Read 1 Corinthians 15:20 (NRSV) in light of Deuteronomy 26:1-11. In what sense did Paul refer to the risen Christ as “the first fruits of those who have died”?

 The offering of “the first fruits” was an ancient Israelite agricultural practice with deep religious significance. It was a sacred recognition of God as the gracious Provider, who had entrusted His stewards with the land where the crops grew and were ready to be harvested (see Exod. 23:19, Exod. 34:26, Lev. 2:11-16, Deut. 26:1-11). The first fruits indicated that the harvest was not only starting but also revealing the quality of its products.

 According to Wayne Grudem, “in calling Christ ‘the first fruits’ (Gr. aparchē), Paul uses a metaphor from agriculture to indicate that we will be like Christ. Just as the ‘first fruits’ or the first taste of the ripening crop show what the rest of the harvest will be like for that crop, so Christ as the ‘first fruits’ shows what our resurrection bodies will be like when, in God’s final ‘harvest,’ he raises us from the dead and brings us into his presence.” — Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994), p. 615.

 It is worth remembering that Jesus came out of the grave with a glorified human body, but He was still carrying the marks of His crucifixion (John 20:20, 27). Does this mean that the risen children of God will likewise bear the physical marks of their own sufferings? In the case of the apostle Paul, will he still carry in his glorified body the “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7, NKJV) and “the marks of the Lord Jesus” (Gal. 6:17, NKJV)?

 Until his death, Paul “was ever to carry about with him in the body the marks of Christ’s glory, in his eyes, which had been blinded by the heavenly light [see Acts 9:1-9].” — Ellen G. White, The Story of Redemption, p. 275. But this does not mean that he or any other of the glorified redeemed will be raised with the marks of their own sufferings (compare with 1 Cor. 15:50-54). In the case of Christ, “the marks of this cruelty He will ever bear. Every print of the nails will tell the story of man’s wonderful redemption and the dear price by which it was purchased.” — Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 179. His marks are what guarantees us that all of ours will be forever gone.