17 Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning.
18 By his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among all his creatures.
Verse 16 ties verses 15 and 17 together. We see in verse 15 the sin that comes in to our lives - either from our succumbing to the temptations or in response to trials - starts within us. But don’t be faked out; don’t let anyone fool you into thinking God is tempting you. God wants you to succeed, and so provides to each one the means and power to not sin. I was going to say, “fall into sin.” But that sounds like an accident, something you have almost no control over. Sin is more like sticking your big toe in the Amazon river just to see if the piranhas are really there.
Vs. 17 - "Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning." - James provides the reason we can know the temptations and trials are not caused by God, but by our own nature. God has created all that we see around us. He is good, not evil. He is the "Father of lights", which is a Jewish expression; God is the creator of the sun, moon, and stars. God has not changed; God does not change like the seasons, or the movement of the moon and stars.
Because God is good, we can expect good things from Him. “You will celebrate all the good things that the LORD your God has given you and your family, along with the Levites and the resident foreigners among you.” (Deut. 26:11)
Plus, God provides instruction to protect us, especially from ourselves. See: “How blessed is the one whom you instruct, O LORD, the one whom you teach from your law, in order to protect him from times of trouble, until the wicked are destroyed.” (Psa. 94:12)
He wants us to ask Him. “So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish?” (Luke 11:9-11)
He provides the light, and it is good. “Now this is the gospel message we have heard from him and announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)
God is light, and His light exposes all - both good and evil. “There is no darkness, and no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide themselves.” (Job 34:22)
When we try to solve the problems ourselves we stumble along getting deeper and deeper. “You will feel your way along at noon like the blind person does in darkness and you will not succeed in anything you do; you will be constantly oppressed and continually robbed, with no one to save you.” (Deut 28:29)
***Vs. 18 - “By his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among all his creatures.” (GNB) - He brings us into new life - a new birth, a re-birth - because these bodies cannot be in eternity with Him. It is a regeneration (see Eph. 2:5,6). The new birth is not your doing, but God's.
“Word of truth” - The Gospel being preached and taught by the apostles as learned from Jesus Christ. Any message of ‘salvation’ that does not focus solely on Jesus Christ - born, lived, died for our sins, and resurrected - is not truth. The great paean from 1 Timothy, “By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.” (1 Tim 3:16) That is truth. Nothing else, no one else can save us from our sin.
It is His sovereign plan, and we get to be part of it, on the positive, glorious side when we see Him face-to-face, and Jesus says, “This one is mine.” God the Father says, “Wecome!” Oh, what a glorious day that will be. And we become first place among all the things God has created. That is mind-boggling - over all the beasts, wild and domestic, all the angels. I don’t know how this happens, but I accept it as true, and am grateful, thankful, giving Him the glory. God has done this and not we ourselves. (See: 2 Cor 3:5; Tit 3:5)
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