Page 44 - Christ in You - The Hope of Glory

I Corinthians 15:22-26
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own
order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then
comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He
has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has
put all His enemies under His feet.
(NAS)

The words from the New American Standard translation represent a common
rendering of the words of this passage. I believe the translators have failed to capture the
true intent of Paul’s meaning, however. Paul was well aware of the symbolism of the
harvests as they related to resurrection, and I believe he had this analogy in mind when he
penned these words to the believers in Corinth. As it has been previously mentioned, the
word Christ means anointed. During the feasts of God the firstfruits were presented to God,
and they were anointed.
What is not observed in our English translations is the presence and absence of the
definite article “the” in the original Greek. This article is present in the phrase “so also in
(the) Christ all shall be made alive,” as well as in the phrase “after that those who are (the)
Christ’s at His coming.” This definite article is absent, however, in the phrase “Christ the
first fruits.” This could be taken to indicate that Paul is not speaking of “the Christ” here as
a reference to the Son of God, but that he is speaking of “anointed firstfruits,” which is
understood to be a company of elect saints.

Numbers 28:26-28
'Also on the day of the first fruits, when you present a new grain offering to
Yahweh in your Feast of Weeks... you shall offer a burnt offering for a soothing
aroma to Yahweh, two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs one year old, and
their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil...

It should be noted that anointing the firstfruits was something done specifically with
the first feast which was Passover, and with the flour made from the barley. Regarding the
second feast associated with the harvest of wheat, the instructions are quite different.
Rather than adding oil to the grain, leaven is added.

Leviticus 23:17
You shall bring from your dwellings two loaves of bread to be waved, made from
two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven, for
firstfruits to the Lord.

Leaven symbolizes sin, whereas the removal of leaven is a major part of the Feast of
Passover. Christ Yahshua was the firstfruits of those who arose from the dead, and He was
without sin. Those who attain to the first resurrection will likewise be those who “crucify
the flesh with its passions and desires.” Understanding the relationship of the harvests, and
their accompanying symbols, we can translate the apostle Paul’s words in the following
manner: