Introduction:  Deep in our hearts we believe in a good God. Yet how shallow is our understanding of His goodness, especially since we see many things that seem to deny it. Corrie Ten Boom clarified the issue for us. She wrote:

“Often I have heard people say, ‘How good God is! We prayed that it would not rain for our church picnic, and look at the lovely weather!’ Yes, God is good when He sends good weather. But God was also good when He allowed my sister, Betsie, to starve to death before my eyes in a German concentration camp. I remember one occasion when I was very discouraged there. Everything around us was dark, and there was darkness in my heart. I remember telling Betsie that I thought God had forgotten us. ‘No, Corrie,’ said Betsie, ‘He has not forgotten us. Remember His Word: “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.” ” Corrie concludes, “There is an ocean of God’s love available—there is plenty for everyone. May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love—whatever the circumstances.”

 

When was the last time you considered how good God really is?  Well, whether it was this AM or weeks ago, I want each of us here today to consider carefully the Goodness of God no matter what the circumstances may be.

 

I. God Is The Source Of Every Good Thing--James 1:17

 

A. The Gift--1:17a

 

1. The gift’s description

a. “good” - useful, profitable

b. “perfect” - complete, lacking nothing (see: James 1:4)

c. “every” - it is comprehensive

 

Application: What a definition of what God so graciously gives to us all the time.   Our problem of seeing the goodness of God is that we want to define what "goodness" is. If things are going well, the bills are paid, and the kids aren't yelling, then God is being good to us. And what happens in the times of testing and temptation is that we fail to see God's goodness at work in our lives.

 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God has been good to us in innumerable ways.  We may be prone to complain, but we would do good to look a little closer at what He is doing in our lives. 

 

2. The gift’s source - “from above”

It has a heavenly source.  In the New Testament this “heavenly source” is used in a number of different situations.

a. We are born from above -- John 3:7

b. Christ came from above -- John 3:31

c. We are to seek those things which from above -- Col. 3:1

d. The wisdom that God accepts and blesses is from above -- James 3:17,18

 

3. The gift’s availability - “cometh down”

This statement is in the present tense in the original Greek and thus speaks of a never ending stream of good coming down from God.

 

Application: Do you really believe that, brothers and sisters in Christ?  We each should, even when the events taking place in our life at any particular moment may appear to be out of control, and it is hard to imagine anything good coming out of it or that God is sending good your way through that experience.  Based on what we are studying here in James, we better think that way, or begin rearranging our concept of God.

 

B. The Gift Giver--1:17b

James uses a very descriptive title for God here - “The Father of Lights”.  He will emphasize the prepositional phrase “of lights” in this verse, and then emphasize the title “Father” in the next.

 

1. What this title tells us about His creation

The word “light” is used in a about five different ways in the scriptures.  To understand what James is saying here we need to determine which one he is implying. 

Ÿ         Light is used of the nature of God--1 John 1:7

Ÿ         Light is used in regard to saving faith--John 1:14

Ÿ         Light is used to describe understanding right and wrong--Luke 11:34,35

Ÿ         Light is used in describing having spiritual priorities as opposed to having priorities of darkness--Eph. 5:8; 2 Cor. 6:14

Ÿ         Light is used in describing the luminaries in the heavens

 

I believe that in this verse James has in mind primarily the light of the heavenly bodies - sun, moon, and stars.  James makes use of the plural when describing “light”, and what follows at the end of the verse substantiates this position. 

 

Gen. 1 makes no bones as to who is the “Father” of the lights in the heavens.  In Psalm 136 where the psalmist is exhorting the singers to “Give thanks unto the Lord”, he writes in verses 4-9  - To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever: The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever: The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

 

With all that is taking place on the planet Mars right now, which is amazing, we have once again been bombarded with the evolutionary theory of beginnings.  The see it as the only way things got started and are very defensive about it.  Once a month I receive a paper called Acts & Facts from the Institute of Creation Research in CA, the same ones who print the Days of Praise devotional we have in the entryway of the church.  The title article in the March 2004 issue is called Modern Day Book Banning?  It concerns a table-top picture book about the Grand Canyon that, along with beautiful pictures of the canyon, has many articles written by those in creation-science field.  Their position is that the Grand Canyon was formed after the flood of Noah’s time.  It is sold in the National Park book stores found in the Grand Canyon. Many leading evolutionist have cried foul, and one author said, “The Bush Administration appears to be sponsoring a program of Faith-based Parks.” 

 

For those of us who hold to God’s Word as being without error and accurate in all details, the issue is simple - God created the heavens and the earth and everything here.

 

I like how David put it in Psalm 8:1-3 O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

 

2. What this title tells us about God’s character

This title for God, “Father of Lights” is now used by James to give us a description of God’s character as it has to do with giving us good gifts.  James now uses the various physical phenomenon of these heavenly bodies in contrast to the immutability of God.

 

a. There is no variableness to God

Ÿ         This is the only time in the NT that this word is used.

Ÿ         It denotes the constant change that takes place among the heavenly bodies. There is the variation of light between the sun and the moon and the between the stars, changes in the length of daylight between the various seasons of the year, the shifting positions of the rising and setting of the sun and moon throughout the year, and the change in the light from the sun or moon from one hour to the next.

Ÿ         In contrast to these light sources that God made, God never changes.  God is not one thing one day or one year and something else the next day or year.  God's goodness and giving good gifts is never changed. 

Ÿ         Praise God we serve a God that is unlike the man described in James 1:8 "unstable in all his ways" and "double minded."  God is sure and dependable, even when everything else around us is seems to be on shifting sands.

 

 

b. There is no “shadow of turning” with God

Ÿ         Shadows, as we know, are formed when the sun or moon has been eclipsed by some object, such as a tree, building or some other heavenly body such as the moon, sun, or the earth.

Ÿ         I don’t know about you, but I’m fascinated by the various eclipses that take place from time to time.  The last lunar eclipse took place back in November and like many of you, I watched that bright light from the moon slowly but surely get covered over by the shadow of this earth until it was completely covered.  I remember the first lunar eclipse I saw was as a young person in Alaska.  My Mom woke me up in the middle of the night to look at the moon as it was being covered.  When we first started home schooling the kids there was a solar eclipse that was nearly complete.  We borrowed some welders glass and mounted it in a box.  Through this crude viewing devise we were able to see the shadow of the shadow moving across the sun.

Ÿ         There are two constants with shadows - they move and they block the light source.  We know they move because the earth is rotating on its axis as it rotates around the sun.  If a shadow that is formed by a tree or building blocking out the sun stops moving, something major is wrong.  We are often grateful for the hills around here when the sun is shining directly into our eyes because they temporarily block the sun.

Ÿ         These two constants remind us of two great truths about our great and good gift-giving God: First, God is never eclipsed, and second, God is always constant. 

 

That thought of God’s constancy has been summed up in the doctrine of God’s immutability.  God’s immutability can be summed up in three ways:

 

1. God is immutable in his being. There are no mutations in God. There never was a time when he was not; there never will come a time when he shall cease to be. All that he is today, he has ever been, and ever will be. He says, "I am the Lord, I change not" (Mal. 3:6). Arthur Pink says, "He cannot change for the better, for he is already perfect; and being perfect, he cannot change for the worse. Altogether unaffected by anything outside himself, improvement or deterioration is impossible. He is perpetually the same. He only can say, "I am that I am". He is altogether uninfluenced by the flight of time. There is no wrinkle upon the brow of eternity. So his power can never diminish nor his glory ever fade" (The Attributes of God, p.39). There is no shadow of turning in him.

 

2. God is immutable in his attributes. Whatever he was when he said, "Let there be light," he is exactly that today, and will remain so for ever. "As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen." His power is unabated; his wisdom undiminished; his holiness unsullied. The attributes of God can no more change than Deity can cease to be. His truthfulness is immutable, because his word "stands firm in the heavens" (Psalm 119:89). He loves as much now as he did then; and when the light of the sun shall cease to shine, and moons stop showing their feeble light, he still shall love on for ever and ever. His love is eternal: "I have loved thee with an everlasting love" (Jer. 31:3). There is no shadow of turning in his love. Take any one thing you can say of God now, and it may be said not only in the dark past, but in the bright future. It shall always remain the same.

 

3. God is immutable in his counsel. Men's advice alters. They change their minds. They have new plans. They did not have the foresight to anticipate some things. They did not have the power to implement what they had in mind. God has no such problems He is omniscient and omnipotent, so he has no need to revise his plans: The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.(Psalm 33:11). How he advises us about the good life, and how then should we live, and what is a virtuous woman, and what marriage is, and how we can inherit eternal life - such counsels will last as long as God himself. There is no shadow of turning in God.

 

Application:  James has used an illustration from the realm of astronomy to help us understand the goodness of God, even when we are going through difficult times that may be trying our faith.  I trust each believer here today has been reminded of the wonder of “The Father of Lights” and all that means for each believer here.

There may be someone here today that has not yet accept the good and free gift of salvation that has come down from above in the form of Jesus Christ.  Jesus called Himself  “the light of the world.”  As you gaze up at the numberless stars and galaxies that are laid out above our heads each night, and are so unreachable, think of the One and Only God who made all that you see in the Heavens, coming down to the earth because He loved us so much that He needed to provide some way for us to have fellowship with Him again.  The only way was for Him to give a very precious gift - His Son, Jesus Christ who died for our sins on the cross. 

 

If you have heard this before and yet have not received it, I ask you Why?  What is holding you back from accepting something so good from One so Good and loving as God?  The gift of salvation is a perfect gift.  All you need to do to make it yours is to accept it as yours.  Let me encourage you to make that most important decision today, if you have not done so.

 

That is Point I - God is the source of every good.  This brings me to the second point -

 

II. God Is The Source Of The Good Gift Of Salvation--James 1:18

 

A. How God does this--James 1:18a

James continues the metaphor of God as our Father in this verse.  In verse 17 Father was seen as the creator, but in this verse we see Father used as the source of new birth, a spiritual new birth.  What a contrast we have here between this verse and verse 15!  There, sin has resulted in spiritual death.  Here, the good gift of new life is bestowed by God.  This new birth is:

 

1. According to His will

As every father here knows, the conception of a child, the beginning of a new human life, is an act of the will.  If a couple chooses to not have children, then they do not have any children.  This is also the true in regard to the new birth that has been made available by God to all sinners.  Notice how John puts it in John 1:12,13, But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And in John 15:16a, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,

If God had not exercised His will to send Jesus Christ His son to come into this world to die for sinners, we would all be hopelessly lost yet in our sins.  On a more personal level, we must never forget that it was the will of God and the goodness of God that lead each Christian here to the place where they made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.  Why us? Why that day? Why not somebody else?  It is all God’s will.

 

2. According to His Word, The Word of Truth

Romans 10:17 says, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  It is according to God’s will that lost sinners hear the truth of His Word proclaimed clearly so that the Holy Spirit of God can take that Word and convict a lost sinner of his/her sins.  That this last statement is true is borne out in several examples in the New Testament.  Paul writes in

1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.  The Apostle Peter wrote the same thing in 1 Peter 1:23-25 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

 

Have you heard and heeded the Word of Truth that God has made sure you have heard?  The truth that you are a sinner, and that Jesus, the Son of God, died and shed His precious blood for those sins, thus paying the full price in God’s sight for those sins! 

 

B. What God has produced--James 1:18b

 

1. Do you remember at the harvest time in Israel how the believing people - the true Old Testament Christians - would bring the firstfruits of all their crops and take them to God's house, the temple, and give them to the Lord in the form of his servants, the priests ? It was a powerful statement of their belief that everything they had belonged to the Lord, the lands and herds and crops, the seasons, the harvests - everything came from God. In him they lived and moved. Their breath was in his hands, and he kept them alive. Without him they would die. So they brought to him the very best of the first-fruits, and they did it with thankfulness, joy and praise. They were saying to their unbelieving neighbors, "Our God keeps his promises. If we are faithful to him then he will certainly be faithful to us, and this will be a land flowing with milk and honey." But when people refused to bring the firstfruits to him they were saying, "This is ours. It belongs to us. We've worked for it and we are keeping it all. It's the laws of nature that gives us food."

 

2. So the firstfruits were a barometer of health in a believing people, of God's goodness and power recognized, and God the giver worshipped. Now, under the new covenant there is no longer a holy land, with firstfruits, a temple and priests, but everything still belongs to God and we depend upon God for everything. So what are the firstfruits now ? It is we Christians. We present ourselves to the Lord. Paul reminds the Corinthians that a man called Stephanos was the first convert in that part of Greece. He was the firstfruits of the whole mighty Corinthian church (I Cor. 16:15). Then Paul tells them that Jesus Christ risen from the dead is “become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (I Cor.15:20). Because he has risen all who die united to him will be raised with him - but he, as the firstfruits, is the pledge of their resurrection.

 

3. When the Old Testament firstfruits were brought to God they had to be perfect, and without a spot. So it shall be with the New Testament firstfruits. The church has been predestinated to be conformed to the image of God's Son. God's new birth results in making people godlike, matchless and totally released from sin. "When we shall see him we shall be like him," says John (I John 3:2). When Christ presents the church to himself it will be That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephs.5:27). That shall be the goal for the Christian. You see it again in the great benediction at the end of Jude's letter, Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. (Jude 24, 25). We are a kind of perfect firstfruits.

 

Application: Yes, life is not a bowl of cherries at times, but one thing is constant for the committed believer in Jesus Christ, we are His, and as His He loves us and bestows upon us so much good.  Let’s not let the trials of life turn our eyes away from our wonderful Lord.  Rather, let us put our heart upon the truth that God is Good and gives good gifts to those who are His children. 

 

Read Once Again: James 1:17, 18 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh

 own from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.