The Source of our Change
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16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 By his own choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
If the source of our temptation is desire, we must ask , “How can I change my desires?”
This is where James focuses his attention now. Not on the problem but on the solution.
We will never change our desires by focusing on them and trying to convince ourselves that they are wrong.
V.16
By way of transition from the problem to the solution, James offers us a warning. Do not be deceived.
Sin by nature, is deceiving.
It promises us what it can not fulfill.
The problem with being deceived, is that we don’t know that we are deceived until it’s too late.
Obviously, James sees this as a significant problem, as he repeats this warning two more time in ch. 1
It is difficult to watch someone who is deceived continue down that path.
1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted. 2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
James here is that good friend, warning us to not be deceived.
We need these warning so badly because we can not trust our own desires.
Not everything that looks good, is good.
Examples:
Eve and the fruit
Samson and Delilah
David and Bathsheba
Judas and the coins
V.17
Specifically, we must not be deceived into believing that God is anything except good.
Especially in the midst of trials and temptations, we must remind ourselves of God’s goodness.
9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!
1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
We must not trade what we do know for what we don’t know.
Does James have some specific gift in mind as he writes these words?
There are only 3 gifts that have the power to change our desires and make us able to endure trials.
The Gift of The Son
32 He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?
8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast.
What a gift this is!
When we look upon the glory of this gift that was given for us, and compare it to the unworthiness of the one to whom it was given, it defies all logic.
How could I receive this gift and not be changed in a very fundamental way!?
When we are tempted in the midst of a trial to think, “Is God good?” We mustn”t look any further than Christ. God’s testimony to us of His extreme goodness.
2. The Gift of The Spirit
9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
19 Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.
5 This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
The Spirit makes God’s desires our desires.
He makes us the temple of the Living God, His dwelling place.
Through His Spirit, God has given us a source of power that is far greater than all our evil desires.
He is the Spirit of Truth that leads us away from error and into what is true.
God’s love is made real to us through His Spirit.
3. The Gift of The Father
1 See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him.
12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,
4 When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.
God gives us Himself, not only as our ruler and Lord, but as our Father.
To know that God has made you His son and daughter is the most wonderful reality.
When we are tempted to resort back to old ways and old patterns, we must remind ourselves Whose we are! We belong to Him! He is our Father, and we are His children!
God is the Father of lights, and we are those lights.