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20 (A)But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits[a] of those who have fallen asleep. 21 [b]For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being. 22 For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,(B) 23 but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 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.
  2. 15:21–22 Our human existence, both natural and supernatural, is corporate, involves solidarity. In Adam…in Christ: the Hebrew word ’ādām in Genesis is both a common noun for mankind and a proper noun for the first man. Paul here presents Adam as at least a literary type of Christ; the parallelism and contrast between them will be developed further in 1 Cor 15:45–49 and in Rom 5:12–21.

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,(A) the firstfruits(B) of those who have fallen asleep.(C) 21 For since death came through a man,(D) the resurrection of the dead(E) comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.(F) 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits;(G) then, when he comes,(H) those who belong to him.(I)

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