The Feast of Firstfruits signifies the Resurrected Christ for our Enjoyment as a Feast

When Christ resurrected, He fulfilled the type of the Feast of Firstfruits, for the resurrected Christ is the Firstfruits for our enjoyment as a feast in His resurrection.

This week we come to the second set of three main feasts ordained by God in Leviticus – the feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Christ Himself is the reality of all the feasts described in Lev. 23, and in particular Christ is the reality of the Feast of Firstfruits, Christ is the reality of the feast of Pentecost, and Christ is the reality of the Feast of Tabernacles.

When the people of Israel entered into the good land, they had to labor on the land, bring forth the produce of the land for their sustenance and enjoyment, and in particular they had to bring the Firstfruits to God for His enjoyment.

God ordained certain feasts throughout the year for His people to enjoy God together with Him and with one another.

The first feast was the Feast of the Passover, which was a type of Christ as our new beginning – He died for us, redeemed us, and gave Himself to us and for us to be brought back to God and have a new beginning in enjoying God and experiencing God.

Based on the redemption of Christ we can come forward to God to enjoy Him and partake of Him, for Christ has fulfilled all the requirements of God, and when we believe into Him we are put in Him and thus God’s judgment passes over us, not affecting us.

Then, right after the feast of Passover there’s the feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasted for a whole week. Based on Christ’s redemption on the cross, we can come forward to God to feast on Christ as the sinless life supply for us to live a sinless life throughout the course of our Christian life.

Day by day we need to come to the Lord and enjoy Him, partake of Him, and eat Him as the pure, unleavened, sinless One in His word, and when we come together we need to eat Him and feast on Him together with all the saints.

We need to keep the feast with no leaven, and we will become a new lump, even as Christ Himself is unleavened.

Today we want to see concerning the feast of Firstfruits, which is a type of Christ in His resurrection as the firstfruits for our enjoyment as a feast in His resurrection. Hallelujah, Jesus is our feast!

The Feast of Firstfruits signifies the Resurrected Christ for our Enjoyment as a Feast in His Resurrection

The third annual feast is the Feast of Firstfruits (see Lev. 23:9-14), which signifies the resurrected Christ for our enjoyment as a feast in His resurrection (see 1 Cor. 15:20).

This feast was less than three days after the Feast of the Passover, which signifies that, three days after Christ was crucified, He was resurrected to become the Feast of Firstfruits. The day of Christ’s resurrection was the feast of Firstfruits – Hallelujah for our Christ in His resurrection as the Firstfruits!

First, there was the feast of the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month of the Jewish year, the month of Abib; this feast signifies Christ being slain as our Passover.

Then, right after this feast there was one week of feasting: the feast of Unleavened bread, which typifies Christ as the unleavened, sinless life supply. During this week there was also the Feast of Firstfruits, which is a type of Christ in His resurrection as the firstfruits.

In 1 Cor. 15 we see Christ as the firstfruits (vv. 20, 23), the second man (v. 47), and the last Adam (v. 45). Christ is everything and everyone: He is both the first man, the second man, and the last Adam, and He is also the firstfruits in resurrection.

According to the type, the firstfruits from the harvest were brought to the temple and presented to God; the harvest itself was brought to the barns of those who labored, but a sheaf of firstfruits was first presented to God.

The firstfruits are for God, for His satisfaction. Christ was crucified at the time of the Feast of the Passover, and then on the third day, the day after the Sabbath, He was resurrected (Mark 14:12; 1 Cor. 15:4; John 20:1; Lev. 23:11).

Christ was the first One raised from the dead, becoming the firstfruits of resurrection. This is typified by the sheaf of the firstfruits, which was offered to God on the day after the Sabbath, the day of resurrection (Lev. 23:11; Matt. 28:1).

In the type, however, the firstfruits of the harvest were not a single stalk of wheat but a sheaf of wheat, typifying not only the resurrected Christ but also the saints who were raised from the dead after His resurrection (see Lev. 23:11; Matt. 27:52-53).

The sheaf of firstfruits offered to God was a type not only of Christ but also the ones who were raised with Him at His resurrection.

In Matt. 27 we see that the power of death and Hades has been conquered and subdued (the earth was shaken and the tombs were opened), and the death of Christ had a releasing power (some of the bodies of the saints were raised).

Some of the saints who previously died were raised, came out of the tombs, and entered into the holy city, appearing to many. This fulfills the type of the firstfruits of the harvest, which was not a single stalk of wheat but a sheaf of wheat. Hallelujah!

Even more, since Christ is the firstfruits of resurrection, the Firstborn from the dead, and since He is the Head of the Body, we also as His Body will be resurrected (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:20-23).

The Head of the Body was resurrected, and we believe that we will also be resurrected as His Body! Praise the Lord!

Thank You Lord Jesus for coming as the reality of the Feast of Firstfruits. Hallelujah, the resurrected Christ is the firstfruits for our enjoyment as a feast in His resurrection! We praise You, Lord, for being raised from the dead and fulfilling the type of the firstfruits. You were raised from the dead, and You are our Head; we believe that we, as Your Body, will also be raised from the dead! Hallelujah, Christ the Head was resurrected and ascended, and we as the Body will also be resurrected!

The Resurrected Christ Ascended to the Heavens and was Offered to God as Firstfruits

The type of the Feast of Firstfruits in Lev. 23:14 signifies that the resurrected Christ – the firstfruits of resurrection – ascended to the heavens and was offered to God with all the fruit in His resurrection as God’s food for His satisfaction; then, He became our supply for our satisfaction.

The principle of the firstfruits is that God enjoys this first; the firstfruits are first for God, and then also for man’s enjoyment, satisfaction, and supply.

This is why, although the Lord Jesus was pleased that Mary came to the tomb and was not satisfied with the objective facts of the empty tomb and the grave-clothes but wanted the Lord, He did not allow her to touch Him.

Right after He resurrected, the Lord showed Himself to Mary, but He then went to the Father as firstfruits in resurrection for the Father’s satisfaction. The resurrected Christ – the fresh Christ in His resurrection – was first to be enjoyed by God, and then He could be enjoyed by God’s people.

This is the principle of the feast of Firstfruits. The firstfruits are for God’s enjoyment first, and then, the resurrected Christ becomes our enjoyment with God and with one another.

Christ wanted to present Himself to the Father in the freshness of His resurrection; the Father gave His only begotten Son as the sin offering, and now the resurrected Christ wanted to present Himself to the Father in a fresh way for the Father’s delight and satisfaction.

We need to experience Christ not only for our own supply and enjoyment – although these are very necessary; we need to experience Him not only to minister Him to others – although this is very precious.

We need to experience Christ and love Him to the extent that we have something of Him wrought into us and reserved into the depths of our being for Himself, for His satisfaction.

There are hidden depths within us, into which we need to have Christ wrought, so that we may have something deep within us for Christ’s satisfaction and delight.

We may not even know that we have such hidden depths, but these are in us; Christ has to be wrought into us, into the depths of our beings, and there must be a firstfruits in us, a hidden portion reserved just for Him and His satisfaction.

When we contact the Lord, our outer man is broken, and something is poured out for God’s satisfaction; the best and highest is poured out for God to enjoy, as the outer man is broken.

In our meetings we need to go beyond enjoying the Lord and feasting on Him corporately, beyond ministering to one another, and get to minister the resurrected Christ directly to the Father for His delight!

Lord Jesus, work Yourself into us – work Yourself into the depths of our being, in the hidden depths our inner being that are reserved for You. May there be something of Christ wrought into our being that is there only for God to be satisfied. Oh Father, we are here for Your satisfaction, and we want to gain Your Christ, enjoy Your Christ, and experience Your Christ until He is wrought into us and can be offered from within us for Your satisfaction. Amen, Lord, gain such an offering of Christ as the firstfruits in resurrection for the Father’s satisfaction!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 53 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Leviticus (2), week 9, The Feasts (2) – The Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Father God, Thou hast accepted / Jesus as our Substitute; / Judged the Just One for the unjust, / Couldst Thou change Thy attitude? / As a proof of perfect justice, / At Thine own right hand He sits; / He, as Thy full satisfaction, / Righteously Thy need befits. (Hymns #20)
  # The risen Christ to God we bring, / And Christ ascended offering, / God’s satisfaction answering, / We thus exhibit Christ. (Hymns #864)
  # Dearest Lord, I waste myself upon Thee; / Loving Thee, I’m deeply satisfied. / Love outpoured from hidden depths within me, / Costly oil, dear Lord, I would provide. (Hymns #1159)