Monday, April 24

20 But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:20

FirstFruits

1 Corinthians 15:20 is a continuation of Paul's argument around the centrality of the Resurrection. This is a turning point in the chapter as Paul's argument shifts from the consequences of abandoning the resurrection to the powerful results of a physical resurrection. Paul puts an exclamation point on his argument by stating, as it is, despite all your faulty beliefs, Christ has been raised from the dead. He then states that Jesus is THE FIRSTFRUITS of those who have fallen asleep. "Fallen asleep" is simply a beautiful way to explain those who have previously died. Let's unpack together what it means that Jesus is the firstfruits.The concept of FirstFruits is a deeply biblical concept as seen in Leviticus 21, Exodus 23, Romans 8:23, Colossians 1:18. We will look at the Leviticus 21 passage to look farther at this concept. Leviticus 21:10 states, "when you enter the land which I am going ot give you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest." The nation of Israel, God's people, are commanded to bring a "sheaf of grain of the harvest" to the priest. This sheaf of grain of the first fruits serves as a representation of the entire harvest. It was a way for God's people to dedicate the entire harvest to the Lord which was represented by the first fruits. In the same way, Jesus' resurrection serves as a representative to what will happen to all Christians. Jesus resurrection is the sample, the prototype of what will happen to all Christians.Just as Jesus Christ was physically raised from the dead, our physical bodies will one day be physically raised from the dead as well. This is significant because God's ultimate plan of redemption leaves no stone unturned. He will reverse the curse of sin and death and will leave no aspect of creation untouched, including our physical bodies.God is not just restoring spiritual things, he is restoring physical things...ultimately, he is restoring all things!