YOU SAID:
I am addressing your question about Christ being the forstfruit.
 
MY RESPONSE:
Okay
 
GOD's WORD:
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
I Corinthains 15:20
 
MY RESPONSE:
Them that did what? Notice how this verse does not say them that died and went to Heaven?
 
GOD's WORD:
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preminence.
Colossians 1:18
 
MY RESPONSE:
Okay... if you simply provide Scriptures I'll have nothing to disagree with... LOL
 
YOU SAID:
Yes, Christ is the firstborn from the dead and so He is the fristfruit of the resurrection. All of them that slept were those from before He came, Old Testament beleivers. He rose from the dead first, hence the headship of the body. We are His body of believers thus we will rise from the dead also.
 
MY RESPONSE:
How can we rise from the dead if we go to Heaven immediately upon death? Yes, resurrection from death (also known as sleep by Jesus Himself) is indeed correct. However did you notice your own words? "Will rise" not "have risen".
 
GOD's WORD:
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, wven we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Romans 8:23
 
MY RESPONSE:
Are the "firstfruits of the spirit" the same thing as being the "firstfruits from the dead"? The what of our bodies? How can our bodies be redeemed if they are not in the ground as the body of Jesus was when He was in the grave?
 
GOD's WORD:
For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
Romans 11:16
 
YOU SAID:
These two verses continue the same thought. Christ as the firstfruits is holy and so we too become holy through the redemption of our bodies through His Spirit. He is the head of the body and thus the entire body becomes holy.
 
MY RESPONSE:
Yes, Christ is the firstfruit. Yes we become Holy thru Him. His the Holy Spirit in us is holy too. But where did the redemption part take place? We would have had to die first in-order to be redeemed. Earlier we determined that baptism is a symbol of death and not death itself. So where did the death of our bodies take place, and if it did take place then for what purpose did my wife have to experience death?
 
YOU SAID:
This entire concept of "firstfruits" comes from out of the Old Testament. Here are eight references for you to check out and probably comment upon:
 
GOD's WORD:
Exodus 22:29
29 "Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. [a]
"You must give me the firstborn of your sons.
 
MY RESPONSE:
Is a firstborn son the same thing as the firstfruits of redemption. I see similarities, and I see differences.
 
GOD's WORD:
Leviticus 2:12-16
Nehemiah 10:35, 37, 39
 
GOD's WORD:
Numbers 18:12
12 "I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the LORD as the firstfruits of their harvest.
 
GOD's WORD:
Deuteronomy 18:4
4 You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,
 
GOD's WORD:
II Chron. 31:5
5 As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything.
 
GOD's WORD:
Proverbs 3:9
9 Honor the LORD with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
 
GOD's WORD:
Jeremiah 2:3
3 Israel was holy to the LORD,
the firstfruits of his harvest;
all who devoured her were held guilty,
and disaster overtook them,' "
declares the LORD.
 
MY RESPONSE:
Again similarities and differences. Are not firstfruits of grain different from firstfruits of redemption?
 
YOU SAID:
Jesus fulfills what a firstfruit offering was and is.
 
MY RESPONSE:
But I thought His sacrifice was the way of moving from the sacrificial covenants to the covenents of grace or "old" & "new" covenents? This seems different than that, or am I missing something?
 
Cheers
IBIJ

I just about missed this post. You need to settle what is a "firstfruit" in your mind before you move on to other points. Christ meets the definition of what a firstfruit is/was. Did anyone rise from the dead as Christ did before He did it? If not, then He is the firstfruit of the risen dead. In the Old Testament the Israelites had to give God the last dregs from their flocks? No. Could they offer Him the last fruits picked from their orchards? No. It is the same thing with this concept of rising from the dead.
 
You do realize that there is more than one kind of death taking place here, don't you? There is being dead to sin, and then there is physical death. Your wife died to self when she accepted Christ, correct? She died to sin and lived in Christ. But she still had to pay for the consequences of sin, and that is physical death. We do not get around that unless Christ returns while we are still breathing air.
 
JEBUS
 
I am adding this here rather in a new posting thread. Upon recent prayr and reading of scriptures combined with some new insight given from a website, I wish to say publically that I have been slightly off-base regarding the Ten Commandments. I have never stated that they no longer exist, for that would be denying their principle purpose. But in so doing it created a struggling point in regards to the Sabbath Day. I have acknowledged that the Sabbath has not gone away, just that it was not a diehard issue any longer. Now I want to say that the Commandments were given as a unilateral covenant by God. He gave them and did not require anything in return. They were given. In this they were still a shadow of the Coming of Christ, pointing out to mankind that all fall short of the glory of God and need a saviour to pay for the wages of our sins. That being said, I will say that the Sabbath Day should still be observed as a day of rest, not necessarily a day of worship, but definitely one of rest. How each of us deals with that reality is between us and our God. Will this mean that I will now embrace the Adventist faith? No. They have too many doctrinal points that I personally disagree with scripturally. Thus, I am left with figuring out how to fit this change in my paradigm into daily life. It will be interesting to say the least. Of course, this does not change any of my other beliefs. :)
 
~JEBUS