“But now
is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”
1 Corinthians 15:20
In my limited amount of gardening experience, I
have consistently found that the first fruits are always the best fruits. It holds the sweets nutrients, the strongest
vigor, and produces the best seed for next year. It is the first fruit, it is the best fruit.
Jesus Christ was/is the first fruit of them
that slept. He was the first to walk
this earth as a man that was without sin.
He was the first to meet Satan with the power of the Holy Ghost. He was the first to come out of grave
bringing victory. He was the first
fruits of them that slept. Those that
slept encompass the souls, the numerous and countless that were waiting under
the alter for resurrection unto life.
Waiting for the coming of the Lord.
They could not be the first fruit, they were kept under the alter, which
is holy. They were not worthy to open
the book and loose the seals thereof; simply put, they were not the best. Sin tainted the even the most noble among
them, the product of which was a people waiting for the coming of Christ. Jesus was the personification of better
things. A better way, better covenant,
better testament, better temple, and better fellowship with the Father. He was born to grow, die, and be resurrected
as the first fruit. The first fruit that
would lead the harvest. Typically, in agriculture,
the first fruit is the indicator of things to come, as in the natural so in the
spiritual. Christ was the first fruit
and the indicator of things to come. He
would ascend to heaven and send the Holy Ghost.
This would be the second coming of himself in the person of the Spirit
which would raise us from the dead into a life of righteous. It can and will translate us from citizens of
this world to citizens of heaven.
Providing assurance of a home in heaven, while here as pilgrims on
earth. Jesus Christ has brought to us
the opportunity to come into perfect fellowship with the Father, through the
second coming of the Holy Spirit. Once
we are brought into the person of Christ (through the Spirit) and made to eat
of flesh and drink of his blood (though the Spirit) we are now abiding in the vine
and are products of the same vine that the first fruit was tapped into. For this reason, and this reason only, are we
holy, or ever able to claim the glorious liberty and power that is found in
living holy. It is all because of the first
fruit.
Holiness is not an unattainable state of
being. It is not a priest in fancy
robes, or a monk in a secluded temple.
It is the union between God and man; through the vehicle of the Holy
Spirit. It is grounded on a conversion experience
and witnessed by the Holy Ghost; after you have died to yourselves (i.e. you’re
plans, wishes, ambitions, etc.), your sins, and raised again by the power of
God. Once repented, once dead, once
risen, and once given; you are now a fruit of the vine ready to grow and mature. Living in pursuit of conformity to the image
of the first fruit; separated from the purists of the world and planted
together with Him in the likeness of resurrection.
