James 1:16-18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
16 [a]Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers: 17 all good giving and every perfect gift[b] is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. 18 (A)He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.[c]
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- 1:16–18 The author here stresses that God is the source of all good and of good alone, and the evil of temptation does not come from him.
- 1:17 All good giving and every perfect gift may be a proverb written in hexameter. Father of lights: God is here called the Father of the heavenly luminaries, i.e., the stars, sun, and moon that he created (Gn 1:14–18). Unlike orbs moving from nadir to zenith, he never changes or diminishes in brightness.
- 1:18 Acceptance of the gospel message, the word of truth, constitutes new birth (Jn 3:5–6) and makes the recipient the firstfruits (i.e., the cultic offering of the earliest grains, symbolizing the beginning of an abundant harvest) of a new creation; cf. 1 Cor 15:20; Rom 8:23.
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