Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Corinthians 15:20 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 20. 20But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse asserts Christ's resurrection as firstfruits of the dead.
Read It With
- 1 Corinthians 15:20–28
Read 1 Corinthians 15:20 with 15:20–28. This verse asserts Christ's resurrection as firstfruits of the dead. The complete unit establishes: Christ has been raised as firstfruits: as death came through a human, resurrection comes through a human; Christ rises first, those belonging to him at his coming follow, and his reign defeats every hostile power including death before the kingdom is handed to the Father and God is all in all.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The positive sequence replaces empty hope with an ordered cosmic horizon centered on the defeat of death. At 15:20, the distinct clause is “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits.”
Follow the Context
- Christ's actual resurrection is firstfruits of those asleep.
- Adam and Christ frame death and life through representative humans.
- Resurrection unfolds in an order.
- Christ reigns toward the defeat of every rule and power.
- Death is the last enemy destroyed.
- Psalm language requires the Father to be excepted from the things subjected.
- The Son's final subjection serves God's being all in all.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits”
In plain language: This is the verse's opening clause in the pinned KJV.
It contributes specifically to Christ the Firstfruits Reigns until Death Is Destroyed inside 1 Corinthians 15:20–28.
Why it matters: The verse carries enough interpretive or pastoral weight to require the full unit and its explicit limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The Son's subjection does not authorize male domination, human rank, or an inference that women must be subordinate.
What Remains True
At 1 Corinthians 15:20, The risen Christ's reign aims at the destruction of death and every hostile power under God's final life-giving rule.
How It Can Shape Life
- For 1 Corinthians 15:20, Resist dehumanizing power, accompany dying people, and practice hope without speculating beyond the sequence Paul gives.
Teach It Back
Explain 1 Corinthians 15:20's contribution to 1 Corinthians 15:20–28. Include the surrounding argument, the named interpretive uncertainty, and one use the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Corinthians 15:20–28 — Christ the Firstfruits Reigns until Death Is DestroyedSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The scope of 'all made alive,' relation of universal resurrection to salvation, meaning of the Son's subjection, and chronology divide traditions. The defeat of death and ordered resurrection are clear.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Corinthians 15:20–28, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, repeated terms, and original-language discussion.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file 1Cor.txt, 15:20–28
Open the 1 Corinthians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible - 1 Corinthians with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, KJV-era wording, textual variants, and interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Corinthians 15:20–28 print view with translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET 1 Corinthians PDFLexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Independent morphology and lexical-range cross-check for material Greek claims.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository morphology and lexical records for 1 Corinthians 15:20–28
Open source ↗modern open commentary
1 Corinthians
Eric C. Redmond
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: Whole-letter movement, Corinthian setting, bibliography, major alternatives, and verse-level interpretation.
Exact location: Redmond, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary: 1 Corinthians, introduction and section on 15:20–28
Open source ↗peer reviewed resurrection and language article
Resurrection in Paganism and the Question of an Empty Tomb in 1 Corinthians 15
John Granger Cook
New Testament Studies 63(1), 2017
Supports: Bodily resurrection language, pagan and Jewish comparanda, transformation, and a qualified empty-tomb inference.
Exact location: Cook, 'Resurrection in Paganism and the Question of an Empty Tomb in 1 Corinthians 15,' New Testament Studies 63.1 (2017), pp. 56–75
Open source ↗