But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruit of those who are asleep.But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep.
4 sermons cite this verse
… first resurrection for just a moment. Who does it encompass and how does it work? Paul explains it in 1 Corinthians 15 verses 20 to 24. He says, but now Christ has been raised from the dead and the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive, but each in his own order. If you are in Christ, you're going to receive a brand new body, but you have to wait your turn. There is an order to which people will receive their new bodies. That word order is a military term, togma. It refers to a military parade that gets larger and larger as different core fall into place in the parade at a particular spot along the parade route. Can you picture that in your mind? There's a leader of the parade and as it goes further and further, different core fall into place and that parade gets larger and larger. Paul is using that imagery to say there's a parade of Christians headed to heaven and everybody will fall into line at their particular place in history. The first resurrection is not a single event in time. …
… Harry just read it. You can flip back in your bulletin. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 12 through 23. I won't read the whole passage, but just highlight a few things. Here's what Paul says about the resurrection and our salvation. Just highlight verse 14. He says, if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. Verse 17, if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. verse 18 those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished and finally verse 19 if in Christ we have hope in this life only we are of all people most to be pitied so friends we see in this text that the resurrection is an essential part of our salvation. In fact, Paul's logic is that if the resurrection is not true, then everything else unravels. He says we would be found to be liars about God. He says your faith would be in vain. He says you would still be in your sins. …
… He's the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 20. Now fallen asleep here means dead. Those who have died. And first fruits, you heard me say what it means, but it probably didn't register because you don't live in a culture built around ancient agricultural practices. And if Paul were writing for us today, he probably would have used a different metaphor. He would have picked a metaphor that works for us. Maybe he would have said that the risen Jesus is the display piece of a new innovation, that he's the showroom model, the prototype of a new product line to come. In other words, what God did in the death and resurrection of Jesus wasn't something detached or one of a kind. Now, of course, Jesus himself is one of a kind, fully God and fully human. but that's another discussion. Paul's point here is that the risen Jesus is the display model of what we will be. Everyone adopted by faith in him will be just like him. …
… But in verse 20, this is our anthem. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all died, so in Christ all will be made alive. Amen. Amen? This is our story. So today we're going to work our way through just over 50 verses from John chapter 11. Are you up for that? I hope you don't have, I hope you got late lunch plans. Hope the trip to fans from the Turkey has fully worn off and nobody sleeps through this, but I'm excited about where we're going. So let's pray and let's ask God to illuminate his word in a way that changes us today. Would you pray that on your own? And then I'll pray and we'll jump in to this text together. Father, as one pastor has said, it is your will to have your spirit use your word to make your children look like your son. …