Firstfruits of the Resurrection
Since Jesus was the firstfruit of the resurrection—and Jesus rose from the dead physically—does this mean Christians, too, will one day be resurrected physically?
“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming” (1 Cor. 15:20–23).
Response: The term “firstfruit” cannot possibly refer to the physical aspect of Jesus’s resurrection because Jesus was not the first to be physically raised from the dead. Many people were raised from the dead physically prior to Jesus. In fact, Jesus himself had raised Lazarus (John 11:38–44). Since Jesus was not the first to be physically raised from the dead, then “firstfruit” cannot possibly refer to the physical aspect of Jesus’s resurrection.
A critic may respond by saying: It is true Jesus was not the first to be raised from the dead physically; but Jesus was the first to be raised from the dead physically never to die again (Rom. 6:4). So this must be what the term “firstfruit” refers to!
A moment’s reflection is all it takes to disprove that argument. After all, Jesus was not the only firstfruit. James was a firstfruit (James 1:18), and Paul was a firstfruit (Rom. 8:23), and the household of Achaia were firstfruits (1 Cor. 16:15), as were the “144,000” of Revelation (Rev. 14:4; cf. 7:4–8). All these people were firstfruits. Yet these people had not even died yet (physically), let alone been raised from the dead (physically) never to die again.
What, then, does “firstfruits” refer to? It refers to the first generation of Jewish converts to Christianity (cf. Rev. 7:4–8 and 14:4). These were the first to be raised to life spiritually from sin-death to eternal life. And Jesus was the very first of these firstfruits (1 Cor. 15:23). That Jesus was resurrected spiritually is confirmed in Scripture: “His soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:31, italics mine; see also 1 Pet. 3:18 and Rom. 1:4). Jesus was the very first to be resurrected spiritually into the new covenant and thus was the very first firstfruit. It’s true that Jesus also rose physically, however, the physical aspect of Jesus’s resurrection was the sign—the proof—of the spiritual resurrection. In fact, Jesus’s physical resurrection is specifically called a sign (Matt. 12:38–40, John 20:30–31).
Consider another telling aspect of firstfruit metaphor. The reason Paul used this metaphor was that the general resurrection was about to happen. “Firstfruit” is a farming term that Paul’s first-century audience would have been very familiar with. When the firstfruits of a crop begins to appear, a farmer knows the harvest is near. Think about the lemon tree in your backyard. When the first tiny lemon appears, you know the rest of the lemons will be coming soon too because they all grow at roughly the same time (in the season). This is precisely why Paul used this firstfruit metaphor in 1 Corinthians 15. The firstfruit of the harvest (Jesus’s resurrection) meant the rest of the fruits (the general resurrection) were about to come too. In fact, Jesus himself used this same metaphor during his earthly ministry back in AD 30: “The fields are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). Jesus was making the same point as Paul, which is that the general resurrection (the harvest) was about to happen.
Those who say the general resurrection has still not happened after two thousand years make mincemeat out of the firstfruit metaphor.
By Alex Polyak, Director of The Bible Fulfilled 4/14/24
For more about the resurrection, see my book The End Is Here, available Summer 2024.