Useful Bible Studies > 1 Corinthians Commentary > chapter 15
The ‘first-fruit’ means the start of the harvest. In a farmer’s field, a small part of the crop becomes ripe before the rest of the crop is ready. It is a very happy time for the farmer when he can gather that first food from his field. He has waited many months for the harvest and now, at last, it has begun.
We can see that the first-fruit was very special. It was proof that the harvest was coming. It was evidence that the farmer had not waited in vain. It seemed like a promise that people would have food for another year.
In ancient Israel, people gave the first-fruit to God. Only God deserved something that was so special and wonderful. They gave the first part of both their grain and their fruit to God.
Paul calls Christ ‘the first-fruit’. When Christ became alive again after his death, that special event was just the beginning of something wonderful. It was evidence that Christ had defeated death. It was proof that the bodies of God’s people, and not just their spirits, will live again. It acted as a wonderful promise about the future of all God’s people.
Paul refers to ‘the people who sleep’. He means God’s people who have died. Paul refers to death as ‘sleep’ because it is not permanent. A person who sleeps will wake again. In the same manner, God’s people who are dead will become alive again. That is as certain as the fact that the harvest follows the first-fruit.
Next part: How Adam brought death to all people (1 Corinthians 15:21)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.