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19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.

Christ the Firstfruits.[a] 20 (A)But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits[b] of those who have fallen asleep.

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Footnotes

  1. 15:20–28 After a triumphant assertion of the reality of Christ’s resurrection (1 Cor 15:20a), Paul explains its positive implications and consequences. As a soteriological event of both human (1 Cor 15:20–23) and cosmic (1 Cor 15:24–28) dimensions, Jesus’ resurrection logically and necessarily involves ours as well.
  2. 15:20 The firstfruits: the portion of the harvest offered in thanksgiving to God implies the consecration of the entire harvest to come. Christ’s resurrection is not an end in itself; its finality lies in the whole harvest, ourselves.