Meditation... Firstfruits

• This is this season's first bloom of my Gardenia plant. I always think of Romans 8:23 whenever I see a first bloom of a plant or the first ripened fruit of a tree. In this passage, we see three "groanings." First in vs22, the whole creation groans with birthpangs, awaiting the birthing of the sons of God. Next, in vs23, we who have the firstfruits of the Spirit groan within ourselves, awaiting the redemption of our bodies. Finally, in v26, the Holy Spirit groans with intercessions on our behalf according to God's will. I believe we are to see the Spirit as a "nursemaid" of sorts, aiding in the birthing of our new man. Already, we have the firstfruits of His intercession within us. There is new life in us and it is precisely the Resurrection Life of Jesus himself who already has the new Human body which is paradigmatic for the rest of those connected to His vine. In 1 Corinthians 15:20, Paul calls Jesus the firstfruits of the resurrection. The image here is that of a tree or vine or some other plant. That tree already has the first bloom or the first fruit ripened upon it. What does that mean? It means that a whole host of others is just about to burst forth upon it as well! Jesus is the first fruit of a vine of which we are all part. He has already been "born again" as the New Human. We have His same "sap" in our own bodies, already. The Spirit He has given us has begun the birthing of the New Man within us. And it is certain - just as certain as the rest of the fruit follows upon the ripening of the firstfruit - that our birthing process will become complete and we will have completely "ripened" and resurrected bodies, like unto Jesus' own body.


• But there is more. Notice I'm going through the text backwards. First, the Spirit is our nursemaid groaning along with us, bringing the new life to birth within us. We are already new creatures, but we will not see the completion of how we are being formed until the Spirit brings us through our death into Christ's glorious resurrection. Second, we ourselves are groaning within ourselves until the "being made new, day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:16) is complete. And we are doing this groaning along with the rest of creation. That is, just as the Spirit is our nursemaid, bring the new Man to birth within us, so we are creation's nursemaids, bringing to birth God's new creation by our intercessions as they are empowered by the Spirit. This is part of what it means to be a kingdom of priests. Priests intercede. That is our job. But what are we interceding for? We are interceding with the words and heart of Christ - "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." And, like Christ, we intercede with our lives, becoming living sacrifices so that Christ's sacrifice might be "filled up" (Colossians 1:24) to the fullest measure in this earth. The cross, that is the intercession. And as we take up that same cross, we join in Christ's great intercession. Thus, in our very lives, our very bodies, all of creation is dragged through death into the glorious resurrection, just as we, in Christ, are dragged through our deaths into His New Life.