Despite not remembering dates very well, I do remember many events and many people. For example, I remember when our missionary was on the verge of giving up. He had been working diligently for some time, and there had been no visible results. He was disappointed. He was ready to throw in the towel, when all of a sudden a family made the commitment to join and to serve the Lord here. And then almost immediately there were a number of others who identified themselves with this work.
I suppose that it is true with every missionary who is trying to preach the gospel in virgin territory – they remember the first converts and the first people who begin to assist them in prayer and labor. Paul could look back on dozens of different places where he had been the first Christian missionary. He could picture, and probably name, the first people who listened to what he was preaching, and who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of those people are named for us in the Word of God. For example, what encouragement there was in Philippi when the Lord opened up the heart of Lydia to believe the gospel, and then came the local jailer. Was Timothy the first convert to the Lord from Lystra and Derby? We can’t really be sure about that, but he was the most important, and perhaps the firstfruit. To be the Lord’s firstfruit doesn’t necessarily mean the first in time, as we’ll see in a few minutes.
I said last week that I was not going to preach a message based on every one of the twenty-seven people mentioned in the first sixteen verses of this chapter. But we have brought out lessons from the first three – Phebe, Aquila and Priscilla. I make no promises about the rest of the list, but I also make no apology for stopping to consider what is said about the fourth person named – Epaenetus (E-paen-e-tus). Paul calls this man “the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.” He was either the very first, or among the very first, of the believers in the Roman province of Achaia. Paul never forgot him. And he followed him in his mind’s eye when he moved, or returned to Rome, as Aquila and Priscilla did. We could simply leave it at this – “Epaenetus, the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.” We could simply try to remember the man’s name just in case in the midst of a Bible Trivia game – this question ever came up, but I think that it would be to our advantage to consider this man a little more deeply, making an application or two along the way.
Apparently, among the first Roman believers, were members of the family of Stephanus. I Corinthians 16:15 makes a statement which causes some people some consternation. “Ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints.” Some people seem to think that there is a conflict and contradiction between “the house of Stephanas,” and “Epaenetus” both being called the firstfruits of Achaia. But I don’t have that problem. I don’t see why Epaenetus couldn’t have been a member of the house of Stephanas. These two statements don’t have to conflict at all.
Now, let me digress for just a moment. I don’t know whether or not this is the reason, but some corrupt versions of the Bible have substituted “Asia” for “Achaia.” I checked only three of them, but the RSV, the ASV and the NIV have all made this substitution. Now many people think that this is not worthy of comment and certainly not worth a fight. But those same people often tell us that the NIV and the KJV say the same thing, only differently. That is pure hogwash – Asia and Achaia are two separate places. Those Bibles contradict what my Bible says, and that is worth a fight, on either side of the Aegean Sea. The NIV, and all the rest, are filled with lies and should not be called the “Word of God.”
“Epaenetus, the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ,” was a pioneer. He doesn’t appear to have been a Jew, judging from his name, or from the name of his father, Stephanas. Both have Jewish equivalents – Epaeneus is the same as Joseph, and Stephanas is Stephen. But the names that we are given are not Hebrew names, or at least not in the Hebrew form. So here is a Gentile man and a family, who were listening to this strange little Jewish/Roman citizen. He is taking the Hebrew scriptures and declaring that a man who was recently crucified by the Romans was and still is the Jewish Messiah. This Paul is telling the world that Jesus, the Christ, died for my sins according to the scriptures. He says that the Messiah is not just a minister to the Jews, but also to the whole world. He is saying that Jesus Christ was buried, but that the grave couldn’t contain him, that he arose from the dead, and that He was seen by more than five hundred people before He gloriously ascended into Heaven.
Against all logic, against rejection of the synagogue, and against the philosophy of the Greeks and Romans, Epaenetus believed the message of Paul. As far as we know there were no relatives, living elsewhere, who were Christians – here was a pioneer. He and his family believed the gospel in the face of being considered fools by their friends. Epaenetus trusted Christ despite the risk of persecution. He was not following a crowd, rushing toward the Saviour. He was not simply caught up in the euphoria of a religious craze which was sweeping the province. He was the firstfruits of Achaia, the first apple plucked from the tree. He was the first tomato of the season (unless of course tomatoes are vegetables instead of fruits).
While I’m on this subject, perhaps I don’t need to point out that firstfruit doesn’t necessarily mean absolutely the very first in order of time. As we watch our tomatoes ripen, we might be able to spot the very first. I think that in our case we did exactly that at my house. But if a farmer has a field of wheat or barley, isn’t nearly the whole field going to ripen at the same time. Technically speaking the Hebrew farmer might not be offering to the Lord the very first sheaf of his wheat, but in essence whatever sheaf he offers becomes the firstfruits offering. Similarly, only the Lord knows for sure if Epaenetus was the very first convert in point of time. But that is not the point at this point.
How did this man’s salvation come about? How did he become the firstfruits of Achaia? If you’d like my opinion, it was because God sovereignly, and miraculously, opened that man’s heart. He was no more looking for a Saviour than Paul was expecting to find out that Jesus was the Christ, before that notable day on the road to Damascus. Although Epaenetus may have been burdened about some wicked things that he had done, he was not burdened about “sin,” because that is a spiritual and theological term which can be truly defined by no one but Jehovah God. Although he was not burdened about sin, the Lord convicted him of his soul-damning sin, and broke his heart. Then the Spirit revealed to him that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Saviour and the only solution for that sin. Epaenetus repented of his sin and put his faith in Christ Jesus to deliver him from that sin. The man was given a new heart – He was given eternal life – he was born again. “Epaenetus (was) the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.”
Something else contained in this special Bible word is the fact that it suggests the first of much, much more. While Epaenetus may not have directly produced the rest of the crop, he was related to it. And the truth is, he might have contributed to the evangelization of other souls there in Corinth.
While these things are true, we need to consider what else Paul may have been thinking when he used this term.
These scriptures teach us that the frstfruits were not just the first of the CROP – they were to be offerings. In some cases, like the ewe’s first male lamb, it was to be slain and offered to God as a sacrifice. In some cases an animal could be redeemed by making a substitutionary offering. A woman’s first son was not to be killed, but he was to be considered the Lord’s property and special sacrifices were to be presented to God on his behalf. Even when it came to fruits, vegetables and grain, a part of the initial harvest was to be given to God. Sometimes sheaves, or bundles of the grain were to be presented to the Lord. Sometimes the grain could be harvested and made into loaves, and these were given to God.
And by “given” I mean a couple of things. Not only was the farmer or rancher supposed to bring his firstfruits offering to the door of the Tabernacle, giving them to the Lord as a sacrificial thanksgiving gift. But usually they were to be taken by the priest and lifted up over his head – a very special and ostentatious presentation to Jehovah. This is the meaning of the “heave offerings” and the “wave offerings.” “Here Lord, these are for you.” Some of these offerings were to be consumed by the fire on the altar, but most of this food became sustenance for the priest and his family.
So what was Paul saying when he spoke of “Epaenetus (as) the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ”? Not only was he telling us the name of the first converts to Christ in Corinth, but he was pointing out a very special relationship that this man and his family had with the Lord. In fact, how did Paul put it in I Corinthians? “Ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints.”
What an honor it is to be the Lord’s firstfruit? I realize that the thought is almost ludicrous – For anyone to be delivered from his sins, is an honor greater than any award man could ever devise. No gold medallion, no silver trophy, no green jacket, no bejewelled crown or green-leafed laurel, can compare to the privilege of simply being a child of God. And yet, isn’t there a greater honor in being the first in a family, in a region, or in some era?
But Epaenetus and his family took this privilege to a little higher height. With it came a responsibility. He was the Lord’s firstfruit. He was bought with a price; he was not his own. Yes, I know that this is true of every child of God. But he felt that he had an obligation to do more, to be more – to be the Lord’s special gift. He addicted himself to the ministry of the saints.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that Epaenetus was ordained and became a missionary or a pastor. This is not the only way to be addicted to the ministry. Someone who is addicted to Pepsi or coffee, is drawn to it – like a moth to a flame. He can’t say “no” to the thing to which he is addicted. That thing, that substance, becomes a part of his body or a part of his soul. He doesn’t think that he can live without it. Epaenetus may not have become a preacher, but he was addicted to the Word of God. As long as Paul remained in Corinth, and every time he taught the Word of the Lord, Epaenetus was there to hear it. But he was not content to merely hear it himself, he sincerely desired others to hear it as well. He was out in the highways and hedges inviting others to come to the Justus’ house, where the gospel was being taught. He was addicted to the ministry, and thus he longed for its success, so he was in constant prayer for the Lord’s blessings on the ministry. “Lord, as you promised, let not your word return void. “Lord, as you opened my heart to receive Christ, open the hearts of my neighbors, my kin, my employers and my employees.” And like Aquila and Prescilla, if Paul needed anything, Epaenetus may have been ready to offer it. “Paul, is there food in your apartment? How is your health? Are there any supplies that you might need? Do you need any money.” I would suggest that he was so addicted to the ministry that when Paul was led of the Lord to move on, Epaenetus remained faithful to following that ministry in prayer even if not in bodily presence.
But at the same time, let me point out that it was not just to PAUL that he was addicted. I believe that God directed Paul’s choice of words, and that every word that he wrote in this letter was God-breathed – inspired. Epaenetus was addicted to the MINISTRY, not just to the minister. And when Paul moved on, even though part of Epaenetus’ heart went with him, he was just as faithful, and just as helpful, to the pastor who came following the missionary.
These are some of the lessons flowing out of this statement.
In addition to this, like every other offering and sacrifice ever made in the Old Testament, the firstfruits offering was a tiny prophecy of Christ Jesus. God, the Father once said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” I know that this is a slight stretch of the point, but I believe that it is justified and relevant. When the Bible speaks about God the Son, as the “first born,” it is indirectly related to our subject. Romans 8 – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Epaenetus was not exactly the firstborn firstfruits – in a sense that was a distinction of the Lord Jesus. Colossians 1 – “In (Christ) we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.”
In a tiny way, Epaenetus was a type, or a picture, of the Lord Jesus. Christ Jesus was the firstborn of many brethren; he was the first of an army of children of God. That is not to say that Christians are children of God in the same way that the Second Person of the Trinity is, and yet there is a special relationship. And Christ Jesus was the firstborn from the dead, leading an host of saints out of their graves to take up residence in the abode of the Lord for eternity. Epaenetus was a type of the Lord Jesus who is these things to us. So there is a sense in which Epaenetus was the firstfruits of us – other brethren of the Lord and others who will one day rise from the grave.
Unfortunately, Epaenetus is not the firstfruits of ALL. What he possessed was not true of everyone in Corinth, everyone in Achaia, or of all Americans. He had been born again, and you must be born again – else you are not of the same divine crop. He repented of his sins before God, and you must repent. His faith was in the Lord Jesus Christ to deliver him from his sins; he was trusting nothing else and nothing less. You must trust Christ in the sense that you believe that as he died on the cross, and He did so with your specific sins laid upon his back. Whether or not Epaenetus was the firstfruits of Achaia means nothing, unless you are picked by the same divine husbandman.
In a round about way Epaenetus exhorts us all – “Repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”