James Expounds on Faith Volume 10

Every Good Gift Comes from God

James 1:17-18 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. Of His own will begat He us with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. KJV

The Apostle James next gives the testimony of God to all who are willing to 👂 listen, for He (God) is not as man is and He thinks not like man does nor does He have any inclination to that which is evil as man does, therefore, it is the desire of the Lord of Heaven and 🌎 earth to give good 🎁 gifts to His adopted 🧒 children. He does not want to see us receive the consequences of our sin or to see us defraud one another in matters of infidelity which will cause Him to render punishment to all of us who do so, for as it is written this is His desire to and for us, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly." (Psalm 84:11) (KJV). The Apostle James desire in these next two verses of Scripture is to remind us that we have a Father in Heaven who seeks only our good and never seeks our hurt or harm no matter where we are in our walk of faith with Him. When we are 🚶 walking our way into trouble He always and at all times tries to poke us, pinch us, or prod us to steer us back onto the right path (even this process is His good and perfect 📦 gift to us) because He can see the danger we are walking into as we walk away from Him and the truth of His Holy Word. The Word of God needs to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalms 119:105). However, we all have feet of clay that are heavy and clumsy and stumble onto wrong pathways far too often, but that being said these words from the Apostle John still should 🔔 ring true at all times in our mind/soul, "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." (James 1:17) (KJV). When the Apostle James uses the English word 'variableness', which is translated by the Greek word parallagē (used this one time in the entire New Testament) meaning transmutation (an act that changes the form, character or substance of something) that is, (figuratively) fickleness: - variableness. In other words, unlike us God's Character, Form, or Substance remains the same and will never change, for He does not change with the passing of ⌚ time nor is He fickle like we human beings are in our unfaithfulness and unreliability which makes Him above all that He has created or made, as it is written with these words, "God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19) (KJV) and also these words, "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure:" (Isaiah 46:9-10) (KJV) and also these words, "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." (Malachi 3:6) (KJV) and finally to conclude the reality of our unchanging God these words, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." (Hebrews 13:8) (KJV). Here is what John Wesley said of James 1:17, "No evil, but every good gift - Whatever tends to holiness. And every perfect gift - Whatever tends to glory. Descendeth from the Father of lights - The appellation of Father is here used with peculiar propriety. It follows, 'he begat us.' He is the Father of all light, material or spiritual, in the kingdom of grace and of glory. With whom is no variableness - No change in His understanding. Or shadow of turning - in His will. He infallibly discerns all good and evil; and invariably loves one, and hates the other. There is, in both the Greek words, a metaphor taken from the stars, particularly proper where the Father of lights is mentioned. Both are applicable to any celestial body, which has a daily vicissitude (fluctuation) of day and night, and sometimes longer days, sometimes longer nights. In God is nothing of this kind. He is mere light. If there is any such vicissitude, it is in ourselves, not in Him."

To solidify this great goodness of God to we undeserving sinners the Apostle James concludes this 💼 brief but profound discourse of the goodness of God by reminding each and everyone of us that are blessed beyond measure to be 🤙 called His son or daughter that we had nothing to do with our adoption into His Heavenly family just as in the 🌎 earth realm it is the adoptive parents who choose the child they want to become a new part of their family, and so is it with our Heavenly Father as it is written here by the Apostle James with these words, "Of His own will begat He us with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." (James 1:18) (KJV). No human being is born into the 🌎 earth as a child of God, but only a creation of God. We become children of God by hearing and believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the Gospel is so written here by the Apostle Paul to the Church @ Corinth, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures:" (1 Coritnhians 15:1-4) (KJV). The faith that the Apostle James writes of in this entire ✉ letter comes from hearing and believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is why we praise and worship Him so with our 💕 hearts because we deserve hell, yet we have received grace and mercy, so we can say what the Apostle Peter wrote with these words, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you," (1 Peter 1:3-4) (KJV). No one is a child of God if they have not come to Jesus Christ and His sacred, sacrificial, and substitutional death on the Cross for sin that each and every human being has in them and manifest outwardly in their lives, for Christ died to take our sin unto Himself and give us (what we do not have at our human birth) His righteousness, therefore, when we believe upon Him (truly in our inner 👨 man or inner 👩 woman) we are then born again (John 3:3), that is, born twice (not another physical birth but a spiritual birth that makes us 🧒 children of God). This is what the Apostle James means by the English word 'begat' which is translated by the Greek word apokueō meaning to breed forth, that is, (by transformation) to generate (figuratively): - beget, bring forth. In other words, somewhat like God the Holy Spirit inpregnated Mary with the Holy Seed that was and is our Lord Jesus Christ, so has God the Holy Spirit birthed us into His family by placing His seed within our inner man 👨 or inner woman 👩 while we are still down here on the 🌎 earth, which is what the Apostle means by us being a kind of first fruits, as it is written, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." (1 Peter 1:23) (KJV). Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of James 1:18, "Here let us take notice, (1.) A true Christian is a creature begotten anew. He becomes as different a person from what he was before the renewing influences of divine grace as if he were formed over again, and born afresh. (2.) The original of this good work is here declared: it is of God's own will; not by our skill or power; not from any good foreseen in us, or done by us, but purely from the good-will and grace of God. (3.) The means whereby this is affected are pointed out: the word of truth, that is, the Gospel, as Paul expresses it more plainly, 1 Corinthians 4:15, I have begotten you in Jesus Christ through the Gospel. This Gospel is indeed a word of truth, or else it could never produce such real, such lasting, such great and noble effects. We may rely upon it, and venture our immortal souls upon it. And we shall find it a means of our sanctification as it is a word of truth, John 17:17. (4.) The end and design of God's giving renewing grace is here laid down: That we should be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures - that we should be God's portion and treasure, and a more peculiar property to Him, as the first-fruits were; and that we should become holy to the Lord, as the first-fruits were consecrated to Him. Christ is the first-fruits of Christians, Christians are the first-fruits of creatures."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…