Our Bible is an undeniably “earthy” book, and in the richly agricultural world of Scripture, the notion of firstfruits carries deep significance. The Mosaic Law reveals this importance as our creator God lays claim to the first and the best of creation. Following the deliverance of God’s people from slavery in Egypt, Exodus records God’s requirement for regular celebrations of his mighty acts. The people of God are called to “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field” (Exodus 23:16). This giving of the firstfruits to God, redeemed the remainder of the harvest with a promise of God’s blessing.[1]

Fast forwarding through the ups and downs of Israel’s story, the book of Nehemiah records the account of God’s people emerging from exile in Babylon and rediscovering their role as God’s covenant people. Nehemiah called them to a binding agreement, a portion of which stated, “We also assume responsibility for bringing to the house of the Lord each year the firstfruits of our crops and of every fruit tree” (Nehemiah 10:35). The firstfruits were an annual reminder that without God, Israel would be slaves in Egypt or exiles in Babylon.

New Testament writers pick up this image and apply it to Jesus. Just as the sacrifice of the firstfruits in the Old Testament came with a promise of God’s blessing on the rest of the harvest, so Jesus became a firstfruits sacrifice for all of humanity. Jesus’s death and subsequent resurrection ensured that all who would believe in him would also be raised from death to life. Jesus, the firstfruits offering to God for humanity, promised a great harvest of all who name him as Lord.

What a rich image! But there’s another scriptural firstfruits reference that I want to highlight.

The Apostle Paul leverages the Hebrew understanding of firstfruits to promote first-century discipleship. Romans 16:5 says, “…Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.” But its later, in 1 Corinthians 16:15 where Paul unpacks the firstfruits imagery. He writes, “You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia…” and then continues to make his point, “…and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people…”

Are you thinking, “OK, but my Bible says “first converts” not “firstfruits” in these passages? Believe it or not, the original Greek word for first converts is actually the same word translated as “firstfruits.” Epenetus in Rome and the household of Stephanas in Corinth were the firstfruits in their respective cities, and their conversions were only the beginning. Paul taught them (and us) that conversion is the starting line of our life in Christ, not the finish line. These faithful Christ-followers didn’t merely escape the penalty of sin; they joined with Jesus in his redemptive work among their friends and relatives. Their new life in Christ readied them to fulfill Jesus’s Great Commission as they engaged the people in their lives with the hope of Jesus.

Perhaps Paul had access to the writings of James a decade or so before 1 Corinthians who said, “He (God) chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created” (James 1:18). Paul understood the strategic beauty of the plan of salvation: that those who are redeemed engage in sharing this good news with those they encounter. Jesus said it best in the Great Commission, “…and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20).

You may not be the first convert in your city, your neighborhood, or your family, but you are the “firstfruits” of Jesus’s redemption. Christ has saved you and has plans for you. He wants to help you fall so deeply in love with him that you become like him—that you develop a heart like his—and Jesus’s heart was for the lost (Luke 19:10). Your salvation isn’t the finish line of your life in Christ; it’s the starting line. God wants to engage you in the greatest endeavor of human history, the salvation of the world…and your friend, neighbor, or co-worker. Are you ready? Are you following Jesus so closely that you are beginning to have a heart like his? You are the firstfruits of Jesus’s redemption, his promise that those who encounter him through your witness can also be saved.

It turns out that God’s story is still “earthy.” Jesus came to redeem us but not so he could then lock us away in our sanctuaries, free from the grit and grime of a broken world. Jesus came to redeem us so that we could join his restoration project, plying the earthiness of human existence and cultivating a great harvest of the lost. As you go about your day today, remember that you are the firstfruits of God’s salvation; God’s strategic partner sharing his hope in the world.