James 1:18

Speaking Of Gifts: Our Salvation

James 1:18 'In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures.'

'In the exercise of His will' -'Of his set purpose' (NEB); 'Voluntarily' (Ber); literally, having willed. Let the reader be impressed that man's salvation was. deliberate choice on the part of God. It wasn't. forced choice or. regretted choice. Rather, God freely chose to have Jesus die for our sins (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). Note, that is wasn't God's fault that we sin, for God gives only good things (James 1:17). God gives every incentive as to why we shouldn't sin.

'brought us forth' -'to produce' (Thayer p. 64); 'bear young' (Vine p. 153). This is the language of the new birth (John 3:5; 1 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Peter 1:23).

'by the word of truth' -God didn't cause us to be born again in some miraculously or mysterious manner. Rather, it was through the Gospel message that we came to believe (Romans 10:17), our hearts were pricked (Acts 2:38), and this message also told us to repent of our sins (Acts 2:38), confess Christ (Romans 10:9) and submit to water baptism for the remission of our sins (Acts 2:38). Compare with 1 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Peter 1:23; Luke 8:8; Luke 8:15. The statement "word of truth" contradicts the idea that the Bible is. mixture of truth and error. The "word of truth" is simply another way of saying the gospel message (Colossians 1:5), or the word of God (John 17:17).

Point To Note:

Seeing that the preaching of the Word of God and the acceptance of that Word brings about the new birth. And that the gospel message is to preached to all (Mark 16:15). It is clear that God hasn't predestined who will be lost and who will be saved. In saying that the exercise of the will of God resulted in our salvation is not to say that His will was exercised arbitrarily or that the choice was made independently of human choice. The Lord calls men and women by the gospel message (2 Thessalonians 2:14); but all are called (Mark 16:15). Remember, whenever we talk about the new birth, we need to remember that the writer is addressing people who have been baptized for the forgiveness of their sins.

'so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures' -the phrase, "as it were" is also translated, "a kind of" (KJV); "in. sense" (Bas); "so to speak" (Phi). Which means, not literal first fruits. In the Old Testament, the first fruit was the first portion of the produce or livestock. It belonged to God and was to be offered to Him before the rest could be used by man. It was to be the choicest part of the harvest (Deuteronomy 18:4; Numbers 2:12; Exodus 2:11).

Points To Note:

1. This generation of Christians constituted the first-fruits of. larger harvest to follow in the succeeding ages. 2. As first fruits, these Christians are also to see themselves as dedicated to God and to the purposes of God (Ephesians 2:10). 3. The word "creatures" may either mean mankind (Mark 16:15), or all created things. Here it probably means 'mankind'. 4. The word first fruits, should also remind us, 'God did not want the gospel to stop with us. God wants us to be. vehicle through which other people may hear the Good News.' (Draper p. 49) 5. The term first fruits is also used of the first converts in. region (1 Corinthians 16:15).