1 Corinthians 15:20

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. NOW - as the case really is. AND BECOME. Omitted in 'Aleph (') A B Delta G f g, Vulgate. THE FIRST-FRUITS - the earliest and most costly, and so consecrated to God; the earnest that the whole resurrection harvest will follow, so that our faith is not vain, nor our hope limited to this life. An appropriate image, for this letter was written about the Passover (): the day after the Passover Sabbath was that for offering else first-fruits (); the same was the day of Christ's resurrection (; )....

20._But now hath Christ risen. _Having shown what dreadful confusion as to everything would follow, if we were to deny that the dead rise again, he now again assumes as certain, what he had sufficiently established previously — that _Christ has risen; _and he adds that he is the_first-fruits, _(48) by a similitude taken, as it appears, from the ancient ritual of the law. For as in the _first-fruits _the produce of the entire year was consecrated, so the power of Christ’s resurrection is extended to all of us — unless you prefer to take it in a more simple way — that in him the first fruit of the resurrection was gathered. I rather prefer, however, to understand the statement in this sense — that the rest of the dead will follow him, as the entire harvest does the _first-fruits; _(49) and this is confirmed by the succeeding statement....

20-34 All that are by faith united to Christ, are by his resurrection assured of their own. As through the sin of the first Adam, all men became mortal, because all had from him the same sinful nature, so, through the resurrection of Christ, shall all who are made to partake of the Spirit, and the spiritual nature, revive, and live for ever. There will be an order in the resurrection. Christ himself has been the first-fruits; at his coming, his redeemed people will be raised before others; at the last the wicked will rise also. Then will be the end of this present state of things. Would we triumph in that solemn and important season, we must now submit to his rule, accept his salvation, and live to his glory. Then shall we rejoice in the completion of his undertaking, that God may receive the whole glory of our salvation, that we may for ever serve him, and enjoy his favour. What shall...

Verse 20. _BUT NOW IS CHRIST RISEN_] On the contrary, Christ is raised from the dead, and is become the _first fruits of them that_ _slept_. His resurrection has been _demonstrated_, and our resurrection necessarily follows; as sure as the _first fruits_ are the proof that there is a _harvest_, so surely the resurrection of Christ is a _proof_ of _ours_. The _Judaizing_ teacher at Corinth would feel the force of this observation much sooner than we can, who are not much acquainted with Jewish customs. "Although," says Dr. Lightfoot, "the resurrection of Christ, compared with some _first fruits_, has very good harmony with them; yet especially it agrees with the offering of the _sheaf_, commonly called _omer_, not only as the _thing_ itself, but also as to the circumstances of the _time_. For first there was the _passover_, and the day following was a _Sabbatic_ day, and on the day follo...

BUT NOW IS CHRIST RISEN ... - This language is the bursting forth of a full heart and of overpowering conviction. It would seem as if Paul were impatient of the slow process of argument; weary of meeting objections, and of stating the consequences of a denial of the doctrine; and longing to give utterance to “what he knew,” that Christ was risen from the dead. That was a point on which he was certain. He had seen him after he was risen; and he could no more doubt this “fact” than he could any other which he had witnessed with his own eyes. He makes, therefore, this strong affirmation; and in doing it, he at the same time affirms that the dead will also rise, since he had shown 1 Corinthians 15:12 that all the objection to the doctrine of the resurrection was removed by the fact that Christ had risen, and had shown that his resurrection involved

EXPOSITION 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1 _The doctrine of the resurrection. _This chapter, and the thirteenth, on Christian love, stand out, even among the writings of St. Paul, as pre-eminently beautiful and important. No human words ever written have brought such comfort to millions of mourners as the words of this chapter, which form a part of the Burial Service of almost every Christian community. It is the more deeply imprinted on the memory of men because it comes to us in the most solemn hours of bereavement, when we have most need of a living faith. The chapter falls into six sections. 1. The evidence of Christ's resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1). 2. The resurrection of Christ is the foundati

BUT NOW IS CHRIST RISEN FROM THE DEAD,.... As was before proved by ocular testimonies, and before preached and asserted; and now reassumed and concluded, from the glaring contradictions, and dreadful absurdities that follow the denial of it: AND BECAME THE FIRSTFRUITS OF THEM THAT SLEPT; who were already fallen asleep; respecting chiefly the saints that died before the resurrection of Christ; and if Christ was the firstfruit of them, there is no difficulty of conceiving how he is the firstfruits of those that die since. The allusion is to the firstfruits of the earth, which were offered to the Lord: and especially to the sheaf of the firstfruits, which was waved by the priest before him, Deuteronomy 26:2 and to which Christ, in his resurrection from the dead, is here compared. The firstfruits were what first sprung out of the earth, were soonest ripe, and were first

1 Corinthians 15:1. _Moreover, Brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain._ Paul preached the gospel, his hearers received it, and also stood in it: «wherein ye stand.» It is essential to salvation to hear the gospel, to receive it, and then to stand in it. Now, what was this gospel? Paul is going to tell us; and instead of making a list of doctrines, he mentions a set of facts. 1 Corinthians 15:3. _For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,_ Notice that the preacher does not make the gospel. If he makes it, it is not worth your having. Ori

III. RESURRECTION AND THE HOPE OF THE CHURCH AND CONCLUSION: Chapter S 15-16 1. Resurrection and the Hope of the Church. CHAPTER 15 _ 1. The Gospel and the Resurrection of Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:1 .)_ 2. If Christ were not raised--then what? (1 Corinthians 15:12 .) 3. Christ the Firstfruits and what follows. (1 Corinthians 15:20 .) 4. Further practical arguments about Resurrection. (1 Corinthians 15:29 .) 5. Concerning the Resurrection of the Body. ...

But why discuss this further? Christ _has_ been raised, the firstfruits of the rest of the dead, thus, as one with them, pledging their resurrection. If man brought death, resurrection must equally come through man. The whole race died in Adam, the whole race will be raised from the dead in Christ. This universal resurrection will not be accomplished all at once but in stages according to the different classes concerned. In the first stage there is Christ Himself as firstfruits; in the second, at His return, Christians; in the third stage, the rest of mankind, when He delivers up His kingdom to the Father after He has abolished all hostile powers, for His reign must continue till this has been achieved. The last of them is death. This is foretold in Scripture (Psalms 8:6), which says that God has put all in subjection to Him. (The Psalmist says to man, which Paul interprets as equivalent...