Firstfruits are the first portion of a harvest or increase offered to God in acknowledgment that the whole belongs to him. In the New Testament, the term can also refer figuratively to the first and representative part of something greater to come.
Firstfruits are the first portion of a harvest or increase offered to God in acknowledgment that the whole belongs to him. In the New Testament, the term can also refer figuratively to the first and representative part of something greater to come.
Firstfruits refers first to the earliest portion of a harvest, flock, or produce set apart and offered to God. Under the Old Testament law, these offerings expressed thanksgiving, honored the Lord as the true giver of the land’s increase, and signified that the whole harvest belonged to him. The term also carries a representative sense: the first part points to and consecrates the rest. In the New Testament, this imagery is applied in a theological way. Most notably, Christ is called the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, meaning his bodily resurrection is the first and guaranteeing beginning of the future resurrection of his people. In some contexts, firstfruits can also describe the first converts or the first portion of a people devoted to God. The central biblical idea is that what comes first belongs to the Lord and serves as a pledge of more to come.