Jesus spoke of the giving nature of His Father. He said in Matthew 7:9–11, that His Heavenly Father is way better than the earthly father who refuses to give his sons rocks instead of bread, or snakes instead of food. In Jesus mind, a great gulf spans between earthly and heavenly. The width of which Jesus describes as ‘how much more’. God is the perfect and supreme giver. The model that we are to copy. The example we are to follow as James lets us know in closing this paragraph on tests and trials.

Epistle of James: Chapter One

PARAGRAPH SUMMARY: James 1:9-18

James begins his letter with instructions on tests and trials. He encourages the Scattered to hang in there and respect the journey.  Blessings in development and heavenly rewards await the victorious. In the second part of this theme found in verses nine through eighteen, the author addresses tests as experienced by rich and poor. He tells us about the reward for enduring temptations making sure, at the same time, that we understand the source of temptations. James ends with the supreme tool given by the Supreme Giver in the fight against temptation, the Word of God.

James 1:16–18 (KJV) – 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

DEFINITIONS:

• err/πλανάω/planaō
  • Lead astray; deceive.
• good/ἀγαθός/agathos
  • Good; useful; beneficial.
• good gift/δόσις/dosis
  • Gift; act of giving.
• perfect gift/δώρημα/dōrēma
  • Gift; present.
• perfect/τέλειος/teleios
  • Perfect; mature; complete; full-grown.
• coming down/καταβαίνω/katabainō
  • Come down; go down. The tense of the word has the ‘continual sense meaning the good gifts that are ‘coming down’ from a good God come continually without interruption.
• variableness/παραλλαγή/parallagē
  • Change or variation.  An astronomical term defined as, a periodic “change” of a heavenly body ¹.
• shadow/ἀποσκίασμα/aposkiasma
  • Shadow or darkness. The second astronomical term in this verse refers to the shadow or the darkness cast by the movement of a heavenly body. A solar eclipse serves as an example.
• turning/τροπή/trope
  • A turning or change.
• Of his own will/βούλομαι/boulomai
  • Chooses; will; wish; desire; resolve.
• begat/ἀποκυέω/apokyeō
  • Give birth to. Same word translated ‘bring forth’ (2nd occurrence in the sentence) in verse 15.
• firstfruits/ἀπαρχή/aparchē
  • First fruits; first portions.
• creatures/κτίζω/ktizō
  • Create or establish.

QUESTION:

• Why did James mention the ‘unchangeableness’ of God?
  • He wants us to understand the quality of the gifts God gives. Their value can never change since God Himself never changes. At no moment in eternity will God’s gifts take on the form of temptation. The Lord will never lead you into the sin spoken of in verses 14-15.

COMMENTS:

• ‘Do not err, my beloved brethren.’
  • The Influence of the Deceiver.
    • The word ‘err’ or ‘deception’ points to the influence of Satan the Deceiver (Revelation 20:10). James warns about wrong thinking. God will never lead you into temptations’ death cycle. A clear mind on this subject is valuable. Men engage temptation through other earthbound avenues. Heaven never leads men to walk the dark side.
• ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift’
  • Every Act of Giving
    • ‘Every good gift’ translates as ‘Every act of giving’. The focus is on giving as an action. The next phrase, ‘every perfect gift’, centers on quality of the gift given. It is perfect. Perfect gifts are the best gifts.  Perfect presents are preferable presents. They come from our perfect heavenly Father. God does not give hand-me-downs. He does not deal in second-rate junk. We saw in verse 5, God gives wisdom on request. This wisdom is pure, perfect and full of mercy (James 3:17).
  • Characteristics of Gifts that Come from God.
    • From the three words above, ‘good’, ‘gift’ and ‘perfect’, we gather some characteristics of the gifts that come from God. His gifts are beneficial, good, worthwhile, helpful, useful, and complete. They get the job done meeting the need. They provide the blessing intended by the Giver. Satan wants us to think God authors temptation in His children’s lives. Sin is the poop of life. Satan’s whole plan with sin is to bring you lower than the curb. That’s where the mess is the greatest. God is not a sin dealer. These three adjectives drive a spiked dagger through the bosom of Satan’s wretched plan. If you think sin is a God channel, ask yourself a question. How can a gift that comes from God be perfect, yet lead to death? Death is not good. Never was. Never will be.
• ‘is from above,’
  • The Superiority of God’s Gifts
    • Easily compared to what comes from ‘below’. God’s gifts have a far greater superiority over anything coming from the sensual realms of earth.
• ‘and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’
  • Father of Lights
    • The term refers to God the Father as the Patron of planets. Stars are the diamonds of the night. They are God’s taste in jewelery. He is the Stairway to them. Who is the Consummate Creator of brightness? Is it not the Champion of all creation (Genesis 1:14-16, Psalms 135:7)? God is the Father of Light as its architect. An easy task for Him. A breeze through. God Himself, in His core, is a Light being (1John 1:5). Light giving birth to light is not hard for anyone to grasp.
    • Understand that though God bears the title ‘Father of Lights’, He does not resemble all the qualities stars have. Stars can shift.  Stars can move. They can have changes of status. Bright at one moment and nonexistent the next. Even the day-to-day chores of heavenly bodies reveals change. Planets spin. Their orbits influence other bodies as they travel a grooved path. No such shifting exists in God. With Him, there is no swing.  No change in His position or status. Malachi rightly declares of the Most High God, “I am the Lord, I change not (Malachi 3:6).”   See also, Numbers 23:19, 1Samuel 15:29, Job 23:13, Hebrews 13:8.  Philo, the first century Jewish philosopher has a wonderful comment on change as noted in the Pillar New Testament Commentary. ².  “It is necessary therefore, that every created thing should at times be changed. For this is a property of every created thing, just as it is an attribute of God to be unchangeable. ³.
• ‘Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.’
  • Firstfruits
    • Firstfruits is a picture of harvest (Exodus 23:16, 34:22, Deuteronomy 26:10, Nehemiah 10:35). It was one of the Feasts of Israel. The festivals are full of Jesus imagery. In the Jewish cycle of feasts, it was the third feast following the Passover and Unleavened Bread. Passover symbolizes the death of Jesus. Unleavened Bread stands for the burial of Jesus. The Feast of First Fruits represents the Resurrection of Jesus. Leviticus 23:9-14 speaks of the Firstfruits festival. The New Testament weighs-in. 1Corinthians 15:20,23 speaks of the resurrection of Jesus as the first fruits of those which are to come. Where a first fruit appears, there is a second fruit. So, the idea of first fruit implies the expectation of a future harvest. Many other ‘first fruit’ metaphors appear in scripture. Giving (Proverbs 3:9-10) is a first fruit action. The nation of Israel was, metaphorically, a first fruit (Jeremiah 2:3) to God. So are believers these described in James. We should understand James referring to the Dispersed as ‘first fruits’ means the kingdom of God has expansion ability. It is like a seed in the ground. How seeds of corn come from one kernel? How many believers germinated because of a solitary life? The harvest of believers will continue to crop up right up to the completion of the ages. Each believer, in his coming to know God, gains the distinction of being a first fruit to God. A seed with reproductive ability. Understanding this, ties you to the evangelizing of the world. Our first fruits status implies there are other ‘fruit’ waiting harvest. When they are ‘harvested’, they become first fruits to God and the process repeats (1Corinthians 16:15).
  • The Progression to Being A Doer of the Word.
    • Verse 17 speaks of good gifts. This verse gives a specific example of one of His gifts. God set us up as His firstfruits. How did God pull it off? Believers are ‘begotten’ or born of the Word of truth. This references the New Birth. A reading of John 3:16 shows the gift angle. God so loved the world that He gave Jesus, the Word of truth. By that Word of Truth, He caused us to be ‘begotten’ or born-again. The gift of Jesus was a perfect gift from a perfect God. He came down from above to save us. This verse acts as a bridge connecting the prior thought on temptation with the next discussion on doing the Word. How is this? By understanding, to do God’s Word successfully (verse 23), you must first receive it is as the Word of Truth. Now, our walk of grace is effective. We flow in the regenerating work of the Spirit. We have the capacity to hear. The necessary control to be slow to speak.
    • Last, James puts down the rabid thinking of temptations coming from God. How? Ask the question. Why would God send Jesus to get us out of sin if only to tempt us to go back to it?