Every good and perfect gift is from above
James 1:17-18 - Good and perfect gifts only come from God.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”
James 1:17-18 NIV
Heaven on Wheels has looked at a verse or two from the Epistle of James before; today’s verses come from his letter to the Jewish Christians (those who accepted Jesus as the Messiah) scattered throughout the known world in the first century AD.
The point of these two verses is that God’s goodness is in contrast with all of the temptations we face. The fallen nature of humanity results in no real goodness from us or from those who would tempt us. Good and perfect gifts only come from God.
This may sound confusing. For example, let’s say that you are gifted with a large inheritance from an unknown relative. That sounds great… until you realize that it could be used to cause harm. Perhaps you buy that high-end sports car you always wanted, only to crash it and die. Maybe you use your newfound wealth and overspend on frivolities, only to end up destitute and jobless…
That’s not to say that you couldn’t do some good with that money, perhaps using it to fund charitable work helping those in need or expanding God’s kingdom through evangelism. But for the most part, the only good and perfect gifts are those from God because they are measured against eternity, not against a short-term timescale.
These gifts come from God, who is constant and unchanging. He is the “Father of the heavenly lights”, the Creator of the billions of stars that constantly give light to the universe, even in the middle of the day when we can’t see them.
Moving on to the next verse, James explains that the ultimate gift — salvation — was given to us by God. We didn’t earn salvation through our work or even by our obedience. God brought us forth for salvation, bringing us to spiritual life. There’s a wonderful quote from Spurgeon that describes God’s goodness to humanity:
“Now mostly, men who are generous need to have their generosity excited. They will need to be waited upon; appeals must be laid before them; they must sometimes be pressed; an example must lead them on. But ‘of his own will’ God did to us all that has been done, without any incentive or prompting, moved only by himself, because he delighteth in mercy; because his name and his nature are love because evermore, like the sun, it is natural to him to distribute the beams of his eternal grace.”1
What’s all this about us being “a kind of firstfruit of all he created”? James was writing this letter to the first Christians, who came from a Jewish background and a first harvest of those brought to salvation through Christ. James expects there to be a continuing harvest — perhaps even larger — of Christians from a Gentile background (and he was correct in anticipating that harvest!).
One final note. Some commentators have speculated that James saw humanity as the first race to receive redemption, that perhaps others exist in this vast universe and will also receive God’s mercy and grace. While at this point in time we have no evidence of other intelligent, self-aware beings in God’s creation, and there’s certainly no evidence that James even thought about other races of beings in the universe, it is comforting to know that God would extend salvation as His gift to all those who need it.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Lord, this world is constantly changing, with an uncertain future filled with difficulties always looming ahead. I thank and praise You for being my unchanging God, the God who always provides, and the God who always loves me. Thank You for Your gifts past, present and future, and for giving me the wisdom to realize that all of these gifts came from You. May I always remember to give You my thanks, praise, love and gratitude. AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The New Park Street Pulpit" Volumes 1-6 and "The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit" Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990)