What does it mean to bear the image of the heavenly after bearing Adam's earthy image?
Bearing the heavenly image means moving from the natural state to the spiritual state. After sharing Adam's earthy image—flesh and blood under the curse—we will bear the heavenly image, receiving a new body fashioned after Christ's body, especially after the resurrection. Flesh and blood cannot inherit God's kingdom, nor corruption incorruption.
Les explains that verse 48 draws the contrast: earthy things are earthy, heavenly things are heavenly. In verse 49, because we have borne the image of the earthy, we are sons of Adam, flesh and blood, under the curse, surrounded by it everywhere. But we shall also bear the image of the heavenly, meaning we move from the natural state to the spiritual state. Verse 50 then shows why: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and corruption cannot inherit incorruption. So Les teaches that we must have a new body—a whole new body fashioned after Christ's body, especially after the resurrection. That is our hope: one day we will have that glorious body that will not be contained by walls, ceilings, or space. Yet he suggests we will still enjoy, as we think, the pleasures of eating and such things, because Christ ate on the shores of Galilee just as plainly as anyone. Paul lays this out to establish basic doctrine, especially for Gentiles, before turning to Romans 5:15.
And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.