²³ that the Messiah must suffer, and that as the first to rise from the dead, He would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”^(A)

Christ’s Resurrection Guarantees Ours

²⁰ But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits^(A) of those who have fallen asleep.

²³ But each in his own order:^(A) Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at His coming, those who belong to Christ.

⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To Him who loves us and has set us free^[a] from our sins by His blood,