Father Of Lights Series

James 1:17-27 [17] Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. [18] Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. [19] Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; [20] for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. [21] Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. [22] But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. [23] For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. [24] For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. [25] But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. [26] If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. [27] Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (ESV)

If you got together with your extended family over the Christmas holidays, you will know that it is common at a time like this to compare how siblings look. Some tend to look like their mother, others like their father, some have mannerisms and temperaments that are similar, while others have similar interests or occupations. In Gen 1:26–27 we see that humans are made: imago Dei, in the image or God, reflecting the divine likeness. We must ask therefore, in which ways are we reflecting the image of God? Can we tarnish this image and how does God, who can be described as the "Father of Lights" have His image reflect in us because of His light?

To answer these questions we must first ask who is this Father of Lights: As James 1:17 says "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above: which means that the perfect, flawless, holy goodness of God results in His doing and giving only what reflects His perfect holiness and truth. His works reflect His character. Negatively, James is saying that, from our temptation to execution, God has absolutely no responsibility for sin. Positively, he is saying that God has complete responsibility for every good gift, and that every perfect gift that exists has come down from above. The Father of lights was an ancient Jewish title for God, referring to Him as Creator, as the great Giver of light, in the form of the sun, moon, and stars (cf. Gen. 1:14–19). Unlike those sources of light, which, magnificent as they are, can nevertheless vary and will eventually fade, God’s character, power, wisdom, and love have no variation or shifting shadow. God’s benevolence is like a light which cannot be extinguished, eclipsed, or “shadowed out” in any way at all. The light of the sun may be blocked, for example, by some material object, so as to cast a shadow: indeed, for a time in an eclipse, the direct light of the sun (or moon) may be shut off from the observer. Nothing like that can block God’s light, interrupt the flow of His goodness, or put us “in shadow,” so that we are out of the reach of his “radiance.” It is not necessary to confine “shadow” to eclipses or any other specific sort of shadow. God’s light or radiance lets nothing stop it Horatius Bonar expresses a similar thought in his fine hymn: Light of the world! for ever, ever shining, There is no change in Thee; True Light of Life, all joy and health enshrining, Thou canst not fade nor flee. (Adamson, J. B. (1976). The Epistle of James. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (75). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).

In James 1:18 the phrase "of his own will" translates the aorist passive participle of the verb boulomai, which expresses the idea of the deliberate and specific exercise of volition. The phrase is also in the emphatic position in the Greek, reinforcing the truth that God’s sovereign and uninfluenced will is the source and basis of the new life. That "he brought us forth" is from the same verb rendered “gives birth” in verse 15. God always takes the initiative (AORIST PASSIVE [deponent] PARTICIPLE) in mankind’s situation and salvation (cf. John 6:44, 65; Rom. 9; Eph. 1:4; 2:8; I Pet. 1:3) (Utley, R. J. D. (2000). Vol. Volume 11: Jesus' Half-Brothers Speak: James and Jude. Study Guide Commentary Series (21). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.). By this spiritual birth we become His children—a relationship that can never be changed since a birth can never be undone (MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Jas 1:18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).