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King James Bible - 1 Corinthians 15:20

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SEV Biblia, Chapter 15:20

¶ Mas ahora Cristo ha resucitado de los muertos; primicias de los que durmieron (es hecho).

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Clarke's Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 15:20

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 rmw[ 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 following that the first fruits were offered. So Christ, our passover, was crucified: the day following his crucifixion was the Sabbath, and the day following that, He, the first fruits of them that slept, rose again. All who died before Christ, and were raised again to life, died afterwards; but Christ is the first fruits of all who shall be raised from the dead to die no more."

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John Gill's Bible Commentary

Ver. 20. But now is Christ risen from the dead , etc.] 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, Leviticus 23:10,11) 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 reaped and gathered in, and then offered unto the Lord; so Christ first rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven, and presented himself to God; as the representative of his people; for though there were others that were raised before him, as the widow of Sarepta�s son by Elijah, the Shunammite�s son by Elisha, and the man that touched the prophet�s bones when put into his grave, and Jairus�s daughter, the widow of Naam�s son, and Lazarus by Christ; yet as these did not rise by their own power, so only to a mortal life: but Christ, as he raised himself by his own power, so he rose again to an immortal life, and was the first that ever did so; he was the first to whom God showed, and who first trod this path of life. The firstfruits were the best, what was then ripest, and so most valuable; Christ is the first, and rose the first in dignity, as well as in time; he rose as the head of the body, as the firstborn, the beginning, that in all things he might have, and appear to have, as he ought to have, the pre-eminence. The firstfruits sanctified the rest of the harvest, represented the whole, gave right to the ingathering of it, and ensured it; Christ by lying in the grave, and rising out of it, sanctified it for his people, and in his resurrection represented them; they rose with him, and in him; and their resurrection is secured by his; because he lives, they shall live also. The firstfruits were only such, and all this to the fruits of the earth, that were of the same kind with them, not to tares and chaff, to briers and thorns; so Christ, in rising from the dead, is only the firstfruits of the saints; of such as are the fruits of his death and of his grace, who have the fruits of his Spirit in them, and are filled with the fruits of righteousness by him; just as he is the firstborn from the dead, with respect to the many brethren, whom he stands in the relation of a firstborn: once more, as the allusion is particularly to the sheaf of the firstfruits, it is to be observed, that that was waved before the Lord, the morrow after the sabbath, ( Leviticus 23:11) which, as the Jews interpret, was the morrow after the first good day, or festival of the passover; the passover was on the fourteenth day of the month; the festival, or Chagiga, on the fifteenth, and which, in the year that Christ suffered, was a sabbath day also; and the morrow after that, the sheaf of the firstfruits was waved; now Christ suffered on the passover, rested in the grave on the seventh day sabbath, and on the morrow after that, rose from the dead, the very day that the first fruits were offered to the Lord: so that the allusion and phrase are very appropriately used by the apostle.

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Matthew Henry Commentary

Verses 20-34 - All that are by faith united to Christ, are by his resurrection assure of their own. As through the sin of the first Adam, all men becam mortal, because all had from him the same sinful nature, so, throug the resurrection of Christ, shall all who are made to partake of the Spirit, and the spiritual nature, revive, and live for ever. There wil be an order in the resurrection. Christ himself has been the first-fruits; at his coming, his redeemed people will be raised befor 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 an 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 thos do, who are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Perhap baptism is used here in a figure, for afflictions, sufferings, an martyrdom, as Mt 20:22, 23. What is, or will become of those who have suffered many and great injuries, and have even lost their lives, for this doctrine of the resurrection, if the dead rise not at all Whatever the meaning may be, doubtless the apostle's argument wa understood by the Corinthians. And it is as plain to us tha Christianity would be a foolish profession, if it proposed advantage to themselves by their faithfulness to God; and to have our fruit to holiness, that our end may be everlasting life. But we must not liv like beasts, as we do not die like them. It must be ignorance of God that leads any to disbelieve the resurrection and future life. Thos who own a God and a providence, and observe how unequal things are in the present life, how frequently the best men fare worst, cannot doub as to an after-state, where every thing will be set to rights. Let u not be joined with ungodly men; but warn all around us, especiall children and young persons, to shun them as a pestilence. Let us awak to righteousness, and not sin.

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Greek Textus Receptus

νυνι 3570 ADV δε 1161 CONJ χριστος 5547 N-NSM εγηγερται 1453 5769 V-RPI-3S εκ 1537 PREP νεκρων 3498 A-GPM απαρχη 536 N-NSF των 3588 T-GPM κεκοιμημενων 2837 5772 V-RPP-GPM εγενετο 1096 5633 V-2ADI-3S

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Vincent's NT Word Studies

20. The first-fruits (aparch). See on Jas. i. 18. Omit become.

Compare Col. i. 18, and see on Apoc. i. 5.

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Robertson's NT Word Studies

15:20 {But now} (nuni de). Emphatic form of nun with -i added (cf. #12:18). It is the logical triumph of Paul after the _reductio ad impossibile_ (Findlay) of the preceding argument. {The first-fruits} (aparce). Old word from aparcomai, to offer firstlings or first-fruits. In LXX for first-fruits. In papyri for legacy-duty, entrance-fee, and also first-fruits as here. See also verse #23; 16:15; Ro 8:23, etc. Christ is "first-born from the dead" (#Col 1:18). Others raised from the dead died again, but not so Jesus. {That sleep} (twn kekoimemenwn). Perfect middle participle as in #Mt 27:52 which see. Beautiful picture of death from which word (koimaomai) comes our cemetery.