James 1:13-18 – Temptation and Heavenly Status

 James 1:13-18 – Temptation and Heavenly Status

“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone, but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we may be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”

It is intentional that the author chose to write about temptations directly after trials. The latter is an outward source of one of life’s difficulties and the former is from within. And immediately he points out that temptation is never from God, our Creator. When Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days, near the end of that time, he was tempted. But not by God the Father. He was tempted directly by Satan. (See Matthew 4:1-11) Since Jesus is God, it’s fascinating to know that God cannot tempt himself as opposed to the fallen man and woman. It’s as if each person has an “evil twin.” A persona, if you will, that entices him or herself. This persona wants to do what our flesh wants to do – what feels good in many cases – and not the good that God has planned and wants for each person he created. (See v. 17). And how many times when there is outward trials does it feel easy to allow the inward temptations to deceive us?

James continues by personifying sin as being born. But this sin, when it fully matures, leads to death. This death can manifest itself in many ways: a life of self-induced suffering, the pain of others around him or her caused by the sin, spiritual death or even physical death. But there’s good news! God’s grace. One of God’s many good and perfect gifts is his grace. “For if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins...” (I John 1:9) God is described by James as the “Father of the heavenly lights.” In a world of darkness, as it was in the Roman ruled First Century (as is now in this residual kingdom), hearing of an eternal light would have brought great encouragement to the early church. How much should God’s light encourage us now? God is not like a shifting shadow, which sounds similar to the wild flowers which soon die off (see verses 10 and 11). The author’s use of imagery emphasizes the life that God provides and the destruction by the shadowy path of sin.

Lastly, in this section, the author writes, “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we may be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” The “birth through the word of truth” is a reminder to what Jesus said, “… ‘unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) In regard to the “firstfruits:”

The NIV uses the phrase, “… we might be a kind of firstfruits…”

The ESV uses the phrase, “… we should be a kind of firstfruits…”

The NASB uses the phrase, “… we might be, as it were, the first fruit…”

In the original Greek, the word “certain” is used instead of “kind of.”

There an allusion to God’s first fruit of creation, that being Adam and Eve. The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive, but each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are in Christ.” (I Corinthians 15:22-23) Like being heirs with Christ, the born again are also first fruits. Christ first, then the born again. As if the born again are the restored first fruits so that those who are “in Christ all will be made alive.” This is the heavenly status of the born again! And it is certain! This should give the believer strength! 

Click here to read complete the devotional series of James 1.