---
title: 1 Corinthians 15:49
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-corinthians-15-49/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-corinthians-15-49.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: 1 Corinthians 15:49
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# 1 Corinthians 15:49

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so also shall we bear the likeness of the heavenly man.

## JW Usage

For the Watchtower, 15:49 is applied exclusively to the anointed 144,000 — they alone bear the image of the heavenly One and are raised to heavenly life. The "great crowd" bears only the earthy image and will be restored to a perfected earthy state at Armageddon. The verse is read as the Scripture-anchor for the heavenly-only hope of the remnant.

## Protestant Usage

Paul's "we" in 15:49 is the same "we" who shared Adam's image. Every believer who bore the earthy image because he descended from Adam will also bear the heavenly image because he is united to Christ. Pair with Philippians 3:21 — "he will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body" — and Romans 8:29 — "predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son." The trajectory of salvation is bodily transformation into the image of the risen Christ, for every Christian. The JW two-class reading splits Paul's "we" into two groups Paul never splits. Ask at the door: "Which 'we' are you in — the earthy 'we' of verse 48 or the heavenly 'we' of verse 49? Paul speaks of one 'we' that crosses from one image to the other."

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [The Last Adam — More Than a Man](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/1corinthians15-45-last-adam.md) — 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 [Deity of Christ]