What Are the Firstfruits of the Spirit?

As mentioned in the introductory article on firstfruits, one of the New Testament uses of the concept of firstfruits is found in Romans 8:23, which says

Romans 8:22-23
For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

What are these firstfruits of the Spirit? I am aware of two common explanations (feel free to comment if you have another view!):

1. That believers in this present age are the first people to receive the Spirit of God, and, in that sense, represent the "firstfruits" of those who will receive the Spirit.
2. That the measure of the Spirit given to believers in this present age is only a small portion of what God intends - i.e., individuals currently have the "firstfruits of the Spirit" in their lives but will receive the fullness of the Spirit at the resurrection.

If you had asked me a few weeks ago what I thought the "firstfruits of the Spirit" were, I would probably have said something along the lines of view #1. When I came across view #2, it also seemed to make sense. After some analysis, I don't think either of them accurately describe what is being said in Romans 8:23.

Firstly, I'll summarize a couple of relevant points about the harvest analogy (from Christ: the Firstfruits): 

1. Firstfruits are the first of some crop of fruits; consequently, they are no different in form and substance from the rest of the fruits.
2. The fruit itself is the end result of a process. To harvest fruits, much work of planting and cultivating must be done in advance over a period of time.

Taking the first observation, it becomes immediately evident what the "firstfruits of the Spirit" must be! Firstfruits of the Spirit are the first of the fruits of the Spirit to mature, and we know what these fruits are:

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

From this observation alone, we see that neither of the two interpretations of Romans 8:23 listed above are accurate. Both interpretations do contain some truth - just not a truth that is relevant to the scripture at hand. Yes, the people who compose the Church today are the firstfruits of those who will receive the Holy Spirit. Yes, God intends to more fully give us the Holy Spirit at Christ's return compared to what He gives us now. But Romans 8:23 is a completely different use of the firstfruits analogy than either of these two statements imply!

Rather than pointing to God's ultimate harvest of mankind, Paul's reference to the firstfruits of the Spirit sets a standard by which we can measure ourselves. Remember the essence of that first observation: there is no difference between fruits and firstfruits. I've often read Galatians 5:22-23 with the idea that I'm supposed to be rating myself in each category: "A+ for longsuffering this year, B for kindness," and so on. While that's not a detrimental thing to do, it misses the greater point: the fruit of the Spirit that God intends for us to bear now is the same as what He promises that we will bear in the future when we are made perfect. The quality of the fruit we bear today should match the quality of the perfect fruits to come.

That doesn't sound like a standard that we can possibly live up to, but the reality is that we do. Perhaps we don't realize it because we're still thinking of it in terms of receiving a general grade in each category rather than looking at discrete events in our lives.

John 15:8
By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Rather than thinking about "bearing fruit" as pushing up our score on some kind of "behavioral average" towards being more righteous, we should instead look at the things that we have done. Was there a situation where you showed self-control? Where you were gentle when you would normally have been harsh? Where you loved when you would normally have shown hate? Where you had joy when you normally would have had sorrow? Where you chose good where you had previously chosen evil? Where you were faithful instead of unfaithful? Where you were at peace when you would have been angry? Where you were kind when you would have been indifferent? 

I believe that those events for which we can answer "yes" to any of those questions are each, individually, the firstfruits of the Spirit as Paul understood the phrase. 

John 15:2-5
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit... As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit.

There is fruit (firstfruits) ripening now in the actions that we do in the Spirit, and there is a full harvest of fruits to come when God pours out His Spirit on the entire world. As a final thought, remember that the fruit itself is the end product of a process that requires work, both on our part and on God's part. It is both comforting and humbling to know that God always does His part - any failure to bring fruit to maturity is a failure on our part in cultivating the seeds of good works that God plants within us.