James 1:16-18 “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.”
God is the source of EVERY good and perfect gift. The gifts which God gives are complete, wholesome, and find their fullest expression in Him. They are good, not because of what we think of them, but because of God and what He ascribes to them. We were created to look up so that we might see what is good and glorify His name.
Life, marriage, family, children, wisdom, knowledge, craftsmanship, talent, beauty, taste, joy, laughter, excitement, hope, reason happiness, passion, kindness, and the list goes on and on. All of these good things ultimately come from God. They are not of this world or from any man, but from God alone. In order to see that these are from God, we have to be looking to Him. They come from above and down from the “Father of lights”.
Even more glorious than knowing that God is the source of all that is good is knowing, He never changes. To make this point, James reminds us in James 1:16-18 that God is the “Father of lights.” In other words, not only did He place the stars into the night sky, but He is the very source of their light. And He, like the Sun, when the clouds and the rains seem to hide its light, remains constant. When was the last time you doubted the existence and pure goodness of the Sun simply because it was cloudy or storming? No, you knew it was still there and that it faithfully shined on. The Sun had never moved and its power never changed. This is how we must think of God in terms of who He is and what He does.
Faith in the Glory and Goodness of God
Only the man or woman with faith in Jesus can see the glory and the goodness of God through all that is wrong in this world. When everything else is bad God remains good – no shadows – only constant light. That is our Father in Heaven.
Above all of this, Jesus is our Lord Savior.
James 1:18, “Of His own will He brought us forth by the Word of truth that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”
The Father does the glorious work of bringing the lost person to Himself through the Word of truth. Of His own good will, He reconciles sinners from a life of rebellion and ungodliness to being reconciled with God and having peace with God. With this picture of God being the “Father of lights” and the unchanging giver of good and perfect gifts, James draws our attention now to Jesus, the One who takes us to the summit of all that is good. Consider our good Father; His initiating love, His willingness to send His only begotten Son to redeem sinners. Why? Because the greatest gift He could possibly give is Himself.
1 Peter 3:18 , “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit”
He gave us His Son, born of a virgin, perfect in every way. He suffered as an innocent man in the place of guilty sinners; “The righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God.”
What a gift!
How incredibly deep his love is for us. “How vast beyond all measure!”
Final Thoughts
He will never change in His faithfulness to save, sanctify and bring His people into His eternal Kingdom and glory. We are sinful and deserve death but have been given grace in the cross of Christ because our Father in Heaven is good. As the world becomes increasingly dark and more blatantly evil; as it changes every day in the public, political and even religious arenas, do not become deceived. Do not lose confidence in the “Father of lights” who never so much as gives a hint of change.
Joel Littlefield is the assistant pastor and worship leader at Calvary Chapel in Crossville, Tennessee. He is married to Callie, and they have 3 children: Micah, Nathanael, and Aliyah.
