Abide in Christ Pt 4: Achieve life-giving union in Him

1 Corinthians 15:20-23         20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.  23But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

Paul’s words here are hopeful and encouraging.  In these four short verses he lifts our eyes from the dust of everyday living to the blazing horizon of resurrection, new creation, and restored humanity.  He is not offering a theological puzzle—he is offering a promise: life-giving union with Christ, a union so strong that death itself loses its power.

But this union does not come automatically or impersonally.  It is received, embraced, lived, and anticipated.  We enter it by faith, grow in it by grace, and wait for its fullness with patience.  Once we received salvation; now we engage in sanctification.  Paul invites us not merely to study the resurrection, but to step inside it—because Christ’s resurrection is the doorway through which our own life-giving transformation begins.

Firstfruits

In the third book of the Bible (Leviticus) we read about the various Festivals God established to guide the Israelites in ways to thank and worship Him in their everyday lives (see part XII).  To Paul’s Jewish readers it instantly evoked the harvest festivals described in Leviticus 23:9-14.  The first sheaf of grain was offered to God—not only as gratitude but as a guarantee that more was coming.  The firstfruits were not separate from the rest of the harvest; they were part of the same crop, simply the beginning.  That is why Paul chooses this word.  He is saying the resurrection of Jesus is the beginning of the world’s resurrection.
His rising is God’s guarantee that those who belong to Him will rise too.

We often think of Jesus’ resurrection as an isolated miracle—glorious, yes, but standing alone.  But Paul says no: Jesus is not simply a resurrected man; He is the first resurrected man of many resurrected men and women who will follow.  His empty tomb is the “first sheaf” waved before God, promising an entire harvest of redeemed humanity.

When life feels unfinished—when grief lingers, when bodies weaken, when hopes collapse—the resurrection of Jesus stands as God’s personal promise to each of us: “I am not done yet.”  Your story will not end mid-sentence.  Your resurrection is as certain as His, because His resurrection is the down payment on yours.  So whenever discouragement whispers, “Nothing will ever change,” let the Spirit remind you: The firstfruits have already been lifted.  The rest is guaranteed.

A Man and another man

Here Paul places two men side by side: Adam and Jesus.  Adam represents humanity as it is—broken, fallen, fragile, dying.  Through him the cracks entered the world.  His disobedience in Genesis 3 unleashed the power of death into creation, and we all feel its reach.  Jesus, however, represents humanity as it was meant to be—and as it someday will be for all who belong to Him.  Through His obedience and sacrifice, the power of resurrection entered the world.  The wonderful thing is that Jesus is not merely fixing Adam’s damage; He is replacing Adam’s lineage with a new one—a new humanity shaped by grace instead of sin, life instead of death.

We live in one or the other lineage.  You and I live under the headship of one man or the other.  Adam gives death; Christ gives life.  This is why union with Christ is not just spiritual encouragement—it is spiritual transformation.  We are not trying to become “better versions” of our old selves.  We are being transferred from one humanity to another, from one man’s consequences to another Man’s life.  Many believers live as though they are stuck between these two men—half-Adamic, half-Christian—hoping God will overlook their failures and tolerate their shortcomings.  But Paul says something far better:  If you are in Christ, you are already part of His new humanity.  You have been moved from death to life, from condemnation to restoration.

So when shame tells you, “You’ll always be who you’ve always been,” answer confidently:  “No. I belong to another Man now.   His life defines me.”  And when temptation tells you, “This is just who you are,” remember:  Your deepest identity is no longer grounded in Adam—it is grounded in Christ.

All will be given life

But what does “made alive” mean?  Every person born into Adam’s line shares his death.  But every person reborn into Christ’s line shares His resurrection.  This is not universalism; much of the world believes every human being will be saved.  To deny someone is seen as ‘unfair’.  Paul is not saying every human being will be saved.  He is saying that everyone who is “in Christ” will experience what Christ experienced.

The phrase “made alive” is not limited to the final resurrection.  It includes a complete series of renewal through Christ.  At our original salvation we are regeneration (born again by the Spirit — John 3:3–8).  After that, we are continually sanctified through daily renewal (2 Corinthians 4:16).  At the End of Days we receive our new, cleansed, and healed bodies (Romans 8:11), and then enter into the new creation (Revelation 21:1–5).  How wonderful that will be!  Life-giving union with Jesus is not simply a future hope; it is a present reality.   You begin living the resurrection now, long before your physical body is raised.  Jesus Himself said,
“Because I live, you also will live.” — John 14:19

Life flows from Him into you the way sap flows from vine to branch (John 15:4-5).  Your strength, your spiritual vitality, your spiritual hunger, your endurance, your love, your faith—these are not things you manufacture.  They are expressions of resurrection life flowing from Christ into you.  Sometimes believers feel spiritually empty, disconnected, or lifeless.  But notice Paul’s promise: “In Christ all will be made alive.”  Not might be.  Not should be.  Will be.  This means when you feel weak, His life strengthens you; when you feel numb, His life awakens you; when you feel trapped, His life frees you; and when you feel spiritually flat, His life renews you.  You do not achieve spiritual vitality by trying harder. You experience life by staying connected to the One who is Life (John 11:25, John 1:4).

So instead of praying, “Lord, give me life,” pray, “Lord, connect me more deeply to Your life.”  Life in Christ is not achieved—it is received.

But Christ will come first

Paul is saying there is a divine sequence, a sacred timeline.  The first part, the resurrection of Jesus, is finished.  But the next part is our individual resurrection.  That part is not yet visible, but nonetheless is divinely assured.  We live in the “not yet” of this promise.  Christ has risen, but we still wait for the day when heaven’s trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:15–17).  Paul calls this the moment when “the perishable puts on the imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:53).  This is why union with Christ is life-giving even now.  You do not wait until the future resurrection to belong to Him.  You belong to Him today—and the future resurrection is simply the final expression of a union that has already begun.

Christ must come first—not only in resurrection but also in your daily life.  You cannot experience the fullness of His life if He is not placed first in your priorities, first in your desires, first in your trust, first in your obedience.  Just as His resurrection leads yours, His Lordship leads your transformation.

But waiting is hard.  We want the fullness now, the healing now, the renewal now, the transformation now.  But Paul gently reminds us: “each in turn.”  God is not slow—He is orderly.  And His order is good.  So in your waiting, your future resurrection is not dependent on your strength, your consistency, or your ability.  It is anchored in a Person—the One who already rose, already reigns, and already promised to return.

What about me?

 Paul’s message is not theological abstraction; it is relational invitation.  This is real-time revelation.  Christ is the firstfruits because He has already broken through death and begun the new creation.  He  is the second Man, because He has replaced Adam’s death-bound humanity with His own life-giving one.

Christ is the source of life.  All who belong to Him share His resurrection power—now and forever, and Christ is first in the order of resurrection.  We follow Him because we are united to Him.

This is why the Christian life is not self-improvement—it is union with Christ.  We often hear people say things on the order of, “I am not worthy; you have no idea of what I am like inside.”  Of course, no one knows the real us.  But this is why holiness is not striving—it is living from His life, and why hope is not wishful—it is anchored to His empty tomb.  And this is why you can wake each morning knowing that your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3), and where He is, you will be also (John 14:3).

But most importantly, because He lives, you live.