“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.” (James 1:17-18)

Having identified that God cannot tempt us to sin James proceeds to encourage our hearts with what God does. The terrible things in this world with its pain and its wickedness does not originate with God. We cannot blame God for our ills. This is all a result of sin and we all stand guilty in this regard.

God, however, is the giver of all that is good and wholesome.

Every Good and Perfect Gift

1: The Description of the Good and Perfect Gift

“Every good and perfect gift is from above”

A gift is something freely bestowed. It is not earned or deserved, but rests in the generosity of the giver. God is our great Benefactor, and all that He gives is good. Not only is it good; it is also perfect. James deliberately brings these two words together. In their highest and purest sense, goodness and perfection cannot be separated. There is none intrinsically good but God Himself, and therefore everything that truly proceeds from Him must reflect His own perfect goodness.There is an emphasis employed in the language of James. That which God gives is good and perfect.

Furthermore – I will argue (and I believe that James is making this argument) that everything that is good and beautiful in this world is a gift that our benefactor has bequeathed.

Genesis 1 and 2 give us the origin of all of the perfect things that God has ordered for our good. We continue to derive benefit from them each day even in this broken world:

• Light, without which we could not see and which is so necessary for plants to reproduce.
• The Sun, which is the fountain of light and heat and which sustains life on our planet.
• Animal and Plant life, from which we derive our food.
• Human life, all aspects of the human body were designed and made by God.
• Humanity’s spiritual nature: God breathed into Adam the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Unlike the animals, mankind was created in the image of God, capable of knowing, worshipping and serving his Creator.
• Marriage and family life; God recognising that Adam was lonely and that humanity needs company made a woman for the first man and she was called Eve. This first couple was called to go forth and multiply. The children they produced were from God.
• Knowledge and intellectual capacity: Adam observed, classified and named the animals, exercising the rational faculties God had given him.

Today let us reflect upon all of this. We are present in God’s house in soundness of mind with a measure of physical health. We have seen the light of another day. We have eaten our breakfast. We look around at home and family. We possess knowledge that enables us to work and fulfil our callings. God’s gifts at the beginning of time continue to be our lived experience today..

But we ought to go beyond the natural gifts of providence to the supernatural gifts of grace.

• His moral law, which reveals His holy character and provides mankind with an objective standard of righteousness.
• His Word, which exposes our sin and reveals the gracious plan of redemption.
• His Son, the greatest gift of all who gave His life that we might escape from the curse of the law and the pain of death.

Sadly Adam and Eve mutinied against their Creator and gave all men the terrible legacy of sin, shame, guilt and death. We live in a world suffering from the curse. But still God was good and kind in bestowing upon us His spiritual gifts of Scripture and redemption. As we hold our Bibles and sing God’s praises we recognise the gifts of God which are good and perfect.

2: The Descent of the Good and Perfect Gift

“and cometh down”

These good and perfect gifts are from above. It is humbling to think ourselves as recipients of that which has come down.

If no human agency has given me a life to live – where then has that life come from? God. My life has come down from the mind and plan and genius of God. Herein I gain my fundamental worldview. I am not an agent who can work apart from God. I am accountable and responsible to Him in all that I do because I am His creature. This is the truth that society is rejecting and that we must continue to teach and hold. It is of fundamental importance in appreciating our place in the world.

What God gives is from above. Where God’s gifts are despised and man’s accountability to his Creator is rejected, we are moving not towards the wisdom that is from above, but towards that earthly, sensual and ultimately devilish wisdom of which James later speaks.

Where our own lives are concerned we need to seek and set our affections on those things that are above (Colossians 3:2). Therefore we are to spend time meditating and thinking about that which is true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report (Philippians 4:8). What we think in our heart is what we truly are (Proverbs 23:7). Our minds and thoughts will direct our lifestyle, our characters and our decision making.

James later in his epistle was rather direct about responsibility in rejecting the devilish, that which was from beneath and embracing the heavenly gifts which are from above:

“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. ¹⁵ This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. ¹⁶ For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” James 3:13-18

This is a challenge we must face. I once heard it suggested that some people are so heavenly minded they are of no earthly use. I would suggest, however, that many more are so earthly minded they are of little heavenly use! I once heard of a lady who got this all wrong when her minister called. As he stopped by she begged him not to come in because the house was untidy. He said “Don’t worry I have come to talk about the things above”. With alarm she quickly retorted, “Please no, there’s an even bigger mess upstairs.” In all seriousness, we often get the things above badly out of order because of an excessive preoccupation with the affairs of this life. Are you living for the things of the world? Where is your priority? Where your treasure is there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21).

3: The Distribution of the Good and Perfect Gift

“from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning”

The one who distributes these good and perfect gifts is here described with superlative language.

For His people, the giver is not merely Creator but Father. He is one with an eye and a heart for every need. He sees each tear, feels every anxiety, understands every problem. He knows how to love, care and provide from above. There is heavenly wisdom and sufficient grace for every circumstance, because we have a Father who never ceases to care.

He is described as the Father of lights. This speaks to His holiness. He is all glorious. He dwells in light inapproachable (1 Timothy 6:16). The light also speaks to His wisdom. His Word is a lamp and a light directing all of our paths (Psalm 119:105).

This Father of lights has no variableness nor shadow of turning. The language is that of the heavenly bodies. They have their eclipses, their orbits and their revolutions. The sun rises and sets, it casts shadows upon the earth but not God – He is unchangeable. His love never sets. All is constant and without variation. This is true with respect to His nature. It is also true with respect to His promises and His spiritual gifts. Because the Giver does not change, His covenant promises do not fluctuate with our changing circumstances.

“For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)

The sons of Jacob had failed. They had changed and sinned as we all do. Yet God was faithful!

At no time can we doubt our tender Father’s care.

For those who have not embraced God’s mercy in Christ, who have not been forgiven of their sin, I would urge careful consideration. You are the recipients of good and perfect gifts every day. Not only have you received life, air, food, water, clothing, home, income and family, but you have also received, perhaps without realising it, the longsuffering and patience of God in giving you space and time to repent.

Do not spurn the God who has been good to you in more ways than you could possibly imagine. His goodness should not make us careless about our souls; it should lead us to repentance. I came across this quotation from the Christian Institute which crystallises this truth very clearly:

4: The Delight in the Good and Perfect Gift

“of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures”

James now comes to the greatest gift of all, which God delights in and which brings joy to our hearts. In this world we are born again through God’s Spirit by the word of truth. James’ words are rather Peter-like:

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. ²⁴ For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: ²⁵ But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” (1 Peter 1:23-25)

It such a delight to be born again. We are begotten by God Himself, brought into His family unto a lively hope (1 Peter 1:3).

Notice the deliberate contrast. In verse 15 lust conceives and gives birth to sin, and sin brings forth death. But in verse 18 God, according to His own will, begets His people through the word of truth. Sin produces death; sovereign grace produces life.

Therein lies a sobering contrast. In the one case, lust conceives and brings forth sin, and sin ends in death. In the other, God of His own will begets us through the word of truth and gives us life. One pathway leads to death; the other leads to life. Therefore, hear and receive the Word of life. Choose life over death!

The description of the Christian as being the first fruits of His creatures is intriguing. For me the new birth is the first fruit of the heavenly harvest. Heaven has come down into the soul of a sinner. The new birth therefore carries the promise of heaven and resurrection. The resurrection of spiritual life in the dead soul of a sinner guarantees that the body also will be reborn at the second coming of our Saviour.

The good and perfect gift ultimately speaks of hope in a dying and broken world. The only hope. Do you have this hope today? Are you born again?