Why did Christ need to be first?
John 1;29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him , and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Leviticus 23;9,10,12
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, when ye become into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest.
12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the Lord.
John 11;25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
Jesus Christ had to be first, because of the sacrifical system and our life is in him. He is the life giver.
What are the pains of death?
Acts 2;24,27
24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Fiuratively, the " pains of death " is to die. to lose one's life, to go to the grave. Verse 27 refers to Jesus and his resurrection, the grave could not hold him.
When we are born, some power enabled our spirits to enter our bodies.
Genesis 2;7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
John 3;5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
We are living souls, to have the Holy Spirit, we must be born again.
We also know that some people have been brought back to life; some power enabled their spirits to re-enter their bodies after having left. So what are the bands of death, if not a power that keeps our spirits out of our bodies? Yet the power to put our spirits into our bodies already exists.
Ecclesiastes 9;5,6
5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Also their love , and their hatred, and thir envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing done under the sun.
When death occurs, we go to the grave,we cease to exist. Those people who have outer body experiences, and come back to life, are obviously not dead. Nevertheless, we have absolutely no power to sustain our lives. That ability was taken away when Adam was driven out of the garden of Eden. Even then, we needed to eat from the tree of life to maintain immortality, we have no power within ourselves.
I Thessalonians 4;16 For the Lord himself shall decend from heaven with a shout and the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
The resurrection of the dead begins with the second coming of Jesus Christ.
So what did Christ's resurrection enable?
Revelation 20;6
Blessed and holy is he that hath a part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priest of God and Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years.
I Corinthians 15;54,55
So when this corruptable shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory.
The first resurrection with Jesus Christ brings immortality and avoids the second death.