Paul’s point in 1 Corinthians 15 is to argue for the future bodily resurrection of all who belong to, who are in, Christ. After considering the consequences of denying the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:12-19), Paul states the positive reality of resurrection Corinthians 15: 20-28, unpacking its significance and connecting it to the gospel of God’s coming kingdom. Here we find the story of redemption in a nutshell, the story of God reversing the curse, restoring all creation, putting the world to rights in and through Jesus Christ.

What we see in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 is that Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection and the federal head of humanity. Just as sin and death came into the world through Adam, so now life and blessing come to the world through Jesus, and those who belong to Christ will be raised just as he was. What happened on Easter was not an isolated event but the first step in God’s plan put everything in its proper order and place under the Messiah, Jesus.

Christ, the Firstfruits of the Resurrection (20, 23)

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor. 15:20)

“Firstfruits” is an OT metaphor for the first ingathering of the harvest. It was the first installment, a sample of what could be expected from the rest of the harvest. So, Paul is saying Christ’s resurrection is a preview and guarantee of our resurrection. He is our representative. Elsewhere in the NT Christ is called the firstborn from the dead (Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5) and the beginning of God’s creation (Rev. 2:14), which does not refer to the first creation in Genesis but to God’s long-awaited new creation that began with Christ’s resurrection from the dead.

In the NT, believers have the “firstfruits of the Spirit” and “wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8:23). The Spirit is our down-payment of resurrection life (Eph. 1:13-14). The Christians in the first century were called the firstfruits of the church (2 Thess. 2:13; Jas. 1:18), because they were not only the first to come to faith in Christ but they were also a signal of more fruit to come as the gospel was preached. In Revelation 14:4 we see that the “144,000” are called the “firstfruits” to be “redeemed from mankind for God and the Lamb.” The martyred church in the 1st century is a mini picture and preview of the church in its entirety.

But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ (1 Cor. 15:23)

After Paul says that all in Christ shall be made alive (1 Cor. 15:22) he picks up the firstfruits idea again, explaining how God putting the world to rights and redeeming creation would happen in the proper “order.” The word “order” has the idea of a temporal sequence of two groups. Christ is raised first, then “at his coming” all those who belong to Christ will be raised. This word was used when officials/rulers visited a city. Thus, Christ’s glorious appearing is his royal arrival. This is our blessed hope (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

This idea of the resurrection and the arrival of God’s kingdom happening in the middle of history and happening in two phases was the plot twist of Christianity. The Jews of Paul’s day were longing for the day when God’s kingdom would be established, Israel would be restored, God would reign through his Messiah, defeating the nations, and raising the righteous dead to share in a new kingdom and world. But it wasn’t clear how that would all happen. The resurrection was the moment when that happened at last. God. Easter was the “first step” in God’s plan, when God declared to the world that Jesus was both Lord and Christ, the one who would restore and rule the world and put it to rights

Christ, the Federal Head of Humanity (21-22)

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead (1 Cor. 15:21).

In 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 Paul unpacks the logic of the “firstfruits” metaphor. Since sin and death came into the world through one man (Rom. 5:12), God saw fit in his wisdom to have the resurrection of the dead come through the work of a man. What Adam and Jesus have in common is that they were fully and truly human (1 Cor. 15:45). This is the most basic summary of the gospel: one man got us into this mess, another man gets us out and makes all things new. Paul is saying that when Jesus was raised, it is proof and promise that the great, end-time resurrection of the dead has come, and is guaranteed by Jesus Christ.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Cor. 15:22).

Then Paul continues the contrast of verse 21, further explaining and developing it. This is another beautiful summary of the gospel. To be “in Adam” is belonging to the “humanity” container and having Adam as your representative, your “federal head.” This is the doctrine of imputation: what is true of him is true for you. This is why we all experience sin and death. We die “in Adam,” which is the refrain of Adam’s genealogy (Genesis 5). To be in Christ, however, means you have Jesus the Messiah as your leader and representative. What is true of him is then true of us. He was raised in resurrection power and so will we (John 5:21; Rom. 8:11). This Adam-Christ contrast is more fully explored in Romans 5:12-19. In Adam, we get disobedience, sin guilt, condemnation, judgment, death. In Christ, we obedience, free gift of grace, righteousness, justification, and life.

God’s plan was always to bring life and blessing to a world marred and mocked by sin and death. Israel failed to be that light to the nations, so God sent the Messiah to act in Israel’s place. Jesus was the true human being (Adam) who, through his own resurrection from the dead, does what humanity and creation could never do for themselves.