9. We have received the Apostle’s meaning, let us now consider who are they that _have the first-fruits of the Spirit_. With this view let us inquire what is intended under the name of first-fruits or of beginning, _Thou shalt not delay_, it is said, _to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors_; further on, _The first of the first-fruits of thy lands thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God_. First-fruits and tenths are different, first-fruits are of greater merit, an act of pious consecration. And on this account Abel pleased God, for he delayed not to offer his gift, but offered of the first-fruits of his flock. Although some suppose that there is a difference between first-fruits[180] and first-born[181], in that on gathering in the crops, the beginning, so to speak, of all kinds in the threshing floor are offered, while the first reaping of the harvest is offered to the Lord; but of this we will speak in another place. But by the offering of the first-fruits, the whole harvest appears to be sanctified, but the first-fruits themselves are the most holy. Sidenote: 1 Cor. xii. 28. Sidenote: S. Luke ii. 28. Sidenote: S. John i. 47. Sidenote: S. Luke xxiii. 53. Sidenote: S. Matt. iii. 9. 10. In like manner the saints are the first-fruits of the Lord, and the chief are the Apostles, _for God hath set in the Church first Apostles_, who have prophesied many things and preached the Lord Jesus, for they first received Him. Simeon too received Him, and the prophet Zacharias, John his son, Nathanael, _in whom there was no guile_, who rested under the fig tree, Joseph also who was called just, who buried Him. These are the first-fruits of our faith, nevertheless the nature of other seeds is the same as that of the first-fruits, although in some there is less grace, for _God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham_. Sidenote: Col. i. 18. Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 23. Vulg. Sidenote: Col. i. 15. Sidenote: Heb. i. 3. 11. You have an example in the Lord Jesus Himself. In the resurrection of the dead He is called _the first-born from the dead_. The Apostle also has called Him the first-fruits; _In Christ shall all be made alive, but every man in his own order, Christ the first-fruits, afterward they that are Christ’s, who have believed in His coming_. His body is as truly a body as our own, nevertheless He is called the first-born from the dead, because He rose first; and He is called the first-fruits because He is holier than all the other fruits, and they by union with Him are hallowed also. He also as _the Image of the invisible God_ is the Head of those found after that Image; in Him according to His Divinity there is nothing corporeal, nothing temporary; for _He is the brightness of His Father’s glory, and the express Image of His Person_. But in our desire to explain the meaning of first-fruits we have greatly extended the length of our letter. Sidenote: S. John xiv. 12.