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Morning and Evening

August 16, Evening

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"Ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit." — Romans 8:23 · KJV

A present possession is declared: at this very moment we have the firstfruits of the Spirit. We have repentance, that gem of the first water; faith, that priceless pearl; hope, the heavenly emerald; and love, the glorious ruby. We are already made "new creatures in Christ Jesus" by the effectual working of God the Holy Spirit. This is called the firstfruit because it comes first. As the wave-sheaf was the first of the harvest, so the spiritual life, and all the graces that adorn it, are the first workings of the Spirit of God in our souls. The firstfruits were the pledge of the harvest: as soon as the Israelite had plucked the first handful of ripe ears, he looked forward with glad expectation to the time when the wagon would groan beneath the sheaves. So, brethren, when God gives us things pure, lovely, and of good report, as the work of the Holy Spirit, these are to us the tokens of the coming glory. The firstfruits were always holy to the Lord, and our new nature, with all its powers, is a consecrated thing; the new life is not ours, that we should credit its excellence to our own merit — it is Christ's image and creation, ordained for His glory. But the firstfruits were not the harvest, and the works of the Spirit in us now are not the consummation; the perfection is yet to come. We must not boast that we have already attained, reckoning the wave-sheaf to be the whole year's produce; we must hunger and thirst after righteousness and long for the day of full redemption. This evening, dear reader, open your mouth wide, and God will fill it. Let the blessing you already possess kindle in you a holy greed for more grace. Groan within yourself for higher degrees of consecration, and your Lord will grant them, for He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or even think.