James 1:18

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (John 1:13.) The believer's regeneration is the highest example of every good proceeding from God. OF HIS OWN WILL, [ Bouleetheis (G1014)] - Of His good pleasure (proving it is God's essential nature to do good, not evil), not induced by any external cause. BEGAT HE US, [ apekueesen (G616)] - spiritually: a once-for-all accomplished act (1 Peter 1:3; 1 Peter 1:23). In contrast to "sin bringeth ... f...

18_Of his own will_. He now brings forward a special proof of the goodness of God which he had mentioned, even that he has regenerated us unto eternal life. This invaluable benefit every one of the faithful feels in himself. Then the goodness of God, when known by experience, ought to remove from them all a contrary opinion respecting him. When he says that God _of his own will_, or spontaneously, _hath begotten us_, he intimates that he was induced by no other reason, as the will and counsel of God are often set in opposition to the merits of men. What great thing, indeed, would it have been to say that God was not constrained to do this? But he impresses something more, that God according to his own goodwill hath begotten us, and has been thus a cause to himself. It hence follows that it is natural to God to do good. But this passage teaches us, that as our election before the foundat...

12-18 It is not every man who suffers, that is blessed; but he who with patience and constancy goes through all difficulties in the way of duty. Afflictions cannot make us miserable, if it be not our own fault. The tried Christian shall be a crowned one. The crown of life is promised to all who have the love of God reigning in their hearts. Every soul that truly loves God, shall have its trials in this world fully recompensed in that world above, where love is made perfect. The commands of God, and the dealings of his providence, try men's hearts, and show the dispositions which prevail in them. But nothing sinful in the heart or conduct can be ascribed to God. He is not the author of the dross, though his fiery trial exposes it. Those who lay the blame of sin, either upon their constitution, or upon their condition in the world, or pretend they cannot keep from sinning, wrong God as if...

Verse 18. _OF HIS OWN WILL BEGAT HE US_] _God's will_ here is opposed to the _lust of man_, James 1:15; his _truth_, the means of human salvation, to the _sinful means_ referred to in the above verse; and the _new creatures_, to the _sin_ _conceived_ and _brought forth_, as above. As the _will_ of God is essentially _good_, all its productions must be _good_ also; as it is infinitely _pure_, all its productions must be _holy_. The _word_ or _doctrine_ of _truth_, what St. Paul calls _the word of the truth of_ _the Gospel_, Colossians 1:5, is the means which God uses to convert souls. _A KIND OF FIRST FRUITS_] By _creatures_ we are here to understand the _Gentiles_, and by...

OF HIS OWN WILL - Greek “willing.” βουληθεὶς boulētheis. The idea is, that the fact that we are “begotten” to be his children is to be traced solely to his will. He purposed it, and it was done. The antecedent in the case on which all depended was the sovereign will of God. See this sentiment explained in the notes at John 1:13. Compare the notes at Ephesians 1:5. When it is said, however, that he has done this by his mere will, it is not to be inferred that there was no reason why it should be done, or that the exercise of his will was arbitrary, but only that his will determined the matter, and that is the cause of our conversion. It is not to be inferred that there are not in all cases good reasons why God wills as he does, t

EXPOSITION JAMES 1:1 SALUTATION. JAMES, A SERVANT OF GOD AND OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. (On the person who thus describes himself, see the Introduction) It is noteworthy that he keeps entirely out of sight his natural relationship to our Lord, and styles himself simply "a bond-servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ." That, and that alone, gave him a right to speak and a claim to be heard. Δοῦλος is similarly used by St. Paul in Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1 by St. Peter in 2 Peter 1:1; and by

OF HIS OWN WILL BEGAT HE US,.... The apostle instances in one of those good and perfect gifts, regeneration; and he pitches upon a very proper and pertinent one, since this is the first gift of grace God bestows upon his people openly, and in their own persons; and is what involves other gifts, and prepares and makes meet for the gift of eternal life; and therefore may well be reckoned a "good" one, and it is also a "perfect one"; it is done at once; there are no degrees in it, as in sanctification; a man is born again, at once, and is born a perfect new man in all his parts; no one is more regenerated than another, or the same person more regenerated at one time than at another: and this comes from above; it is called a being born from above, in John 3:3 as the words there may be rendered; and it comes from God the Father, even the Father of our Lord Jesus, as well as of all lights,...

James 1:1. _James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting._ James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was an apostle, and he was the Lord's brother, yet he mentions not these greater things, but he takes the lowly title, in which, no doubt, he felt the highest honour, and calls himself «a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.» Happy is that man who serves the Lord, whose whole life is not that of an independent master of himself, but of one who is fully submissive to the divine command. Where is the fiction of the ten lost tribes? He writes to the twelve tribes that were scattered abroad, and gives them greeting, so that this Epistle is first directed to the seed of Israel, and then, as in all things, to all the Church of God, seeing all the saints of God are the true seed of believing Abraham, the f...

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. TRIALS AND THE EXERCISE OF FAITH CHAPTER 1 _ 1. Trials and the power of faith (James 1:1)_ 2. The resources of faith (James 1:5) 3. The realization of faith (James 1:9) 4. The conquest of faith (James 1:12) 5. The result of faith (James 1:16) James 1:1 The first verse is the introduction. The writer is James, but he does not add, as he might have done, “the brother of the Lord.” It would have identified his per

The Beatitude on Endurance (_cf. James 5:11_ and note). Trial is still neutral: it is affliction which tests and develops loyalty. But since human nature has a bias towards evil, a trial exerted upon man's evil desire (James 1:14) becomes a temptation. As in Romans 5:4, endurance produces approvedness, which brings the reward. The word crown (as papyri show), can mean a royal diadem as well as a wreath of victory: the latter is better here. Peter's unfading crown of glory is the same idea, and both (as in Revelation 2:10) go back probably to an unrecorded saying of Jesus (_cf._...