What does the apostle Paul mean when he says, “And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man” (1 Cor. 15:49)?

The answer

In the resurrection, the body is clothed with glory so that it becomes like the body of the risen Christ: able to penetrate earthly barriers; pass through the air; and shine with a splendor reflected on it from the splendor of Christ. As children of Adam, we are born in his likeness, and we submit to what he submits to. However, now when we are united with the Heavenly One, we are granted His likeness also. By saying, “we shall bear,” he clarifies that the image of the Heavenly One is like a garment that we wear and in which we are hidden; for our body remains, but it bears a new nature shining with great splendor.

The scholar Origen says, “If anyone still bears the image of the earthly according to the outer man, then is moved by earthly desire and love; but the desire and love of him who bears the image of the heavenly according the inner man are heavenly (cf. 1 Cor. 15:49).”¹³²⁸

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty