Yes — Christ's resurrection is the 'firstfruits' of all resurrections: a first installment of the resurrection harvest that guarantees more resurrections are coming.
Paul calls Christ the firstfruits of those who have died because He was the first to be resurrected in the fullest sense — never to die again. In Israel's harvest, plucking early-ripened barley heads into a sheaf showed the crop that would follow. Les Feldick teaches that Christ, along with the Jewish saints raised in Matthew 27, forms that sheaf of firstfruits, and the church-age believers are the next resurrection group.
1 Corinthians 15:20 — This is the exact verse that calls the resurrected Christ the firstfruits of them that slept.
1 Corinthians 15:23 — It shows Christ as firstfruits is first in an ordered sequence, not the whole harvest at once.
Matthew 27:52-53 — It records the saints who arose after Christ, whom Les connects to the sheaf of firstfruits.
Leviticus 23:10 — This is the Old Testament harvest command that Paul's firstfruits language echoes.
First Corinthians 15:20 states, "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." The context shows the resurrection is ordered: "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming" (1 Corinthians 15:23). In verses 21–22, Paul links death and resurrection through two men: "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Paul's language draws from the Old Testament harvest law in Leviticus 23:10: "When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest." Matthew 27:52-53 also records that "the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."
Les builds the meaning on the Jewish barley harvest. He explains that when a barley field was still green and headed out, scattered heads of grain ripened early. The Jewish people were to go into the field and pluck enough of those early-ripened stems to make a sheaf and bring it to the priest as a wave offering. That sheaf was called firstfruits because it was a sampling of the whole crop that would soon ripen. Les applies this directly to Jesus. He says Christ was the first to have ever been resurrected from the dead — earlier people like Lazarus had been restored to life but died again. Because a sheaf cannot be made of one stem, Les points to Matthew 27:52-53, where many Jewish saints came out of their graves after His resurrection and appeared in the city. These resurrected believers, together with Christ, form the sheaf, or plural firstfruits. Then, Les teaches, the next ones to experience resurrection will be the church-age believers, those who are Christ's at His coming.
Les explains that in a green barley field, scattered heads of grain ripened before the mass of the surrounding crop. The Jews were told to go into that green field and pluck enough early-ripened stems to make a sheaf, then take it to the priest as a wave offering of firstfruits. That sheaf was a sampling of the crop that was soon to follow — a picture of how Christ's resurrection is a sample of the resurrection harvest still to come.
Les says Christ was the first to ever be resurrected from the dead. Previous raisings, such as Lazarus, were only restorations to life because those people died again. A sheaf could not be made with one stem, so Les points to Matthew 27:52-53, which records many bodies of the saints arising after Christ's resurrection. He teaches that these resurrected Jewish saints, along with Christ, make up the plural firstfruits sheaf — the beginning of the first resurrection.
Paul says "every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming" (1 Corinthians 15:23). Les places the church-age believers, the body of Christ, as the next ones to experience resurrection. He also notes from verse 22 that because "in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive," the lost will also be raised in God's resurrection program.
The Early-Ripened Heads in the Barley Field
Les describes how scattered early-ripened heads of barley were plucked to make a sheaf for the priest, giving the picture of firstfruits as a sampling of the coming harvest.
Christ and the Saints Form the Sheaf
Les teaches Christ was the first ever resurrected, and the Jewish saints raised after Him complete the sheaf, making the firstfruits plural.
Previous Raisings Were Not Resurrections
Les distinguishes Christ's resurrection from miracles like Lazarus, showing only with Christ did the supreme resurrection begin, and Matthew 27 saints were the sampling.
The Sheaf Needed Many Stems
Les explains you cannot make a bundle with one stem, so the firstfruits had to include many resurrected believers along with Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:20 in Context
Les reads 1 Corinthians 15:20 as Christ risen and become the firstfruits of them that slept, adding that as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive.
'First Fruits' Is Plural
Les draws attention to the 'S' in firstfruits to stress that the sheaf consisted of more than one individual.
The Beginning of the First Resurrection
Les says the resurrected Jewish saints had immortality and were the sheaf of firstfruits — the beginning of the first resurrection.
The Church Age Believers Follow
Les places the firstfruits first, then says the next ones to experience resurrection are the body of Christ believers at the rapture.
1 Corinthians 15:20: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
This is the key verse directly declaring Christ to be the firstfruits of those who have died.
1 Corinthians 15:21: For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
It shows the parallel between Adam's death and Christ's resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:22: For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
This assures that every person will be made alive in the resurrection, not only believers.
1 Corinthians 15:23: But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
It reveals the resurrection order, with Christ first and His people afterward.
Leviticus 23:10: Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
This Old Testament command provides the harvest picture Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 15.
Matthew 27:52-53: And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
This records the Jewish saints who came forth after Christ's resurrection and whom Les includes in the firstfruits sheaf.
In Israel's harvest, the firstfruits were the early-ripened heads of grain plucked and made into a sheaf as a sample of the coming crop. Paul uses that to show Christ's resurrection is the beginning of the resurrection harvest — it was the first true resurrection and guarantees that more resurrections follow. Les teaches that the saints of Matthew 27:52-53 were raised with Him to fill out the sheaf.
Because a sheaf of grain could not be made from one stem. Les points to many Jewish saints coming out of their graves after Christ rose (Matthew 27:52-53) and says these, along with Christ, constitute the plural firstfruits.
No. Verse 23 says every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ's at His coming. Les explains the next resurrection group is the church-age believers at the rapture.
No. Les says those were restorations to life; Lazarus and the others died again. Christ was the first to be resurrected from the dead in the fullest sense, never to die again.
Watch the Teaching: Christ the Firstfruits: Resurrection Explained Verse by Verse