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The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit (1 Cor 15:45)
The fifteenth chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians
is widely considered to be the most important exposition of the
Christian doctrine of resurrection in the entire corpus of Scripture.
Upon close examination of this chapter, one may notice that Paul
first deals with the fact of Christ's resurrection as foundational
(v. 1-11), then proceeds to deal with those in Corinth who objected
to the idea of a bodily resurection in principle (v. 12-34). Finally,
the apostle concludes with a discourse on the manner or mode of
resurrection life (v. 35-58). It is in this last section that
we find our particular text, "'The first man Adam became
a living being'; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit" (v.
45). Though it is few in words, this amazing little passage serves
as an effective tool in Paul's argument for a bodily resurrection,
and in the process, frames redemptive history as a tale of two
Adams.
What Are the Issues
At Stake?
It may help us to step back for a moment and look at the entire
letter to the Corinthians as a whole. In doing so we realize that
Paul's motive in writing the letter was occasioned by various
problems or factions in the church at Corinth. There were divisions,
ethical problems, and (particularly of interest in our case) there
were some who, under the influence of Greek paganism, were probably
interpreting the Christian concept of resurrection in terms of
the Platonic idea of the immortality of the soul. Since physical
existence was viewed as less than divine, if not evil, the idea
of a resurrected body (rather than pure spirit) would be considered
downright heretical. In light of all this, the apostle Paul first
asserts the facts of the Christian gospel (vv. 1-11) which include
Christ's numerous resurrection appearances. He then uses this
foundation to challenge the predominantly Greek thinking Corinthians,
"But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the
dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of
the dead?" (v. 12). In other words, if at the heart of the
Christian gospel lies a bodily resurrection, how then can anyone
object to the idea of bodily resurrections in principle. Paul
concludes this argument with the simple exhortation, "Come
back to your senses..." (v. 34).
However, Paul does not stop there. He proceeds to answer questions he himself anticipates would come from Christians in a Greek culture, "But some may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" (v. 35). Paul here seems to be helping these Christians to visualize the reality of their inheritance by explaining the manner or mode of resurrection life against the backdrop of pagan thinking. After giving various earthly analogies for a bodily resurrection (such as the relationship of a seed to a plant) the apostle explains that the body is sown perishable, in dishonor and in weakness, but that it is raised imperishable, in glory and powerful (vv. 42-43). But in vs. 44 he writes that while "it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." By the terms natural (pseuchikon) and spiritual (pneumatikon) we must not interpret Paul here to mean physical vs. non-physical, as this would completely invalidate his entire argument for an embodied resurrection. Rather, Paul is making a contrast between the natural (that which we now have through Adam) vs. that which we have through the Spirit (as a result of the work of Christ). That this is what Paul means is made evident in the next verse, which happens to be our specific text of concern, "So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit." Verse 45 is logically connected to 44 by the word houtos.1 Paul in v. 45 is fleshing out what he had already stated in v. 44. Also the next two verses seem to retrace this same argument; the natural body comes first, then the spiritual (v. 46), the first man was from the dust, the second man from heaven (v. 47). Therefore, by natural, Paul has in mind our temporal earthly existence in Adam, and by spiritual, he means the gift of eternal life by the Spirit of Christ. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul makes a similar point when he writes that "our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory..." (3:20-21). It is a body of humiliation because as a result of the fall it is subject to suffering, aging and even death, but it is Christ who shall fashion anew this same humble body into the likeness of his own glory.2
Adam & Christ
Now that we have taken some time to understand the context of
1 Cor 15:45 and how it fits into Paul's overall resurrection argument,
we must proceed to establish the eschatological implications this
passage has when considered from a redemptive historical perspective.
First we need to start off by examining the significance of the
first Adam. In our text, Paul cites Gen 2:7, "and man became
a living being." It is important to note here that Adam was
created holy, but not yet secured in his holiness by God's Spirit.
Calvin, for example, in commenting on Gen 2:7 points out that
"the state of man was not perfected in the person of Adam;
but it is a peculiar benefit conferred by Christ, that we may
be renewed to a life which is celestial, whereas before the fall
of Adam man's life was only earthly, seeing it had no firm and
settled constancy."3 This "earthly" life
would have been set "firm and settled" by God if Adam
had passed a certain probationary period set for him in the garden.4
As a result of his failing the probation, Adam (and his posterity
with him) lost the right to eat from the tree of life (Gen 3:22-24).
What is utterly fascinating is how Jesus Christ not only plays the role of Adam successfully on our behalf, but the fact that he himself claims to be the very tree of life itself, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die" (John 11:25-26).5 Thus, whoever eats the fruit of this tree (John 6:51) shall not only be brought back to Adam's state before the fall, but also shall be secured for eternal life by the power of God. This too is Paul's point in 1 Cor 15:45, for the first Adam became a living being (psukain zosan), but the last Adam a life-giving spirit (pneuma zoapoioun). Here we have a great example of eschatological intrusion. The tree of life from which the first Adam was banished appears again in John's vision of the Apocalypse, "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city" (Rev. 22:14). But according to Paul, this future reality is now ours by faith in the life-giving spirit of Christ. Though we have yet to be ontologically changed, we do have the deposit of our resurrection in Christ. This is similar to the docrine of justification. Though we have yet to stand in God's presence, God has determined that the not guilty verdict, achieved by the work of Christ on our behalf, should not await the final judgment but that it should intrude into the here and now so that we along with Paul can confidently assert that "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" (Rom 5:9 emphasis added).
The relationship between Adam and Christ is briefly mentioned in our text, and earlier in this same chapter (v. 22), but it is best outlined in Rom 5:12-19. In this text Paul argues that through Adam sin and death entered the world (vv. 12-14), but grace and justification came into the world through Christ (vv. 15-16). Again, Adam's disobedience brings condemnation, sinfulness and death (vv. 17-19) whereas Christ's obedience provides justification that brings life and righteousness for all believers (vv. 17-19). This relationship by way of contrast between Adam and Christ is entirely redemptive historical, for what is it that we need redemption from? Some in Paul's day, as well as our own, would say from our bodies. But the fact is that we need redemption from the curse God's wrath, a curse brought unto mankind by a certain historical event initiated by Adam. And this curse is only removed by those in league with the second Adam who is proclaimed in type and shadow throughout the OT, and in brilliant clarity in the NT. Thus, Paul seems to frame the entire history of redemption upon the two foci of Adam and Christ.
Christ & The
Spirit
Now, one cannot conclude an exegesis of 1 Cor 15:45 without going
into detail about Paul's description of Christ as the "life-giving
spirit" (pneuma zoapoioun). How is this to be understood?
BAGD in their fifth definition of pneuma give us a good
jumping off point,
The spirit as that which differentiates God from everything that is not God, as the divine power that produces all divine existence, as the divine element in which all divine life is carried on, as the bearer of every application of the divine will. All those who belong to God possess or receive this spirit and hence have a share in his life. This spirit also serves to distinguish the Christians from all unbelievers...6
This is certainly the sense in which Paul is using pneuma, in fact these scholars even list 1 Cor 15:45 under this particular heading. But a question remains as to whether or not this word refers to Christ as to his divine nature, or to the person of the Holy Spirit. Herman Ridderbos argues for the latter position when he writes, "The Spirit can be identified with Christ in all sorts of ways because it is in Christ's advent and work that the work of the Spirit manifests itself..."7 Here we can think about the close relationship Jesus has with the Holy Spirit as expressed in passages such as John 14:16-19, 15:26 and Rom 8:9-12. Ridderbos continues,
It is unmistakable that the significance of Christ and of the Spirit in Paul's preaching define each other further in a redemptive-historical sense. As Christ in the present and future power of his redemptive work can be known only from the all-embracing renewal and consummation of the Spirit of God, so on the other hand the promise of the Spirit and of his life-giving power receives its fulfillment, its form, and its prospect only in the person of Christ as the exalted and coming Lord. In this sense alone -- that is, in the framework of the basic redemptive-historical structure of Paul's gospel -- can the specific significance of this close linking of Christ and the Spirit be understood.8
I think Ridderbos makes a good point. The work of Christ and the Spirit are at points so bound up together that it can often be hard to unlink them. A good example of this is a quick study of the NT usage of the word zoapoyeoh (to make alive). In 1 Cor 15:45 this word refers to Christ (the life-giving spirit), but in John 6:63 it is used by Jesus when he says that "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. In John 5:21 it refers to Christ who "gives life to whom he is pleased to give it" but in Rom 8:11 it refers to the the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead and who gives life to our mortal bodies. In 1 Cor 15:22 it points us to Christ in whom "all will be made alive, but in 1 Pet 3:18 we are reminded that though Christ was "put to death in the body" he was "made alive by the Spirit." This paradox is with at Pentecost where Peter, quoting the prophet Joel proclaims that "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people" (Acts 2:17). But the context of this outpouring is the proclamation of Christ crucified (vv. 22-36).9 Richard Gaffin sums it up nicely for us:
In my judgment, careful exegesis [of 1 Cor 15:45] shows that in this expression (1) pneuma refers to the person of the Holy Spirit..., and (2) the "becoming" in view took place at Christ's resurrection or, more broadly, his exaltation. What Paul asserts, then, is an equation or oneness or unity between Christ and the Spirit (cf. 2 Cor 3:17, "the Lord is the Spirit"), dating from Christ's resurrection (exaltation). To discover a denial of the Trinity or a blurring of the personal distinction between Christ and the Spirit...is unnecessary....The oneness or equation in view is functional or eschatological, or in the language of classical theology, economic, not ontological.10
Conclusion
In this essay, I've been arguing not only that 1 Cor 15:45 is
an effective tool in Paul's argument for a bodily resurrection,
but that it also transcends this debate, framing redemptive history
for us in terms of the first and last Adams. This redemptive historical
context also shows us the paradoxical union between the work of
Christ and the Holy Spirit. Much more could have been written
on this passage, and many more related Scriptural texts cited.
But it is hoped that this paper will have served as a basic introduction
for those who may not have been familiar with the many themes
Paul addresses in this verse.
Notes
1. As Louw & Nida explain, this word has "reference to that which precedes" and generally is translated "so, thus, in this way."
2. Herman Witsius in addressing this subject points out that this is the same doctrine of resurrection as held by Job in chapter 19, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God" (Sacred Dissertations on The Apostles Creed, p. 433).
3. John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, (Rev. John King, trans.; Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1847; repr. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984) 112-113.
4. See Meredith Kline's Kingdom Prologue, (self-published, 1993) pp. 65-73. Kline argues that this probation's proper purpose "was clearly not to put man in jeopardy of losing his beatitude but to bring him on the way to its consummation" (p. 65).
5. See also John 4:10-14.
6. Baur, Arndt, Gingrich and Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, second edition, p. 676.
7. Herman Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline of His Theology (John Richard De Witt, trans.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975) p. 88.
8. Ibid
9. See also Ezek 37:1-14 for an OT foreshadowing of Pentecost.
10. Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., "A Response to The Holy Spirit and His Work," in Applying The Scriptures (Kenneth S. Kantzer, ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987) p. 85
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