September 18 – Of Being Firstfruits

 “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” -  James 1:18 (ESV)

Let’s take a moment to recognize how often we misunderstand the meaning of God’s promises because we use our own finite ability to reason out what makes sense. If a passage makes sense in our own reasoning there is no guarantee that we have a good understanding of what the Holy Spirit wants us to know of His inspired and authoritative words in Scripture. By example the promise in today’s verse teaches us that our regeneration is fully according to God’s will. He wills and it happens. “Of His will” a Greek. word that makes the point that regeneration is not just a wish. It is an active expression of God’s will. He always has the power to accomplish His will. James places this phrase at the beginning of the sentence in Greek, in order to emphasize that the sovereign will of God is the source of our new life. Regeneration, or the new birth is described as “He brought us forth.” We are God’s chosen “firstfruits” of the work Christ accomplished for us through His death. Let’s reflect back to the previous verses (James 1:16-17), where God promises us every perfect gift comes from our Heavenly Father.

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