1Cor 15:20-22 | JFB | STEP | 20. now —as the case really is. and become —omitted in the oldest manuscripts. the first-fruits —the earnest or pledge, that the whole resurrection harvest will follow, so that our faith is not vain, nor our hope limited to this life. The time of writing this Epistle was probably about the Passover ( ); the day after the Passover sabbath was that for offering the first-fruits ( ), and the same was the day of Christ's resurrection: whence appears the appropriateness of the image.

1 Corinthians 15:20-22

20. now—as the case really is.

and become—omitted in the oldest manuscripts.

the first-fruits—the earnest or pledge, that the whole resurrection harvest will follow, so that our faith is not vain, nor our hope limited to this life. The time of writing this Epistle was probably about the Passover (1Co 5:7); the day after the Passover sabbath was that for offering the first-fruits (Le 23:10, 11), and the same was the day of Christ's resurrection: whence appears the appropriateness of the image.

21. by man . . . by man—The first-fruits are of the same nature as the rest of the harvest; so Christ, the bringer of life, is of the same nature as the race of men to whom He brings it; just as Adam, the bringer of death, was of the same nature as the men on whom he brought it.

22. in Adam all—in union of nature with Adam, as representative head of mankind in their fall.

in Christ . . . all—in union of nature with Christ, the representative head of mankind in their recovery. The life brought in by Christ is co-extensive with the death brought in by Adam.