"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming."
1 Corinthians 15:20-23
Part 1
Today: Jesus Christ is the First-fruits
With an Old Testament illustration, Paul explains the reality and timing of our resurrection to us.
“But now is Christ risen from the dead.”
In the first 19 verses of this 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul has already laid out the truth of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead; it is a fact of History. In verse 20, he states the plain truth about Jesus. He has risen!
“And become the first-fruits of them that slept.”
Jesus Christ is the first-fruits. This idea goes way back to the giving of the Law to the Children of Israel. “First-fruits,” the ancient word Paul used here, means “to offer firstlings or first-fruits.”[1] In the earliest times, the term was an “entrance-fee” and was used in many ways (see Barnes).
“The First-fruits.”
In Leviticus, God’s Word speaks of the Feast of First-fruits (23:9-14). The farmer brought one sheaf of newly harvested grain to the priest as an “offering of first-fruits.” As the priest waved the sheaf of grain before the Lord, it was symbolic that the entire harvest belonged to God. The significance of this offering to the farmer is that by giving God the first and the best of the crops, he then faithfully awaits the rest of the harvest to come as God provides it.
In our verses, 1 Corinthians 15:20 and 23, Christ is said to be the “first-fruits” from those who slept, the dead. He was the first to rise again![2]
“And He [Jesus] is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18).
“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5).
God owns “the crops,” all believers. The soul of each believer who has died is at home with Him (2 Corinthians 5:1-8; Philippians 1:21-23). He will see to it that their bodies will rise again at the resurrection. The body of each dead believer will be “awakened and glorified.”
What does “the first-fruits of them that slept” mean? Come back tomorrow as we look together at God’s Word for answers.
Quote: During the Feast of Weeks which honored the LORD in the seven weeks of the harvest, Israel must remember that the first-fruits belong to Jehovah. As they gave the first and best of their crops to the LORD, they could expect God’s blessing in the rest of the harvest by faith. “And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first-fruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest” (Leviticus 23:20).
[1] A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Throughout the Bible, there are several instances of believers being raised from the dead. The difference between those resurrections and Jesus Christ’s resurrection is that Christ never died again, and each of these others did.