Definition
Firstfruits (Greek: ἀπαρχή aparchē) refer to the first and best-ripened harvest consecrated to God — in soteriology the group of believers who reach eschatological completion first. Christ himself is “the firstfruits from the dead” (1 Cor. 15:20); but Jones and Warnock develop that the church also brings forth its own “firstfruits” — a vanguard of overcomers who attain the full maturity of salvation before the rest.
Usage in the Corpus
Stephen Jones
Jones identifies the firstfruits as the first tagma/squadron: the barley-sheaf (barley ripens earlier than wheat and grapes), which inherits the first resurrection and forms the Manchild group. They are “chosen” in the sense of being selected as first — not the only ones saved. Eph. 1:4-5 (chosen before the foundation of the world) refers specifically to them: “The firstfruits are those who are chosen from before the foundation of the world to be the Manchild.” [Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 5]
George Warnock
Warnock speaks of overcomers who “possess the promised land” as a type of the firstfruits: those who reach the full reality of the Feast of Tabernacles are the firstfruits of God’s eschatological harvest. He connects this to Heb. 4:6 (a rest still remains for God’s people) and the call to press into fullness.