Man of Dust
The Dichotomy of the Dust-man. Part 1 of 2
Welcome back to The Workbox! This essay is the first in a two-part article on my thoughts about 1 Corinthians 15. We are men of dust. I found this line so intriguing that I thought I would share it in two articles. This week focuses on the Man of Dust. Next week we will shift our attention to the latter half of the verse, the Man of Heaven.
"The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven."
We are men of dust—natural, earth-men, bound to the ground, so to speak. We are descendants of the first Adam. He was formed out of the dust of the earth back in The Beginning. He was hand-forged by God, who breathed life into his body. “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." (Genesis 2.7) He was made in the image of God, formed in a natural body. He was a part of Creation. As his descendants, we are likewise created with natural bodies and are a part of God's creation.
Originating from the dust has significant implications. We are from the earth, and we are to return to it. “We are dust, and to the dust, we shall return.” (Genesis 3.19) Dust is nothing new. It has been here since before the first man, Adam. Wikipedia defines dust as:
"Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of atmospheric particulates (particles in the atmosphere) that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in homes is composed of about 20–50% dead skin cells. The rest, and in offices, and other human environments is composed of small amounts of plant pollen, human hairs, animal fur, textile fibers, paper fibers, minerals from outdoor soil, burnt meteorite particles, and many other materials which may be found in the local environment."
Dust comes from everywhere, and it consists of all sorts of different materials. For us, dust-men, it should serve as a humble reminder of where we came from. Abraham voices this in Genesis 18.27: "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes." He realized that he was just dust and burnt dust. This reminder is also a source of wonder at the fact that we are made from dust! Humans are incredibly complex creatures that are knitted together by the hand of God. We are designed and designated purposes to fulfill in the sovereign plan of God.
However, man is not merely material. We may be made of dust and earth-bound when we die, but that is the physical. We are made up of two parts: spiritual and physical. This dynamic is explained in 1 Corinthians 15 when Paul writes, "it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." Although, we were made on earth and live on earth first, that is not where we ultimately end. Every person has a soul or spirit that lives on after we physically die. C.S. Lewis calls us "no mere mortals." Man has a beginning. We can trace that back to Genesis. We are created beings. But we shall live on. Like a seed, man is formed and is sown into the ground at the end of his days. But what raises is imperishable. The imperishable is part two of this essay series. Coming soon is the follow-up post about the second half of verse 47.
"The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven."
Paul writes on to say in verse 49, "Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven." Mankind are image bearers. That is how we are designed. No one can escape that. We either image well or we image poorly. To live on this earth is a wonderful thing. Yet, people have a responsibility to live well, to live according to how God made us to be. We will continue to explore what it means to bear these images and how that should affect how and why we live on this earth. God has fashioned us out of clay into living, breathing persons. Let us live well for the glory of God.
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I always enjoy your readings. I would like to know what you think of this though. Was man created a 3-part being of spirit, soul, and body (1 These 5,23). A triune being so-to-speak. Paul's epistles refer to our spirit being perfect once we are born again, then Romans warns of our flesh waging war against our minds and the need to renew our minds, but our spirits are sealed unto the day of our ultimate Salvation.