ACC ~ Romans 8 v23

FIRST FRUITS. ORIGEN: Even though because of the fact that we believe in Christ our salvation is assured, nevertheless it still remains something to be hoped for; it has not yet been realized.

There are different ways of interpreting “the first fruits of the Spirit.” Just as the first fruits of the threshing floor and the wine press are of the same substance as what follows, is it not also true that the Holy Spirit is the first and best of a multitude of other spirits? So to have the first fruits of the Spirit means to have the Holy Spirit, as opposed to a host of other ministering spirits.

The first fruits may also refer to the many gifts of the Spirit. … We apostles, says Paul, have the first fruits of the Spirit, because we were chosen to groan in travail as the Spirit himself does. There is no creature so free of sorrows and sighings that we, who have received the highest and choicest gifts of the Spirit, are not obliged to grieve and sigh over, awaiting the adoption of sons, that is, the perfection of those whom we have been sent to teach and instruct until we see them making enough progress that they deserve to be adopted as sons.

A third possibility is that the first fruits of the Spirit refers to Christ himself, since he is the first born of every creature.COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

ADOPTION AS SONS. AMBROSE: The adoption as sons is the redemption of the whole body. LETTER 52.

WORLD AS STORMY OCEAN. AMBROSIASTER: For Christians, this world is like the ocean. For just as the sea is whipped up by adverse winds and produces storms for sailors, so also this world, moved by the scheming of wicked men, disturbs the minds of believers. And the enemy does this in so many different ways that it is hard to know what to avoid first, for sources of tribulation are by no means wanting. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

WE OURSELVES GROAN INWARDLY. CHRYSOSTOM: If the first fruits are enough to free us from our sins and give us righteousness and sanctification … consider how wonderful the whole inheritance must be. If the creation, devoid as it is of a mind and reason and therefore ignorant of these things, nevertheless groans, much more should we groan as well. Next, so as not to give any comfort to the heretics, he says that we do not groan because of the inadequacies of the present system but because we desire something which is much better. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 14.

AUGUSTINE: Paul now speaks about those of us who already believe. For although we serve the law of God with our spirit (i.e., our mind), our flesh still serves the law of sin for as long as we suffer mortal pains and anxieties. … Adoption is already guaranteed for those who believe, but it has been accomplished only spiritually, not physically. The body has not yet received its heavenly transformation, although the spirit, which has turned from its errors to God, has already been changed through the reconciliation of faith. Therefore even believers still await the revelation which will come in the resurrection of the body. This is the fourth state, when everything will be in perfect peace at eternal rest, completely free of malignant corruption or nagging torment. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 53.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: By saying “not only the creation but we ourselves” Paul made it clear that he was not talking about the irrational or insensible creation, which does not partake of the Holy Spirit, but was speaking rather of the saints who pleased God according to the natural law, as well as the disciples of Moses. But the disciples of Christ are said to have the first fruits, the first and most brilliant spiritual gifts by which they impressed the whole world; for there had not been such great grace before the law or in the law of Moses. … By “the redemption of our body,” Paul shows that in Christ we are one body. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

PELAGIUS: Not only do the angels, who are kinder than we are, grieve over these unrepentant people, but we who have the Holy Spirit groan for such people.PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: The corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly body pulls down a mind full of cares. For as soon as the Spirit comes to dwell in us and turns us to the study of virtue, the love of the flesh jumps up to combat it, and the law in our members, which is prone to silly lusts, begins a bitter struggle. That is why we groan waiting for the liberation of our bodies as a result of the adoption. EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

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