 1 Corinthians 15:47-49.
It reads as follows:
“The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.”
Paul wrote in verse 49, “We will also bear the image of the man of heaven.” By this, he does not mean that we believers should try to attain a heavenly body now, for we will receive such bodies in the future; see 1 Cor. 15:23-28, 50-57. Rather, what Paul desires to communicate is that believers should live in a way that reflects Jesus or the “image of the man of heaven.”
It might be more helpful to reread verse 49 by saying, “Let us bear” or “Let us live out” the image of the man of heaven. Paul is challenging the believers who are still living in their earthy bodies to “bear the image of the man of heaven.” That is to say that we should behave like Jesus.
In the early 1990s, a youth pastor from Calvary Reformed Church in Michigan unintentionally began a movement to help teenagers live a life that reflected Jesus by creating bracelets with the initials W.W.J.D. These initials stand for “What would Jesus do?” This question sparked reflection and challenged teenagers to respond to those around them in a way that reflected Jesus. To use Paul’s words, “we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.”
I am so thankful for the work of transformation that God is doing in my life. He is not done with me yet, but He is faithful. Let me encourage you today to call upon the Lord and ask for His provision in your life so that you may “also bear the image of the man of heaven” in your life today.
I pray that you have been strengthened by the first few days of our Advent study. I am enjoying reading with you.
Pastor Robert
If you are joining us for our Advent devotional “He Alone is Worthy,” then today is day three, and one of the texts we are reading together comes from 1 Corinthians 15:47-49.
It reads as follows:
“The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.”
Paul wrote in verse 49, “We will also bear the image of the man of heaven.” By this, he does not mean that we believers should try to attain a heavenly body now, for we will receive such bodies in the future; see 1 Cor. 15:23-28, 50-57. Rather, what Paul desires to communicate is that believers should live in a way that reflects Jesus or the “image of the man of heaven.”
It might be more helpful to reread verse 49 by saying, “Let us bear” or “Let us live out” the image of the man of heaven. Paul is challenging the believers who are still living in their earthy bodies to “bear the image of the man of heaven.” That is to say that we should behave like Jesus.
In the early 1990s, a youth pastor from Calvary Reformed Church in Michigan unintentionally began a movement to help teenagers live a life that reflected Jesus by creating bracelets with the initials W.W.J.D. These initials stand for “What would Jesus do?” This question sparked reflection and challenged teenagers to respond to those around them in a way that reflected Jesus. To use Paul’s words, “we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.”
I am so thankful for the work of transformation that God is doing in my life. He is not done with me yet, but He is faithful. Let me encourage you today to call upon the Lord and ask for His provision in your life so that you may “also bear the image of the man of heaven” in your life today.
I pray that you have been strengthened by the first few days of our Advent study. I am enjoying reading with you.
Pastor Robert
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