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)
In verse 13 of James 1, James warns
Christians against accusing God of tempting them. Here, in contrast,
we see the point made that every good and perfect gift
is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights. God would
no more do evil to His children than a loving parent would do to his
or her child. God puts us through testing, yes, but this does not
imply that He tempts us to sin. On the contrary, He does not allow
us to be tempted above that which we are able to bear (1 Cor. 10:13).
There is no variableness and shadow
of turning with God. In other words, he does not repent of the good
He does to us. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance
(Rom. 11:29).
Of
his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a
kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (1:18)
Here
we are told of one of the most precious gifts of God – salvation.
Of God's own will were we begotten with the word of truth. The
Word of God is able to make us 'wise unto salvation' (2 Tim. 3:15).
He
has granted us that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his
creatures. What does this mean? The firstfruits (a
sheaf of grain that the priest would wave before the Lord, Lev. 23:9
– 14) in the old testament
were to be brought before the Lord before
the grain harvest could begin. In the new testament, this term is
used symbolically. This term finds its ultimate fulfillment in
Christ, who is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1
Cor. 15:20). And it is used to represent the beginning of God's
harvest – the harvest of souls. As the apostles planted the first
churches and made the first disciples, they were rightly referred to
as the 'firstfruits'.
Wherefore,
my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak,
slow to wrath:
For
the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Wherefore lay
apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with
meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
After
they are reminded of the gift of salvation, James exhorts his readers
to lay off all that hinders them. James instructs those to receive
with meekness the engrafted word who have not done so.
We
are all supposed to be swift to hear and slow to speak – a rather
convicting verse to persons who are talkative
by nature (yes, you're looking at me!). We are also supposed to be
slow to wrath, because the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness
of God, and how can it? When we are wrathful, we are more prone to
saying and doing things that are in direct opposition to what we know
to be right.
I
will cut this third installment of my study in James short, because
there is quite a lot to be covered yet in James Chapter 1, and for
the sake of accessibility I will write the remainder of my study of
James 1 in another blog post.
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