Christ the Firstfruits
Month 7: He Is Risen! — Why We Believe · Memory Verse
Today's Scripture
Read together: 1 Corinthians 15:20-22
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
Memory Verse
“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”— 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: 2 Kings 17–18; 2 Chronicles 29–30
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Good King Hezekiah reopens the temple and leads the people back to worship.)The Heart of It
"Firstfruits" was a word every Israelite farmer understood. The very first ripe sheaf of the harvest was waved before the Lord as a glad promise. Where one stalk has ripened, a whole field is coming. Paul reaches for exactly that picture. Jesus rising from the dead is the firstfruits. He is the first of a great harvest of risen people still to come. His empty tomb is not a one-time wonder to admire from far away. It is a guarantee. Because the first sheaf is in, the full harvest is certain. Everyone who belongs to Jesus will rise too.
Then Paul sets two men side by side: Adam and Christ. Through one man, Adam, sin and death came into the world. That is why everyone dies. Death is the inheritance the whole human family received. But through one Man, Jesus Christ, life comes flooding back. "As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." This is why a real, true Adam matters so much. And it is why a real, bodily resurrection matters so much. The whole gospel hangs on this comparison. A true fall in a true garden, answered by a true rising from a true tomb. Our memory verse this week is the hinge of the entire Bible. It is the place where death meets its Conqueror.
Around the Table
Jesus came alive first — and one day everyone who loves Him will come alive too! Jesus goes first.
Let's do it: Hold up one finger ("Jesus first!"), then wiggle all ten ("then us too!").
"Firstfruits" means the first ripe apple shows the whole tree is full of apples. How does Jesus rising first show us what will happen to us?
Let's talk: Adam brought death. Jesus brings life. Whose family do you want to belong to?
Paul links a real Adam to a real, risen Christ. If one is only a myth, the whole logic of the gospel falls apart. And Jesus' resurrection is the promised first part of our own.
Let's go deeper: Why does it matter, for this verse to make sense, that Adam was a real person and not a symbol?
💬 Conversation Starter
If you planted one seed and it grew, how could that one plant tell you what the whole garden will look like next year?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
We can know the resurrection is true. Paul wrote this letter only about 25 years after Jesus died. That was still within the lifetime of hundreds of eyewitnesses, people who could have proved him wrong. He is not making up a legend. He is reminding his readers of public facts they already knew ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
This passage is a gift for raising children in a young-earth, gospel-centered home. Notice that Paul's argument for our future resurrection rests on Adam being just as real and historical as Jesus. "As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." You cannot turn Genesis into a myth without weakening the logic of salvation. Death came in through a real man's real sin. Only that explains why a real Savior had to really conquer real death. When your children meet teachers who treat Adam as folklore, you are not defending a side issue. You are guarding the very structure of the cross. Help them hold the line, not with arguments alone, but with wonder. The first sheaf is already waving. Our own resurrection is not a hope we work up on our own. It is a harvest already begun.
Draws on: Ken Ham, The Lie: Evolution; Tony Evans, Theology You Can Count On.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You that Jesus rose first. Thank You for Your promise that everyone who trusts Him will live forever. Help us hold that promise close. Help us believe it deep down in our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen."
Jesus rose first so I could rise too. His empty tomb is the promise of my own.