James 1:18—First fruits

In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. James 1:18

After establishing pure doctrine concerning God, His person, and the truth about trials and temptations, James sums up his thoughts by stating why God chose to intervene in human lives in the first place.

The apostle explained that God entered the earth through His Son to establish a kind of first fruits among His creatures. In other words, it was His desire to do something wonderful and brand new in the lives of anyone willing to receive His Son.

In the exercise of His will…

God deliberately and intentionally planned to deliver you from the dominion of darkness and to translate you into the kingdom of His dear Son (see Colossians 1:13). He left no stone unturned when He embarked upon this intricately detailed special ops mission to rescue you. Before time began, He strategized and prepared this plan. All through the ages leading up to Christ, through the entire earth life of His Son and His agonizing death and triumphant resurrection, and then on throughout the rest of history, the Father watched over and worked His plan—extending it even into your life. And He did it because He wanted to rescue you—since way back before the foundation of the earth.

He brought us forth…

The new, never-before-seen thing that God inaugurated on the earth was to prepare the way for men and women, boys and girls—born with the fallen nature of the human species—to be made entirely new creatures through faith in Christ. The King James Version says that He “begat” us. This is absolutely accurate, because the Greek word used here, apokyeō, means “from the womb” or “to give birth to” (see <http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G616&t=KJV>). Therefore, God executed His plan by paving the way for new birth to take place within the spirits of already-living human beings. This was radical, out-of-the-box thinking. No other religion or philosophy on earth has ever been able to claim the same.

Even Nicodemus, a spiritual leader in Israel, could not fathom what Jesus was saying. He asked the Lord, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” (See John 3:4.) Jesus adamantly replied, “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’” (John 3:5-7). Jesus knew His purpose was to fulfill God’s determined purpose to “beget” sons and daughters for Himself through the raw material of human lives rescued from sin through faith in Christ.

… by the word of truth…

It is by the Word of truth that you are born again. Jesus is the Word (see John 1:14). He is also the Truth (see John 14:6). As you profess your faith in Christ and receive Him as your Lord, you are begotten of the Father by the Word of truth, and you become a brand new creature. Mission accomplished.

…so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

God’s heart and purpose was to create from among men and women a kind of first fruits. You are among His first fruits if you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. What does this mean about you as a new creature? According to the Blue Letter Bible online, the term “first fruits” is “used of persons consecrated to God for all time” (see <http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G536&t=KJV>). Matthew Henry wrote of the first fruits, “We [are] God’s portion and treasure, and a more peculiar property to him” (see <http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Jam/Jam_001.cfm>).

God’s express purpose from the beginning of time was to bring you to saving faith in Christ and to make you a new person, born again by the Word of truth. As a result, if you have received Jesus as Lord, you are “consecrated to God for all time” and are His “portion and treasure and a…peculiar property” of the Living God. That’s you!

Praise God for this unique new life He has given us!

Dorothy

…He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. (2 Corinthians 5:15)