The Father Of Lights

Sermon Title: “The Father of Lights”

Introduction: A World of Shadows and Flickering Lights

I want you to picture a moment from your day—maybe one that happened just yesterday evening. The sun was low in the sky, and it began casting long shadows across the room or your backyard. Things that looked solid and sharp in the afternoon light began to blur. Shadows stretched, and it became harder to tell where one thing ended and another began.

Or maybe you’ve had this happen: you walk into a room, flip the light switch, and instead of the room lighting up cleanly, the bulb flickers. It flares for a moment, then dims, then maybe flickers again. You wait, not sure if it will hold steady. It’s unreliable. It changes.

Life often feels like that, doesn’t it? Shadows and flickering lights. One minute you can see clearly, the next minute everything seems uncertain. People change. Circumstances shift. Even those we look up to the most—like our fathers—can fail us or fall short.

And yet into this world of shifting shadows comes a word from Scripture that’s both strong and beautiful:

James 1:17 (CSB)

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

This morning, on Father’s Day, we give thanks for our earthly fathers, honoring them as they reflect the goodness of God to us. But even more than that, we turn our eyes upward to the Heavenly Father—the Father of lights—the source of all being, the giver of all good, the One who never shifts or flickers or fades.

Point 1: The Father of Lights—God as Creator

When James calls God the “Father of lights,” he’s using deeply biblical language. First, the phrase draws us back to Genesis 1—the very beginning of everything.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good…” (Genesis 1:1-4)

From day one, before God created the sun, before the moon, before the stars—He created light itself. He spoke light into being. He didn’t need the sun to do it—He is light. Ancient Near Eastern cultures considered the heavenly bodies to be deities, so in the account of creation in Genesis 1, God held off on creating the sun, moon, and stars to show that they are not the true givers of light and life and destiny. No, it is God and God alone who is all those things.

Then, on Day Four, God made the light-bearers—the sun to govern the day, the moon to govern the night, and the stars to shine in the sky. These are all good things the Father of lights created for our good. He is the giver of good gifts, but they are gifts. He is the ultimate Light and the Ultimate Giver! The heavenly bodies that give us light are constantly moving and changing, but God is constant.

There may also be an echo her of God’s creation of the heavenly beings, council, angels. God asked Job where he was when God laid the foundations of the earth “while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:7). Whatever heavenly beings there are, and however radiant they may be, the Lord outshines them all!

He is the Father of lights because He created them all. But more than just physical lights, this name, “the Father of lights” speaks to something deeper: God is the source of all truth, order, clarity, and goodness. In Him, there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).

“God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)

From the very beginning, God revealed Himself as the One who brings light out of darkness, order out of chaos, and goodness into the world.

And He hasn’t stopped.

Point 2: The Giver of Every Good and Perfect Gift

Every good and perfect gift is from above

“This phrase emphasizes the divine origin of all that is truly good and perfect. In the biblical context, "good" and "perfect" gifts refer to blessings that align with God's nature and purposes. The idea of gifts coming "from above" underscores the belief in God's sovereignty and His role as the ultimate source of all blessings. This aligns with Jesus' teaching in Matthew 7:11, where He speaks of the Father giving good gifts to those who ask Him. The words “coming down” has the idea of something that is present and continuous. God does not give His good gifts sparingly or sporadically; He continually and freely gives good gifts.